#Nari is gonna have to deal with this fall out

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

Hour 7! Of the Time Loop - Over The Edge And Over Again au.

Skipping to the meat of the AU which is The Last Loop.

By this point, Lamb would be a fantastic Vessel unlike any Narinder has had before. They are charismatic, clever, and a damn good warrior who is devoted on a level he’s never seen before.

Meanwhile poor Lamb is basically pouring everything they are into this loop. They are errecting statues of TOWW, preaching about Death in all it glory, essentially one-shoting all of the crusades they’re going on. They spend time making sure all of the sacrifices and offerings they make are exactly to Narinder’s liking.

And they die. A lot. Mostly on purpose but no one calls them out on it.

Lamb spends time asking their God what He likes, what He’d like to do once He’s free, asking about His disciples.

Narinder indulges them since he’s never had such an effective Vessel before. And this one is so very eager to please him.

Lamb also quietly builds a hut a little larger than the others in a more secluded area near the temple. It is more elegant than the others and decorated to a very specific taste. It has an adjourning hut to house two and lamb forbids any one from going near it.

They do make an effort to be kind to their flock since it’s easier to catch more flies with honey than vinegar and well, they never truly felt comfortable performing the cruelty they knew they were capable of. And they need the cult to be kind in return, kind enough to ease new comers.

Lamb bends over backwards to make Narinder happy to the point Ratau pulls them aside with concerns.

They try to brush him off, any attempt to talk is still jammed down their throat, but the old rat merely looks at them with worry and an open invitation. (They never forgive themselves for the loops where he surrendered him to the Fox as few as they are.)

Then they slay Shamura and they know what is coming.

They make sure to get one last visit in before Narinder summons them to die. They spend it in His palm, shaking and refusing to talk or even think about what is to come. They end the visit with a watery smile and pressing their forehead against His fingertip. A silent apology.

‘Forgive me, My Divine, forgive me.’

They are in tears when they refuse their God. They choke down the sobs when they fight Baal, muffle their cries when they battle Aym and it’s nearly brings them to their knees when Narinder breaks free to face them.

But they keep going. They have too. After so many loops, something is finally different.

They win and they are absolutely miserable for it. They spare their Saviour and send Him to the flock.

They bring Him to the hut they had built especially for Him and beg him to wait, just a few more moments, then they will try to explain the Time Loops.

“Time Loops?!�� Narinder looks enraged and dismissive but Lamb freezes.

The Loops are over. They think. Only one way to find out.

“Kill me.”

“You DARE?!”

“JUST KILL ME! I NEED TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE BOTH FREE!”

Their God doesn’t even hesitate and slits their throat.

It’s the first time dying by His hand hurts.

It’s the first time they awaken on the hard floor of a hut that was almost got for a God.

The story that spills out of them comes in between manic giggles and a relief so deep that they remain kneeling before their God. They spill things that He never shared in this loop. How he did not truly care for Ratau’s fate one way or another. How he got bored of the same thing over and over. How the Death He had planned was a sweet gentle Death.

Narinder cannot help but believe Lamb, kneeling before him, begging him to understand that they had tried.

That them overthrowing him was a last resort.

That this was the only way.

But now what?

[cotl-flower-crown]

What will happen to the bishops in this AU? Will they simply get arrested? Or will they die horrific and ironic/poetic deaths?

P.S: Either way, please go easy on my boy Leshy please!

The police in the city they live in is so corrupted, that the bishops could just pay the police chief to be let go. It's also the matter of the sheer size of their gangs, if they wished so, they could just wipe the police department and serve justice on their own terms. So no, getting them arrested is not enough.

Forcing the Bishops to quit isn't great either, since who's to say that they won't just strike back under the pretence that they are gone?

Nari made mistakes before which he was never forgiven for, so the Bishops don't get to have their second chance either.

When Narinder came back from prison, he realised that his siblings wanted him gone, erased from their lives, their legacy. After everything they've been through they decided to abandon him and remove him from history. They moved on. It was like he never existed to begin with. And he wanted to do the same thing to them.

I don't know the details of most of the Bishop's deaths, but I do know that they all die from Lambert's hand in some way. For Leshy it's in self defense, Heket dies in a freak accident, Kal is straight up mercilessly shot with a gun (because Lambert feels no sympathy for him) and Shamura... I dunno. Still figuring those out.

I do have a rough idea on how Leshy dies, so I'm gonna write it down below. [cw: vore???? (Leshy eating the enemy), death scene, showing off the body like a decoration]

Leshy does this thing to the smaller enemies where he burrows himself underground and then attacks the target from bellow, either biting them or swallowing them whole. Usually it ends with them being stabbed to death with the razor sharp teeth placed down his throat. He doesn't do that often though, because he becomes vulnerable, from eating too much at once.

Leshy is killed after he attacks Lambert from below the ground and swallows him. Lambert managed to survive with the help of a bullet proof vest that he found in the warehouse that they were in at the time. Lambert, panicking and not being able to breathe or see and being pushed down to Leshy's stomach, he remembers about his emergency gun and shoots Leshy from the inside. Injured Leshy wails for a little bit, trying to throw up Lambert, until he finally falls to the ground. And Narinder saw it happen. Possibly because he expected Leshy to devour Lambert so he could take that chance to strike Leshy himself. He didn't expect that Lambert would do that before him.

After a moment of shock he notices that Lambert is still alive inside trying to get out, so he approaches the corpse of Leshy and pulls Lambert out, whom gasps for air and throws up.

After that Narinder makes an announcement to everyone in the building that their leader is dead and they will be spared if they surrender. Having no other choice they either surrender, run away or die trying. Heket and Kal soon enough arrive and they see that Leshy's corpse is hanged in front of the warehouse on a hook, face down. Narinder stands above and the siblings greet each other. They make a deal: Heket and Kallamar will retreat their forces for now if Narinder gives Leshy back to them. He agrees and cuts down the rope that was tied to Leshy's hook. He falls down and their siblings take the body. They leave. The battle was victorious to the Red Crowns and people cheer. Narinder approaches Lambert and gives him Leshy's monocle saying "You can have it. Good job".

[lagomorphics]

Majora's Mask remaster for the Nintendo Switch OLED screen could you please make a relationship chart for your AU's 🥹👉👈

ABSOLUTELY. SMILES. i've only made charts for narigoatlamb / narilamb but at some point i'll probably do some big charts including the bishops and other side characters :)

PUTTING IT UNDER THE CUT THOUGH BECAUSE THIS GETS. VERY VERY LONG. because i looove overexplaining myself <3

starting with lucky card!! since i'm still working out everything for how i want these threes dynamics to evolve i only have one version of their relationship </3 but heres my longass ramble on each dynamic:

Ines and Jahel's relationship kinda takes front and center for most of the au, since they're in close proximity most of the time, and they care about eachother A LOT. pre-Ines' deal they were 'friends', and only got closer because of All This Mess. Ines likes the fact they can be themself around Jahel, and Jahel loves Ines for all their snark and charm <3

Ines and Nari spend a lot of time having a very hot n cold relationship. Narinder usually texts Ines and holds the deal over their head to get them to go somewhere or come to the casino for something, which pisses Ines OFF because they like DOING THINGS, NARINDER. Nari has a very hard time being emotional and is practically A Wall, and Ines is. well. the opposite. Ines does think Nari is extremely hot, and (while annoyed) does go along with the deal they have, but it's only really late into things do they actually start to genuinely Fall for Nari. Nari falls first, because Ines' presence starts becoming less of an annoyance and more of something she.. really enjoys. Sorry about the divorce in their future

AND FOR THE MOST STRANGE OF THE BUNCH. HOO BOY. Nari does NOT trust Jahel (for very funny reasons. haha. lmao. lol.) and thinks they're going to ruin everything she has been trying to accomplish. Jahel is doing everything they can to convince her like "hey. i know. i swear i'm not that." but its. a very very slow process. The two probably wouldn't ever be alone with oneanother until like halfway through the plot, where Nari DOES try to kill Jahel. lol. it's fine. I'd say after that they'd start trying to get along a little better. They don't fall in love until post Nari's 'defeat' though

i also included a little funny. Jahel has another connection that they feel very very conflicted about :) wow i wonder who that is. aha. whaat. runs away extremely fast.

SNAH au <33 three lil versions of their dynamic evolving (can you tell i REALLY rotate this au around)

to start off; when Narinder was TOWW, Lambert was VERY infatuated with him, to the point that they kinda convinced themself that despite how much he talks about sacrifice, they would be the exception. To TOWW though, he grew to care about them and admired how vengeful they were, but watched as that vengence slowly cooled and mellowed out, almost resenting it. He always planned to sacrifice them, because to him; what's a greater honour than that? he promised he'd make theirs meaningful, though. Obviously Lambert did not like this in the slightest.

Post-defeat and for the early days of their relationship, Nari just kinda hated them really bad. To him, Lambert took EVERYTHING from him, including his own death. my Nari is.... not the most stable at the start? he struggles a lot mentally, and (if the day ever came) he knew he wanted death to be his end, to not even have That pissed him off. Lambert, however, still has lingering feelings for him, because at the end of the day, Narinder was like a friend to them. he did listen to them, let them spend time with him, gave them advice etc etc... so it hurts a lot to know that a) he was gonna sacrifice them (they are very pissed off about that still) and b) he is actively making everything difficult. it does not help that Nari is able to read minds and can use magic, hes causing problems and its stressing them out </3

they do eventually get to a point of being friendly though!

AND THE LAST ONE. so in SNAH, Nari DOES die at a specific point (lol), and it is an extremely rough time for both of them because Narinder realises Oh actually. i dont want to die. and his time in the afterlife is horrible, and Lambert is freaking the hell out because Holy shit. Hes dead. Oh my god. They actually personally go and retrieve his soul because the last thing they wanted was to potentially fail the resurrection ritual, but after all that happens they both just... grow closer. Narinder realises that Lambert cares about him so much, always reaches out for him and is ready to catch him at any moment. He realises he does still care about them, and he also starts to appreciate mortal life and everything way more. what dying does to a mf.

Nari dying also made Lambert realise their infatuation HAD changed into being genuine love and care, and also it hurt really bad to see him like that. it also helped them connect better to the domain they now rule over, and just... they realise that they never want to see him hurting like that again. they really do love him and want him by their side, if he wants that too. (they get. way better at Being Normal about their own emotions)

AH!!! AGH!!! (BLOWS UP)

[liskobot]

can i ramble about my idea for a 'bad end' narilamb au of sorts?

i'm gonna do it anyway

but under read more so it wont clog folks feeds lol

firstly, the song 'beast in the beauty' from the 'royal scandal' series

that gives a pretty good-ish outline for what happens; "indoctrinated" Narinder overall plays along with the lamb's wants/wishes. Lamb is pretty easily tricked by it, still devoted after all this time

Buuut Lamb does eventually figure out Narinder's true intentions, which is of course stealing the crown back. Cue once again feeling betrayed (and brokenhearted), Lamb is left thinking over just. everything. taking on the task of a vessel, becoming the leader of this cult. just sort of cursing it all at this point, cursing the crowns for being the central point of so much drama and strife

so

in comes mystic seller

they make deals with godly beings, whose to say they wont have means of in other terms 'dealing with' godly beings

if going with the 'beast in the beauty' music inspiration this would be a gun different from the blunderbuss the crown turns into

cue Lamb, acting as if they hadn't found out about Narinder's true intentions

going in close, an embrace even

but before Narinder can notice them not actually relaxing like usual, Lamb has already grabbed the gun-

no, they don't shoot Narinder

they don't shoot themself either (at least not directly)

they shoot the crown

we've already seen in game that the crown takes different forms (the snake from the sins of the flesh update)

it probably does not full on 'shatter' and be done for good but. if the mystic seller handed it to the lamb as means of erasing the problem, it probably at the very least gets rid of the crown in this realm

(more than likely) forever out of Narinder's reach now

now, the crown is what kept the Lamb alive all this time too

but by now it has already embedded part of itself onto the Lamb (some official art on poster even shows how it's 'rooted' itself in Lamb's brain)

it doesn't just end with Lamb's fatal wounds reintroducing themselves aka their head falling off. Mix of ichor and blood from that wound- wherever it is that the crown ends up, the lamb is taken with (visually, would imagine it looks similar to when followers overwhelmed by sin are taken away)

in game the lamb does get referred to as a god, but i'd say they're not quite done with ascending at this point

so, neither mortal or fully ascended into godhood, what happens? something in between

a fallen deity? demon? or maybe considering the red crowns role of being 'death', a reaper in the more traditional sense

one that goes unseen by the (usual) mortal eye, quietly bringing souls from one realm to the beyond. The Lamb has essentially cursed themself into the same chains The One Who Waits was once in, even if without literal chains

as for what happens to lamb's flock; they are plenty self-sufficient by now, even in the Lamb's absence. Of course problems are bound to arise as they notice their absence is much, much longer than ever before.

By now the bishops have been brought in and their relics have been cleansed. They're by no means buddy buddy with Narinder but they'd likely be showing at least some support to Narinder by now, navigating all of this

along with baal and aym too, of course

even if not directly considered the new leader, Nari does find himself sort of 'guiding' it from the sidelines. To what direction?

well, who knows

edit:

i originally said this would be after the bishops are brought in + their relics cleansed also, but maybe would actually be more interesting if this was before

and as such it would be up to narinder to go through the realms and free the bishops

[dutifullyshamelessearthquake]

ITS TIME

ok okay okaaay, thinking about slow build stomach flus. With Cyno ofc. And I won’t apologize. But I’m thinking like, the kind where pain and nausea come and go. But like across the span of a whole day and a half. There be a pang of discomfort and maybe an uncomfortable roll of the stomach…and then it’ll pass and the character is fine again for a good few hours. And for cyno i feel like just because it’s stomach pain and no other symptoms and the nausea comes and goes with a fair amount of time in between he’s like….it’s probably fine? But what I love about a slow build flu is that the other stuff just kinda settles in..I love the idea of a Cyno who (this kinda goes back to the whole getting sick on the night that everyone is out but nari prompt too!!) where all day he’s just like a tiny bit off. He’s getting ready to go out and doing his hair but stops cuz it’s suddenly too much energy. He grabs a drink of water but doesn’t finish it cuz it’s just..not sitting right? But like not even that it’s vaguer. And ofc he’s finding himself dreading nari not being there at first just a little more than normal? Idk the internal feeling of malaise is so interesting to me cuz you’re just sort of dragging… but with the flu it’s unavoidable..

so eventually the pains come more often, and it’s more specifically in the stomach and the nausea kicks up and the dizzy ness too. Maybe it’s by now he’s asking nari to go home, he feels bad and it’s almost like…he can’t escape the gross icky feeling slowly filling him up. His discomfort is just seeping into all parts of him and it’s hard to process why everything (his clothes the lights the room even his favorite card game) feels *bad* que the whole kaveh and alhaitham summoning Tighnari to come get his man cuz he looks likes either gonna puke pass out or cry (or all ??) and they are scared cuz somehow he also looks close to biting one of them…

I ALSO like the idea of a Cyno where they get home and he’s just falling apart (emotional maybe? Frustrated? Overtired?) idk cranky icky baby. His stomach hurts pretty bad now but it still hasn’t reached the point of it being an issue- until the next day. Because there’s something so soul crushing about hoping you’re gonna feel better in the morning and waking up feeling *way worse* and then ofc, the vomiting begins and there’s no way out but through.

ALSO unrelated but related light head Cyno dealing with bad food poisoning and passing out in front of Tighnari for the first time. Idk if I said this before so it so I’m so sorry!! Feel free to ignore if that’s the case lol. But Tighnari calling someone like kaveh or collie or anyone to talk too after Cyno is asleep and confirmed not dying and just breaking down? Yes. But!! Follow it by Cyno calling out to nari from the room, which totally embarrasses him. And Tighnari goes running cuz he’s worried sick but it turns out Cyno wants to comfort HIM! And nari is all no you need sleep but Cyno insists and talks with him until he literally can’t keep his eyes open or maybe the nausea starts to kick up. I just think it would be sweet…Cyno agreeing to not get up with out tighnari there in case he falls and tighnari allowing himself to get some much needed comfort too cuz whole shit that was wild.

I feel like I have more but I’ll chill for now 😂😂 if I remember I’ll speak up FEAR NOT

Oh my word YES!! All this is simply brilliant. And it's so fitting considering I have a Cyno stomach flu prompt to fill next 👀 I might just have to use some of these ideas, if that's alright with you!

I absolutely adore slow build up as well, if it's done right it's just ARGH! I love it! I think it's one of the reasons I enjoyed writing Through the Snow so much. Having a character be primarily fine, but those tiny little hints that something is wrong start to rear their heads. And it's so vague and far between that the character just can't put a finger on something being actually wrong, until things are really wrong.

Ahh all those ideas are so good. I love things just slowly building up the way you described- his arms just starting to feel heavy as he's doing his hair and he just wants to sit for a moment. Deciding to get a glass of water but he can't quite bring himself to finish it. Dreading going out and spending time with friends when that's something he usually loves. Longing for Tighnari's presence in a way that's much too vulnerable-feeling for Cyno's comfort.

AND don't get me started on the going to bed, hoping to sleep it off, waking up feeling worse trope, I freaking love that! Like you said, that absolutely soul-crushing realisation of realising you're not feeling any better, actually no, you feel worse.

It somewhat ties into this vague idea I've been chewing on, I love the idea of a character coming home, (let's go with Tighnari and Cyno, they're the center of attention right now after all) Tighnari coming home, either from a class he couldn't skip or from getting some necessities from the store. And he comes home knowing Cyno isn't feeling well - he's been off for a while now and maybe that morning was the morning he woke up and realised okay he's not feeling good and told Tighnari. And I'm just picturing Tighnari looking for him and finding Cyno looking so vulnerable. The type of vulnerability he usually shows only when he's alone. There are classics like finding him lying on the bathroom floor, or just miserable sitting with his head over the toilet, but the scene I have in head is him just lying on the bed. Curled in on himself, knees drawn up to his stomach, arms close to his chest. His back is to the door and he just looks so small and defeated.

That scene has a very high likelihood of appearing in a fic soon ahh.

And back to what were saying, YES! I remember I had a long ramble a while back about the scenario of Cyno passing out for the first time around Tighnari, and argh, it's another scenario I really want to bring to life in a fic at some point when the story is right for it. I don't want to risk repeating anything I already said in that post (it's late and I'm planning on heading to bed right after I finish typing this out, so my brain definitely isn't at its sharpest) so I'll keep my rambles brief, but I'm so in love with this scenario. And especially Nari in this situation, like he was rattled after that (how couldn't he be??) And I just have this feeling that, even though he's the sick one and this is all entirely outside of his control, Cyno would just have so much immense guilt for 'putting Nari through this.'

ALSO before I wrap up! I did read your follow up ask, and I have thoughts, BUT I'm going to hold off on answering it, just because some of the rambles I wish to ramble relate to my coming fic, and I don't want to spoil anything 👀

[fanfic-scribbles]

Dinner Date Chapter 29

Masterlist

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Overall Story Facts:

Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers

Story Summary: Steve Rogers has a girlfriend. A prickly, generally asocial girlfriend, but they make it work. They have more in common than some people might think.

Quick Facts: Romance – Steve Rogers/Reader – Female Reader

Story Warnings: Reader-insert that verges on OFC, written in 1st person past tense

Chapter 29: Cold and Dark

Chapter Summary: Winter is stupid.

Chapter Word Count: 2166

~

Work was stupid. People were stupid. Wind was stupid. Snow was stupid. The sun going down before dinner was stupid.

Everything was stupid.

I looked around my cold apartment, lit only by the front light I bothered to turn on, and went over my priorities for the rest of the night. Those being: dinner, and bed. Dinner was also stupid. I could go out and get food. I could order food. I could try and scavenge through what I had. But I thought of how much work it was just to figure out dinner, and how tired I was, and decided, fuck it, fuck dinner, I was going to bed. Never mind it wasn’t even seven yet. I was an adult and it was Friday so who cared if I fucked up my sleep schedule a little. Steve was off at some super-secret training thing, (“It’s basically a work seminar, I don’t know why Fury has to be so dramatic about everything,” Steve had opined a week ago, with nary a glimmer of self-recognition), so I had no reason to stay up, and if I slept then I wouldn’t be hungry, and saving myself a few calories was probably a good thing, right?

My stomach grumbled but I ignored it and trudged to my room. Also, if I went to bed I could just curl up under the covers and save some money on heating, which was also good. Saving money, saving calories, saving energy. Good fucking job.

I briefly considered warming up first with a shower and washing away the week, but it too ended up seeming like way more work than I wanted. Instead, I dressed for bed and slid under cold sheets to distract me from getting even more negative and grouchy than I already was. When I did eventually warm up I didn’t really sleep, but I did get to doze a little. Enough that I had a dream of Steve coming home, walking into my apartment like he belonged there (which made me smile), kneeling next to my bed, putting his cold hand on my face–

I blinked open my eyes, because that felt– real. Wait. This was real. “Steve?” I asked and took his hand in both of mine to try and warm it up. I tried to lift my head but I felt groggy still, so I let it fall back on the pillow as I woke up fully. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d surprise you,” he said and flicked on the bedside lamp so I could better see his worried frown. Or maybe so he could better see me, though he was definitely getting the bad end of that deal. “Are you sick?”

“No.” I sighed, and then immediately broke into a yawn. “It’s just…cold. And I’m gross. And kind of miserable.” I considered moving. “Give me a second and I’ll get up.”

“You don’t have to,” he said and kissed my cheek.

“Are you gonna crawl in too?” I asked hopefully. I was not up for anything resembling physical activity, but I was totally down to cling to Steve like a limpet and suck up all his heat.

“In a minute. I’m going to take care of a few things first,” he said and stood. “Did you have dinner yet?”

“It’s too much work,” I said and curled up again. “I’m fine without it.”

He stayed there for a moment. “You aren’t going to eat at all?”

“It’s one meal. It won’t kill me,” I said. My stomach grumbled and I pinched it. Traitor.

He hesitated longer but before I could reassure him that I was fine, I was fully stacked for the winter (as if he could forget), he said, “Okay. I’ll be right back,” and left.

While he was out in the living room doing who-knew-what, I flipped on the other bedside lamp and scooted over to try and warm his spot a little bit so he wouldn’t have the shock of discomfort that was cold sheets. Because I was the best girlfriend ever.

Steve came back in just his pants and tank top, carrying a couple of drinks and a…tray? A tray that was covered with the miscellaneous snacks I’d had floating around in my cupboard and fridge, apparently. Steve set it down next to me as he slipped off his jeans to change into his sweats, and I lifted the paper towels to see what he had used for this impromptu snack party. “Oh shit; I was wondering where my baking sheet went,” I said and picked up the tray to hold it steady as he slipped under the covers. “I can make cookies again.”

That felt like a stupid thing to say, considering I couldn’t even do the minimal work of ordering a dinner for someone else to cook, but Steve smiled at me and I forgot to be mad at myself. “I’m glad you came to see me,” I said and leaned over to give and receive a kiss. “I’m sorry it’s not a nice homecoming.”

“I think it’s great. I ordered some food for us, but right now, sitting in bed with snacks sounds like the best thing in the world,” he said, took the tray onto his lap, and handed me one of the bottles he’d carried in. He gave me his best pleading eyes and added, “Will you share with me?”

I held my stomach tighter. Mostly-unbroken chips, a fancy trail mix I’d bought on a whim, some budget cookies I was too cheap to throw out– he’d even pulled together some crackers, torn up some leftover lunchmeat, and added some cheese for a poor man’s charcuterie. “I’m sorry you had to do all this work when you just got home,” I said as I took one of the cookies.

“I’m the one mooching off your apartment and food,” he said, snagging a couple pieces of cheese.

“I’m glad you are though. I’m always happy to have you here.” I pressed my forehead to his shoulder. “But you put the snacks together, ordered dinner…” And all I had done was crawl into bed.

“I had a good idea for dinner. You know I don’t mind,” he said, briefly pressing his head to mine as he took a cracker and stacked it with some meat and cheese. “I know dinner is a lot to think of sometimes, but you still need to eat.”

“Eh.”

“Hey.” He gently bonked his head to mine, almost making me drop the cracker and cheese I had just grabbed. “No skipping meals.”

“I didn’t want to,” I said. “But it’s not like it’d kill me. I’m not doing a whole lot that needs the calories.”

“Existing requires calories,” Steve said, like he was sharing an implacable truth.

Well…he kinda was. “Existing is stupid,” I said as a I munched and snuggled into him. After a moment, though, I reconsidered my words, and quickly swallowed my bite. “That came out sounding worse than I actually meant it.”

“Yeah, I got the meaning by your grumbling,” he chuckled and kissed my head. “Winter’s really getting to you, huh?”

“It’s stupid. And cold. And dark. And stupid.” I sighed as he rubbed my back. “And I’m going to miss it when summer is hot and bright and stupid. Seasons are terrible.”

“They’ve got their downsides,” Steve said. “But right now, winter is for warm blankets, and eating food. So we’ve got the right idea.”

“If you say so.” I kept sliding down though, until I was laying only slightly propped, and able to semi-burrow into his side. He slipped me another cracker, and I ate it. “I do like this,” I admitted and pushed my head closer into him. Laying down, resting my eyes and snacking with Steve felt…cozy. “How was your super-secret seminar?”

He sighed so dramatically, and then, without any further prompting, proceeded to tell me as much as he could, considering that the super-secret seminar was actually a super-secret mission, (“oops,” as Natasha had said), and he ended up being a decoy so Natasha and ‘someone else’ could do the real work–

He only stopped complaining to go get the food when it arrived, and though I would have been content to just eat crackers and listen to him bitch, I managed to pull myself up and eagerly take my container when he handed it to me. The tray was nearly empty at that point so it was easy enough for him to brush the crumbs aside so he could use it as a makeshift lap table for his multiple containers, and then he was right back to telling me how bad it was to have to mingle with rich people who were maybe doing something evil, how boring it all was (the number one sin when it came to Steve Rogers, if you listened close enough), and how at one point he’d dared Clint to attempt a trick shot off a fire alarm with a rubber band and a tartlet, but they’d gotten caught and yelled at about it.

“How was the food?” I asked, even as I shut the lid on my empty container.

“It was fine,” he said and flashed a smile at me. “Nothing like here.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I bet socialites have nothing on my store-brand crackers and cheese squares.”

“Well, they certainly don’t have anything on the company,” he said and pulled me in with one arm for a brief hug. Then he stuck the trash from dinner in the plastic delivery bag and picked up the tray. “I’ll be right back,” he promised and left.

I should have felt bad for making him clean up, but in actuality I felt better, even if truly tired for real now, and I dusted and picked up any stray crumbs before he returned. I lifted the blanket for him to get in, and finally, finally, I was able to attach myself to him like a strong current was threatening to wash me away.

“I’m glad you came home safe,” I said. However, one thing poked at the back of my brain still. A question I was too afraid to ask because of the potential for embarrassment. And yet, it would not leave, so I sighed, hid my face in the space between him and the pillow, and asked, “Did I leave the door unlocked again?”

He froze. “…No.”

I perked up, because my embarrassment potential was officially gone. “Did you break in?” I didn’t know whether I should laugh or be mad. I was…definitely leaning more towards the first, in all honesty.

He turned pink. Deep pink. “Natasha’s been teaching me a few tricks,” he mumbled. “I tried it on my place first. I swear I didn’t break anything.” He shrugged one shoulder and added, with a little half-smile, “Well…not literally, in any case.”

I stared at him a little longer, still torn between offense and hilarity. Then I reached back, snagged my phone, and opened up my texts with Natasha.

Me: YOU ARE A BAD INFLUENCE

I expected the next message to ask me for clarification, if only because ‘which thing’ would be very Natasha. However, clairvoyancy was also, somehow, very Natasha.

Natasha: I’m putting ‘corrupting Captain America’ onto my résumé Natasha: Not because I can sell it, but because I find it funny

Well. She had a point. And I, actually, had a way to circumvent that issue.

Me: Well from now on he can only use that party trick on people who aren’t me Natasha: Spoilsport

I sent back a bunch of kissy-face emojis and hopped out of bed before Steve could ask about our conversation. He did protest for a moment but I went to my key dish, grabbed the spare, and zoomed right back into bed.

“Here,” I said and gave him the key, quashing down the butterflies in my stomach. “I probably should have given you this a while ago. Also don’t lose it because if I lose mine I’ll need it back.”

“You make this so romantic,” he chuckled, but he gripped the key firmly in his hand.

I rolled my eyes, but I leaned over him, supporting myself partially with a hand on his chest, and kissed him gently; then I brushed my nose across his, once, and then again for good measure. “You’re always welcome here,” I said. I watched him turn soft and asked, “How was that?”

“Pretty damn good,” he said, set the key aside, and flicked off the last remaining light before he pulled me in closer. I snuggled in to rest my head against his chest, (maybe my actual favorite pillow), and let out a sigh as my body relaxed without me even having to try.

“Maybe winter isn’t as stupid as I thought,” I admitted as the dark settled around us.

“Only a little stupid?” Steve said.

“Only a little stupid,” I agreed, and fell asleep where the cold no longer touched me.

~

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

[btsqualityy]

Y.O.U (Years Of Us), Chapter 2: “Gotta do what I gotta do”.

Jimin x half black/half Korean OC

Genre/Rating: 21+, established relationship, idol!AU, smut, angst, and fluff

Summary: Kamaria gives Jimin an answer to his question. Kamaria and Nari have a conversation that only best friends can have with each other.

Warnings: A passing mention of a drug overdose and mention of rehab.

WC: 2.1K

Author’s Note: The songs mentioned in this series are, of course, real life songs but for the sake of the story, we’re gonna pretend as if they’re not lol! Hope you enjoy it!

Song Of The Chapter: Michael Jackson- You Rock My World

8 YEARS AGO

Once Jimin’s debut solo album, Here I Am, along with the accompanying title track ‘You Rock My World’ that Kamaria had starred in the music video for came out, the response was astronomical. Jimin found himself shattering every record that seemed to exist for a solo artist and Kamaria found herself dealing with the newfound fame of having both a number one film and staring in the music video to a number one song and album at the same time.

As a way of thanking her for her involvement in the music video, Jimin had gotten in touch with Kamaria’s manager, Nari, to invite her out to dinner. 

“Well, well, well,” Kamaria smiled as Jimin breezed through the front doors of Ryunique. “I would’ve been fashionably late too, had I known we were doing that.”

“Sorry,” Jimin apologized sheepishly. “Everything has just been so crazy since the album came out, I’ve barely been able to breathe.”

“I was joking, Jimin,” she laughed and after a beat of silence, Jimin found himself laughing as well. After the owner of Ryunique, Ryujin, showed them to their table, they quickly ordered their food and drinks before falling into casual conversation. 

“So, I invited you out tonight because I wanted to thank you,” Jimin began. “In all the reviews of the music video, people are mentioning how you made it more than just a typical video with your dance skills and your charisma.”

“Well, it was only possible for me to do that because the song is that good,” Kamaria responded.

“And I wanted to thank you for that too,” he added. “For some reason, when you told me that you knew the song and album would be a hit....I believed you and you turned out to be right.”

“Music is in my blood.”

“Speaking of that, I didn’t know that Choi Sora was your mother and that Quincy Jacobs is your father,” Jimin mentioned. “Though now that I’m seeing you again, I want to slap myself because you look just like her.”

“Yeahhh, wish I could say that I haven’t heard that all my life,” Kamaria joked. 

“You don’t like to talk about her?”

“Given the fact that for most people, she’s almost as well known for overdosing as she is for being an icon in Kpop?” She laughed bitterly. “Not really.” An awkward silence fell over the two of them then, Jimin not having expected that reaction from her.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured and Kamaria sighed heavily.

“You don’t have to be sorry, I didn’t mean to snap like that,” she told him. “She’s my mom and I love her dearly but I want to be known for my gift more than just being her daughter.”

“I understand that,” Jimin nodded. “That’s why I chose to do my solo debut now, so that I can establish an identity outside of Bangtan.” 

“You’ve definitely done that,” Kamaria smiled, making Jimin do the same. 

“So, what are you going to do now? Another film? TV shows?”

“What makes you think I have anything planned?”

“Please,” Jimin snickered. “You’re signed to SM Entertainment and if I know anything about them, they’re always looking for a way to capitalize off any hint of success.”

“This is true,” she admitted with a giggle. “I actually had a meeting today about my next album. They’re giving me about a month to write some material and then I go into the studio.”

“Well, since you helped me out, I’d love to return the favor,” he offered. “I have a duet that I scrapped from my album. Maybe you could take a look at it and tweak it to your liking?”

“That sounds amazing. One condition, though.”

“What’s that?”

“That you tweak it with me and we record it together,” Kamaria said and Jimin chuckled. 

“I’d love to.”

..............................................

An asshole. A wide, gaping asshole that had been fucked with the force of a thousand elephant dicks. 

That’s exactly what Jimin looked and sounded like right now. 

“Bubs?” Jimin called, reaching out and snapping his fingers in front of Kamaria’s face. “Did you hear me?”

She couldn’t believe the audacity and gall of the man sitting in front of her, having the nerve to fucking ask her to-

“D-did you just ask me t-to,-”

“Be my surrogate, yes,” he confirmed. 

“Are you clinically fucking insane?!” She spat and Jimin instantly shushed her, glancing around himself to make sure that none of the people sitting at the tables around them had heard her. “Do not shush me right now, bitch!”

“Stop yelling,” he hissed. 

“I cannot have a baby with you,” she shot back. “You’re married, even if you don’t want to be! You can’t go off and have a baby with your ex-girlfriend! What the hell do you think Hye-ja is gonna say when she finds out that you chose me?”

“Well, Hye-ja doesn’t even know that you and I dated for three years,” he revealed. “So in her mind, you’d just be helping me out because you’re a close friend, which is what everyone thinks about us anyways.”

“Everyone else thinking that is different,” Kamaria sighed. “When we were together, we made the joint decision to keep our relationship a secret. You don’t think that you wanting me to have your child necessitates you telling your wife about what we had?”

“No because I know how she’d react.”

“She’d react like any woman with a fucking backbone would!” She exclaimed. “She’d be rightfully pissed that her husband of less than six months went out and asked his ex-girlfriend to carry his child!”

“She kept the fact that she didn’t want children from me, even after I explained her to that I did when we were still dating,” Jimin explained. “So I think it’s fair if I keep this to myself.”

“I swear, you turn into the most spiteful man on the face of the planet when you don’t get what you want,” Kamaria chuckled as she set her elbows on the table and ran her hands through her hair. “You’re 33 years old and the best solution your brain could up with in response to your wife not wanting to have kids was to have me be your fucking surrogate?”

“Bubs, come on,” Jimin pleaded. “You’re the only person that I can see myself having children with.”

“You’re so full of shit,” she snapped. “You obviously didn’t feel that way when you married Hye-ja.”

“Unless you really want to have that conversation with me, then you should stop while you’re ahead.”

“Fine. Here’s a question for you though: did you really think I was going to agree to having a child with you and not have any ties to it?” Kamaria questioned. “Because that’s what surrogacy implies.”

“No, we’d share custody but we can figure all that out once you’re actually pregnant,” Jimin said. 

“Oh, I’m not agreeing,” she clarified with a laugh. “I’m just trying to understand your fucked way of thinking. Another thing, how was I supposed to get pregnant? Because I’m a lot of things but a homewrecker isn’t one of them.”

“Ha, 21 year old Kamaria would disagree with you,” he laughed and she rolled her eyes at the situation that he was referencing. 

“Mina was a bitch and she deserved it but that’s not the point,” she huffed. “Look, I don’t know what the fuck is up with you but if you think I’m going to have a baby with you just so you can take it home to the bitch that you married to essentially get back at me, then you’re sadly fucking mistaken.”

“Bubs,” Jimin said, gasping when Kamaria got up from her seat so abruptly that the table shook, causing her wine glass to topple over. “Kamaria, please.”

“You know, just when I think you can’t get anymore fucking selfish, you always prove me wrong,” Kamaria spat before turning around and storming out of the restaurant. Ignoring all of the camera flashes, she shielded her face until her bodyguard opened the car door for her and she was able to get inside. 

“How could I be so stupid?” She chastised herself as she leaned back against her seat, her bodyguard pulling away from the curb and into the streets. 

Well, that was a waste of a good ass dress.

..............................................

“I think you should do it,” Nari shrugged and Kamaria snorted loudly. The two of them were in the living room of Kamaria’s penthouse, enjoying their weekly movie night complete with wine, popcorn, and chocolates. 

“He’s married, Nari,” Kamaria reminded her.

“If he had to come and ask his ex-girlfriend to carry his child, clearly it’s not going that well,” Nari pointed out. 

“He’s the one that married her out of spite,” Kamaria replied. “I am not going to save Jimin’s ass, once again, because he made yet another decision that he didn’t think through. It’s about time his impulsivity bit him in the ass.”

“But he loves you and had you not rejected him, you would’ve been the one he married instead of her.”

“I couldn’t!” Kamaria whined. “He had just gotten out of rehab, Nari!”

“That’s bullshit and you know it as well as I do,” Nari replied calmly. “You and Jimin were together for three years, as soon as he got back from his enlistment, and he asked you to marry him at least as many times as that. Hell, he probably asked you more than that because that man loves you. Now, I’m not saying you didn’t have valid reasons to turn him down because you did but the relationship between the two of you wasn’t all bad, either.”

“It’s easier if I act like it was,” Kamaria murmured as she picked up her glass of white wine. “It helps the fact that he went off and married someone else hurt less.” 

“I know sweetie,” she sighed, reaching over and grabbing Kamaria’s free hand in hers. “And I know how much you were hurt by what he did to you.”

“You were there so of course you know,” Kamaria chuckled ruefully, making Nari laugh. 

“I was,” she nodded as she reached up and wiped the tears that had begun to fall from her best friend’s eyes. “But I also know what the two of you had and how he felt about you; Hell, how he still feels about you. He texts me at least once a week and asks how you’re doing.”

“What?” Kamaria gasped. That was news to her. 

“He asked me to not tell you because he knew you were angry with him but he was still concerned about you,” Nari explained. “Now, what you said before was right. His impulsivity is a downfall for him, it’s true and it’s gotten him into a relationship that he didn’t think through but think about it. Jimin’s one of the biggest stars in the world who could have any woman carry his child if he chose to but he wants you.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside?”

“No but it should remind you of what you two had,” Nari replied. “Who does he have in his will?”

“Me,” Kamaria sighed. 

“Who is his mother leaving her expensive china to when she passes?”

“Me,” Kamaria echoed. 

“And who is the woman that he wrote an entire album of songs for?” 

“Me,” Kamaria finished. 

“One last question,” Nari said. “Can you genuinely see yourself ever having children with someone who isn’t Jimin?” And that had Kamaria retreating into her mind for a few seconds. While Jimin hadn’t been her first boyfriend or even the first man she had given herself to, he was her first love and the love they had shared was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. 

The man had his faults, many of which Kamaria was intimately familiar with but the thought of creating a family with someone who wasn’t Jimin had never entered her mind. Even know, when her heart was aching from his betrayal and she wanted nothing more than to gauge his eyes out and feed them to him, it was still him. 

It was always going to be, at least in some part of her disjointed heart. 

“No,” Kamaria finally admitted. 

“I know it’s unconventional but it might be worth it to think it over,” Nari shrugged. 

“I can’t, at least not right now,” Kamaria shook her head. “I have to get through promo for ‘Taming’ and then I want to get back into the studio to finish the album.”

“Oh speaking of promo, you have that in depth interview next week,” Nari told her. “It’s your first one since Jimin got married so what are you going to say if they ask about him and you?”

“The same thing I’ve been saying for the last eight years anytime they ask about us,” she shrugged. “We’re friends and that’s all we’ve ever been.”

“Given everything that’s happened though, you think you’re gonna be able to lie like that?”

“I have no choice,” Kamaria replied with a shrug. “Just gotta do what I gotta do.”

..............................................

Tag List: @dunixxd @namaslaylife @shabbamadapot​

[chvndlr]

task seventeen: spring forward

1. first things first: do you like spring?

Yeah, it's fine I guess. Not my favorite but I don't really have anything against it either.

2. what is your favorite thing about spring?

Look, my favorite season is winter. I like the cold. I like the snow. I like that nobody's trying to get me to hang out at the beach. But I gotta admit the sunshine and the warmer (but not hot) weather feel pretty good.

3. what is your least favorite thing about spring?

I'm gonna be real with you. I fucking hate summer. Spring means we're that much closer to it and that I have another, like, six months before it starts to cool down again.

4. do you have a vegetable / produce / fruit garden?

No. I've thought about starting one, it'd be way better for my cooking than being at the mercy of whatever's in stores. But it's a lot of work and I don't think I've ever kept a plant alive in my life.

5. how about flower beds, or things planted in the house?

My house gives off a certain vibe. That vibe says "I'm 22 and I've never lived anywhere but a college dorm" which, despite not being factually true, feels accurate. Learning how to not kill a houseplant would really go against that aesthetic.

6. regardless of what you do or do not plant, are you good at growing plants? have a green thumb?

I think I've done a very good job explaining I'm fucking terrible at growing shit.

7. what’s your favorite flower or plant?

They're all pretty much the same....(Don't tell Nari I said that)

8. what’s your favorite scent that you associate with spring?

Floral scents. But not like real flowers, like candles.

9. is there a sound that you associate with spring time?

I guess birds chirping? You don't hear them much all winter, cause most of them leave and come back, so when you start to hear them a lot it really feels like spring

10. do you prefer sunny mornings or rainy afternoons?

Rainy afternoons. I'm not usually up early enough in the mornings to be happy about the sunlight coming into my house.

11. favorite thing to do on a sunny, warm spring day?

Take Jenna on a walk

12. favorite thing to do on a rainy, chilly spring day?

Stay inside and invite a friend over to play video games all day

13. do you celebrate Easter? any traditions you follow for it?

Eh, not really. My family was never big into holidays, so they were never a big deal to me as an adult either. No traditions or anything. And it's not really a holiday people get together and party for like Halloween or St. Patrick's Day

14. regardless of if you do or don’t: favorite Easter candy?

Anything chocolate-peanut butter. So Reece's I guess?

15. what other springtime holidays do you observe?

Are there even other spring time holidays? Other than St. Patrick's Day, I mean. Like who the fuck is out here celebrating Memorial Day?

16. favorite place in Merrock to visit in the springtime?

I've been here a couple years but I don't know. Pine Grove Gardens make for good photos in the spring, so I guess we'll go with that.

17. the spring bugs are coming out: do you rescue them and let them out of the house, or grab the nearest shoe?

Shoe. I don't need them getting back in the house the way they came in and fucking up any fruit that's on the counter.

18. are you a big spring cleaner?

Yeah. I didn't come to Merrock with much stuff, so I don't have much to declutter yet. But I am big into making sure every room is deep cleaned at least twice a year - in the spring and in the fall.

19. do you switch over your wardrobe from cold weather to warm weather clothes?

I saw a meme about switching from your winter blacks to your summer blacks, which sums up how I feel. I mostly wear jeans and tshirts year round, so all I really do is put my thicker jackets away for a few months.

20. how about the house: does your decor change for the spring season? do you rearrange furniture?

Yeah, I tend to switch out my decor every few months so it doesn't feel boring. It's been awhile since I rearranged furniture though. I like where it's at now.

21. what color makes you think ’spring’?

Pastels, right? Isn't that the big thing every year? The easter bunny is usually made in pastels, I notice a lot more pastel clothing when I'm doing photoshoots too

22. describe your perfect spring outfit:

Same thing I wear every day. I don't really think about my clothes unless I need to dress up more. And even then, I just make sure I look nice enough without putting a whole lot of energy into it. most adorable looking baby animal that you ever did see?

23. what’s a drink that makes you think of spring?

Mint julep. Couldn't explain the connection to you, but I seem to have them more in the spring than any other time of year

24. how about a snack?

Easy, peeps.

[colleitheglidingchampionofsumeru]

Genshin impact boys x Reader/Traveler (M4A)

You two get in a fight and he finds you at a tavern

Warings:angst,fluff? (let me know if I missed anything)

Characters:Venti,Childe,Zhongli,Tighnari (Diluc is one of the characters in but I'm not doing him so is Kaveh)

Word count:1102

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

Venti

You Two were arguing of how much he has been drinking this week it was over 20 drinks of his wine he likes and you worried about him he than said "your know what just go I don't need you telling me how much I drink" you were honestly hurt all you really wanted was to help him try and understand he was drinking to much you than left closing the door and you walked to Angle's share you opened the door to it and sat down the guy working there wasn't the sane it was Diluc you sighed and sat down and put your head down he got you what your usual drink and said "don't fall asleep" you nodded and looked at the drink and your drank it here and there you were talking to Diluc and Venti came in you moved seats and moved your cup and looked away from him he made small talk and Diluc said "if you two start to argue I'm kicking you out" after a bit you and venti made up and he didn't drink for the rest of the week and slowed down a bit for you

Childe

You Two were arguing he was working a bit to much and you just wanted to spend time with him you pushed him out of your way saying "fine if you want to work more than work more Childe" and you walked out you heard him say wait but you left fast after a bit he walked in the tavern and you looked at him and grabbed your drink and moved he moved to you grabbing your hand before you could leave you set your drink down and slapped his hand away and said "leave me alone Childe" he dragged you to your house You tried to stop him but he than said when you got to your house he said "I asked for two weeks off" you looked at him and said "why would you?" He took your hand and kissed it like he was a prince and you were the princess he said "because I love you and I'm sorry" you rolled your eyes and smiled

Zhongli

You two were Arguing about well you don't know what know he loomed at you and well he gave you the feeling like he wanted to hit or kill something and well you were the only thing in his way you got scared when he moved his hand up you moved a bit and said "i-i'll go before you get- mad..." and you left when you did he rubbed his face and yelled "wait!" he left you be for a a while you went to the tavern and well yoi wanted to drink but you didn't you got some juice Zhongli came in he asked you to look at him you did and he had some chocolate and your favorite flowers you sighed and said "Zhongli what did you-" Zhongli cut you off and said "I knew you felt scared and I didn't want that so I got you these" you than asked "but I thought only Sumeru or at least to you the good kind" "yea I know" he said you than replied with "you went to sumeru to get chocolate?" He nodded and kissed your head and said "I'm sorry" you shook your head and took the things

Tighnari

He was getting a bit mad how now mostly everyone was getting hurt and he was not having it you tried to calm him down for him not to get to mad but he wasn't having it and you left you went to do something to buy past time but you ended up getting hurt in the arm and you didn't want Tighnari to get mad even more mad so you left it and tried to hide it but we'll he found out and got mad he was dealing with your arm and you kept moving away scared that he was gonna to hurt you he grabbed your arm and pulled it down and said "stop just because I am mad doesn't mean I am going to hurt you just means it will be more work" you put your head down and said "I'm sorry nari I know it as been hard I just wanted to leave you alone do something else I didn't know I would get hurt and I was trying to make it easier for you" he took bandages and wrapped your arm and said "well your not leaving" you said "but I have my-" "no you don't" he cut you off and got up you kept telling him you needed things to do and he yelled at you saying "FINE you want to go than go I can't stop you you get hurt I DON'T CARE"" and he left you had your head down you waited for him to see if you left and he didn't you left and went to the tavern and saw kaveh there you sat next to him and hit your head on the table he said "Tighnari isn't going to like that" you than said "why would he care? He doesn't care anyways" at the time Tighnari walked in and watched it for a while with you not knowing "I'll have to leave soon- maybe go see Alhaitham not go to far from the rain forest" kaveh said "why don't you have missions to do?" You said "Tighnari doesn't want me leaving he may not care if I get hurt but I don't want to get him mad- I just hate fighting with him last time we did fight he didn't talk to me for a week even when I tried to talk to him..." Kaveh said "uhh traveler he is right there" you looked up and looked at Tighnari and shot up saying "i-i was just hanging out here for a bit-" he was looking at you dead in the eyes you got scared and said "rain forest now" you looked at him and said said "na-" he grabbed your hand and dragged you there and made you sit down" he said "listen I do care if you get hurt I was just mad people have been getting hurt more and more lately and I didn't know I said that until I calmed down and when I came back you were gone" he sat next to you and said "I'm sorry" you looked at him and his ears were down and you hugged him he hugged back and hid tail started to wag a bit after

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 20: Koi Hitoyo

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Time to commit a little B&E, no big deal... probably.

This chapter is a bit longer than the others, had fun with it tho. Been crunching w/ writing to try and get enough written before I go out of town next week. Should keep me sane while I'm traveling, hopefully! Also all the titles for the Lao chapters (except blackout) are acid black cherry songs. They were my vibe for this part. Back to Liu on Thursday. Miss that guy.

Part 19 Part 21 Chapter Index

Kung Lao carefully shook your shoulder to wake you up. You fluttered your eyes open and wiped the sleepiness out of them. The sky was dark, and the stars were remarkably bright. You admired the way they twinkled, and the subtlety of the colors sprinkled throughout the darkness. You felt a little guilty for falling asleep but also felt much better. Apparently, you’d been exhausted.

“The coast is clear, I think.” Kung Lao whispered. The sneaking had already begun. The silence of the night was overwhelming, and it felt odd to break it. “The rest of the visitors left a little bit after you fell asleep. There’s been no sound or light since then. They put out the lanterns and all is still.”

“Did I sleep too long? I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“I can be emotionally draining, I’m told, so I figured you needed it.” He shrugged and you nudged him as you had grown to do affectionately. He looked tired, too. Even if he said it was fine, you felt bad for falling asleep. He could have easily woken you up, though. It had been nice of him to let you rest. The confusion that had overwhelmed you earlier could be put aside for the time being. You had work to do. A goal to focus on.

“They didn’t even close the gate.” You felt suddenly guilty about this too. Breaking into a sacred place felt wrong but you had to get whatever it was that creature had hidden in the well. If you had just talked to the monks about this like you’d wanted to then you would have likely had permission to take a look but no. Instead, you’d gone with elaborate fake date ruse.

“I don’t imagine they expect to be robbed.”

“Please don’t phrase it that way.”

“I don’t imagine they expect to be respectfully intruded upon.”

“Better.”

Kung Lao’s high spirits helped your mood. You really did enjoy spending time with him even if he drove you completely up the wall. You snuck back inside the gates and Kung Lao slipped an arm around your waist very suddenly.

“Don’t panic.”

“I wasn’t going to, but you do know the fake date portion of this adventure is over, right?”

“I’m just going to get us a bit closer. Lots of flat ground to cover. Easily spotted.” He took his hat off and threw it toward the shrine where it whizzed through the air. Then with a flicker of motion, you felt the floor open beneath you and you were consumed by white light and fell. You closed your eyes tight and when you opened them again, you were popping back up out of the ground with a leap. Kung Lao had jumped right back into his hat. He released your and tucked the strap back beneath his chin. You watched him for a moment with reverence. That was awesome. If you could travel like that then you would never stop. Remarkable. You’d traveled by both lightning and hat today.

You walked up the steps to the shrine, careful to be as quiet as possible. Kung Lao pushed the doors open and winced. They hadn’t locked it. This felt wrong, incredibly morally wrong. You had to remind yourself that whatever that wicked man had hidden there, he had done so with malintent. Removing it would be a good thing for them and the shrine.

There was nary a soul in sight even as you sat and listened within the entry room. There were no footsteps beyond, not even a single candle was lit within. The monks, if they were still awake, were much further within the shrine, leaving this area to them. You slid the door to the next room open. The central corridor. It made the pit in your stomach open back up.

When you closed your eyes, you tried to recall the vision without allowing it to consume you. You blindly grasped for Kung Lao’s hand which he offered you. Then you walked to the point where you recalled the creature walking to before he’d placed the mysterious ringing something into the well. The ground beneath the man was dirt. It seemed so obvious now that it had been built over.

The ringing in your vision began and so you opened your eyes to be free of it. Kung Lao had let you take the lead but had stayed at your side. You were standing right before the dip in the floor that had been cleared out for the evening. There had been a kotatsu there earlier. Now it was just wooden floorboards, and a few rolled up tatami mats.

Kung Lao let go of your hand and then stepped into the dip and crouched, brushing his fingers over the seams in the wood. His fingertips caught a circular latch, and he pulled a sizable hatch upward. You walked around the hatch and helped him set the lid back quietly. You waited for any sign of movement in the corridors branching off but you were utterly alone.

“You’re not gonna like this.” Kung Lao leapt into the hatch. You joined him and sighed. More wooden flooring. Great.

“Well, at least it’ll be an easy fix?” You shrugged. Kung Lao nodded. You appreciated that you were working together to try and justify your actions. Together you pried up the floorboards one at a time, careful of the sound it made. Sure enough, just beneath the boards, was an old, short stone well. It reminded you of something from a horror movie. Worse than that, the air felt wrong. You got the worst feeling in your stomach. Kung Lao shivered as if he could sense something too. You cleared the area of boards and then stepped together onto the dirt surrounding the well. “This is it.” The words made you shiver as they left your mouth.

“It doesn’t look terribly deep. I can see the bottom from here. Little bit of water though which will be gross.”

“I’ll do it. This was my vision.”

“No, you’re too short.” He tapped the top of your head playfully.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I’m going to have to insist that you don’t go into the spooky well after almost throwing yourself into the blood lake. Too many horror movie things happening to you today.”

“I can’t argue with you on that.”

Kung Lao grasped the side of the well and then lowered himself inside. He made a face of disgust as his feet slapped into the water, but it barely went up to his ankle. The well was only a little bit taller than he was, thankfully. He could very easily pull himself out of if something went wrong.

He crouched and searched the water. You were grateful that it wasn’t you down there. “I found something” With a heave he pulled it free of the mud. “Heavier than I expected it to be.” He lifted an old, wet, bronze bell about a foot in length. It had intricate carvings all along the sides but was so covered with muck that you couldn’t make any of them out. Kung Lao held it out for you to take. You did and then Kung Lao grasped the edge of the well and began to pull himself up.

But when you picked up the bell there was a hollow, sad ringing. Silence fell very suddenly and quickly, as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. You and Kung Lao had just enough time to exchange a worried glance before there was an earsplitting pop and you were both thrown from the well and the hole that you’d made in the floor. You ducked low and managed to roll back only a few feet from the well, but Kung Lao was thrown ass over tea kettle right through the door that you’d carefully slid closed on your way in.

“Lao!” You shouted but didn’t turn away from the well, holding the bell tight to you.

“I’m okay!” He yelled from somewhere behind you.

There was a sticky sounding thud and you dared to get to your feet and peer over the edge of the dip in the floor and to the well. A huge hand with four claws grasped the side of the well, followed by another. The creature that followed was dripping in something sticky, thick, and brown. It smelled like tar. With a spit-slinging roar, it swung its arms wildly and the tar shifted and stretched before becoming hooked swords that the creature grasped. Oh. A monster. Was this really happening?

“Kung Lao?” You said nervously. “It’s got shang gou!” There was no more sneaking. Clutching the bell, you stepped back cautiously and braced yourself to be ready to dodge. The creature leapt out of the hole and landed with another roar. You leapt out of its range as it sliced toward you. It leapt over you and you ducked and rolled as the blades crashed into the wooden floor behind you. The bell was cradled against your chest. You yelped as the creature smashed its foot into the ground, destroying the wood beneath it and sending you rattling to the side.

This was fine. Everything was fine.

You just had to fight a huge tar monster without any hands.

Great.

You ducked beneath the blades as they swung at you again and then kicked the creature but it grasped your foot and lifted you into the air, throwing you clear to the back of the room. You crashed into the wood and smacked onto the floor with a wheeze. The wind was knocked out of you but what was worse was the ringing of the bell.

It rang and rang and rang and it hurt your ears terribly. You shouted to try and drown out the sound but nothing you did helped. You forced yourself to your feet and found that the bell had not only hurt your ears but across the way, Kung Lao was crouched, holding his ears and the tar creature was swatting the air arounds its head to try and chase off the sound.

The ringing began to fade, and you could get up. Your ears felt like they were bleeding. You grasped the clapper within the bell to keep it from ringing again. Then you circled around the creature to get a better angle at it. Kung Lao threw his hat and the blade sliced clean through the creature’s arm and it howled in agony. The hat returned to him, and he twisted and slipped it back on his head then fluidly changed stances and waited for his next opportunity to strike.

As he rushed the creature with a flip through the air, the arm he’d cut off had been replaced with a stretch of tar. Kung Lao ducked but was knocked back and then grabbed and thrown again through the doors to the entryway, through the front door and outside. If you hadn’t been worried about him then you might have laughed.

You hurried past the creature, bell clutched close and tried to rush to his aid. The creature grasped at you, then swung its one remaining blade. You rolled beneath its grasp and tucked the bell beneath your arm and shook out your right hand. You could do this, you just had to not overthink it. Much to your surprise, as if drawing a line with a quill, there was a swell of ink and the jian appeared in your right hand. You swung it at the ready and turned toward the creature, bracing yourself.

It roared again and rushed toward you with its remaining blade. You knocked the blade to the side and twirled out of the way before slicing through the creature’s stomach. Tar bubbled out of the wound and dripped onto the floor in piles of sludge, but the creature wasn’t slowed. You ducked beneath its swing and when you struck again the creature grasped your blade and pulled you closer, your feet sliding against the floor like it was nothing.

The creature yelled in your face and with a yell back, you pulled the blade through its flesh but it swung and backhanded you so hard that you were thrown back. You rolled back to your feet but the creature jumped just in front of you and you lost your balance and kept your desperate grasp on the bell and your jian.

You leapt back but were grabbed around the throat and lifted off your feet. The jian abandoned you and you grasped at the tarry hand to try and pull free. The smell was horrendous and the bell was ringing, muted, beneath your arm. You thrashed and kicked, trying to twist at pressure points, but the creature wasn’t weak the way that people would usually be. Your vision blurred and spots formed before your eyes. You tried to will anything to come of your arcana, anything. Liu had said he thought you could perform mimicry. This would have been a great time for that hat to come whizzing by to save you but there was no sign of Kung Lao.

Shit! Was he okay? You lifted the bell enough to let it free and cried out in agony at the sound. The creature hashed its maw and swung its free hand to try and rid itself of it. The ringing was horrible and if you didn’t get away soon, you were going to pass out.

Then something tore through the creature’s arm, black and spinning. You fell to the ground with a thud and the hand dripped into a pile of ooze. You scooted back, ears still ringing as you stopped the clapper inside the bell to silence it. You scrambled to your feet and tore the sash around your waist before hastily wrapping it around the clapper to keep it from ringing again.

You stumbled back, still struggling for breath, throat sore but the something that had cut through the arm of the creature now stood in front of you.

Your eyes went wide and you stared, dumbfounded.

Kung Lao.

Except it wasn’t Kung Lao.

You’d made him out of ink and it had saved you. The ink Lao swung his hat deftly and kept the creature at bay in front of you. How had you done it? That was definitely your arcana but it moved with a mind of its own, in a way that was incredibly familiar to you. You had manifested a creature who could mimic what you knew of Kung Lao which was far more Wing Chun than you’d expected. You mentally thanked your father for that.

You backed up with the bell and let the ink construct keep the creature at bay as it tried to get to you. The room had been torn to shreds. Walls ruined, floor cracked. It looked like a tornado had blown through it. You went to search of Kung Lao but he came to you before you got far, right through the floor, twisting with his hat in a haze of white light. He readied his stance but stopped in surprise at the sight of a shadow of him fighting the beast. He turned toward you and you saw blood dripping down the side of his face but he also looked impressed.

“Huh.” He didn’t wait long to jump back in the fray, fighting alongside his shadow self which you allowed to cooperate with him. Or at least you hoped you did. You weren’t familiar with this yet.

You backed up, bell still in your arms and willed the ink to duck and move and found that you could take control of it to better cooperate with Kung Lao. The tar creature was smashing wildly throughout the shrine, jumping at them, and slashing with its remaining sword. Both versions of Kung Lao were fighting deftly against the monster, and you couldn’t help but think that it was just like a scene out of one of those movies you loved.

The ink Kung Lao was grabbed by the creature, but it was enough of a distraction for the real Kung Lao. He kicked the creature back and the ink version escaped and swept the creature’s feet from beneath it. With a deft spin through the air, hat in hand, Kung Lao sliced the creature across its middle and leapt over its head. The ink lifted the creature and threw it back toward the well.

In a spray of light, Kung Lao had teleported to where the creature landed and with a throw and a flourish, his hat tore through the tar monster and exploded out the other side. The creature couldn’t keep up with them both and stumbled between attack after attack. Then it crumbled into a bubbling heap, losing all form. Holding onto the ink form of Kung Lao was exhausting but you did it, making it back up in case the creature took form again.

But it didn’t, instead it swelled and spread, pulsing, throbbing as though a horrible heart lay beneath it. You released your arcana as Kung Lao looked back to you with sudden urgency.

“Run.” He shouted and started toward you. “Run!” He disappeared in a spray of light as you turned to run and emerged right behind you. He grabbed you but you didn’t get to disappear with his magic before the tarry remains of the monster that had protected the bell exploded in a brilliant blast and a spray of tar. You were thrown with such force that you were blown through the remains of the doors and down the steps of the shrine and onto the stone pathway.

You rolled to a stop on the stone, Kung Lao lying on top of you. Tar rained from the sky, splattering you and the surrounding path. You cradled the bell beneath your arm and stared back at the shrine as if waiting for the creature to come after you again but nothing did. You leaned your head back on the stone with a thud.

“You okay?” Kung Lao was out of breath and scraped up all to hell. The cut on his forehead was swollen and bleeding freely. His sleeve and side had been torn to shreds. He had been thrown through several doors, you supposed.

“Yeah.” You laughed in disbelief. “You? You look… worse for wear.”

“I’m okay, I think? Blood is dripping into my eye which is annoying.” His eye was bloodshot and irritated. You wiped the blood away from his forehead carefully with your sleeve, redirecting the flow of it down the side of his face. “Thanks. Is it bad?”

“No. Looks worse than it is.”

He relaxed on top of you and set his hat to the side, resting his forehead against your shoulder with a grunt. “Did you make me out of ink?”

“It appears that yes, yes I did.”

“How?”

“That is a good and interesting question that I do not have the answer to.”

“Why me? Of all things?” He turned his gaze to the shrine as though worried that thing would come after you again. You had a feeling that it was gone.

“I don’t know. I panicked and realized you weren’t there so… and then you were there except I had made you?”

Kung Lao watched you and you felt suddenly nervous that you’d made him out of ink. You hadn’t thought about it. You hadn’t even considered that you could do anything that dramatic with your arcana! You’d just been grateful that something had knocked you free of that thing’s choking grasp. You had expected him to tease you or taunt you for choosing him to come to your rescue but instead his scraped hand engulfed your cheek and he kissed you. Passionately at that.

You dropped the bell and it thankfully didn’t ring. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders without thinking. Even though he tasted both like blood and sulfur, his lips also felt wonderful. You had so much adrenaline pumping through you after everything, there was no listening to the inner-voice that screamed you had promised to stop kissing them. You laughed against his lips, feeling the split in the bottom of your lower lip. It stung against his lips but you wouldn’t stop him, not for the world.

His hand gripped at the sash on your side, the other lost in your hair and you widened your mouth to invite a much more intimate kiss. Fingers at your side, he adjusted so his knees were on either side of you, straddling you and then suddenly he stopped.

There were feet next to you and suddenly you could hear the rushing of many other feet too.

“Is everyone okay?” The monk next to you yelled and Kung Lao pushed up on his hand, turning to look at the one closest to you.

You turned your gaze too. There were monks running from the other half of the shrine, rushing into the room that you had more than desecrated. You had destroyed it. Standing next to you was none other than the monk who had caught you earlier in the central room. Great. That wasn’t awkward at all.

“What happened here? Are you okay?” It was remarkable that he cared about your wellbeing.

You laughed nervously and looked to Kung Lao who had smoothed his lips out into a thin line. Monks were running past you to assess the damage. The monk offered Kung Lao a hand to help him up which he took. “We were uh… making out?” You gritted your teeth as you leaned up on your elbows. Kung Lao laughed, bending over with his hands on his knees. Even the monk laughed with you. Kung Lao then offered you his hand and you took it and stood, picking up the bell as you went. The monk was looking to you expectantly for the real story of what had happened.

“First of all, we’re sorry.” Kung Lao dusted off your shoulder and you swatted his hand away. There was a scrape on your forearm and your lip was bleeding but otherwise you thought you were okay. Your neck would probably be bruised. All things considered, it could have gone worse. “This is a long story…” You were grateful for Kung Lao’s charm as he explained to the monks why you had come there, sent by Lord Raiden from the Shaolin Order of Light in search of a hidden object they believed to be in their temple. You’d tried not to disturb anyone but the chaos that had come with finding the object was something that took you by surprise.

He said it in a very engaging and interesting way, but you tuned in and out of it. You knew the story and your ears were still throbbing after tangling with the bell. It was soothing to listen to Kung Lao talk and even more so to hear the truth even if he was vague with private details concerning your reasons.

You held out the bell for the monks to examine but none of them seemed eager to touch it. “We have sensed evil here for years. It has been written about in our logs for centuries. We have searched for the source and cleansed often but the evil has persisted. I believe that this is the source of it.” You exchanged a knowing look with Kung Lao. You were suddenly uncomfortable holding the bell. “This dotaku has a heavy curse upon it.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad that I’m holding it.”

Several monks came to you and set down a few cloths, doused in water. They instructed you to set down the bell in the center and then wrapped it up, leaving your torn sash around the clapper. They tucked some of the cloth into the hollow part of the bell. Then they prayed around it before offering it back to you.

“Sorry about the mess.”

“We will rebuild. It is worth it to have gotten rid of the curse lying beneath our temple. We’re grateful.” The monk bowed but most of the other monks were continuing to assess the damage. You had been worried about a few floorboards and instead you’d destroyed an entire section of the temple. So much for discretion.

“We really are sorry.” Kung Lao bowed apologetically.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. We’re grateful to be rid of this dotaku. Make certain that it’s kept out of the wrong hands.”

“We will.”

“Also, one more request?”

“Anything.” Kung Lao bowed again.

“Never come back. Please.” The monk looked to you scoldingly. You laughed and then covered your mouth before bowing apologetically. “We’ve arranged for a ride that will take you back to town.”

“We’re very grateful.” Kung Lao offered you his arm and you took it, exhausted. The monk gestured toward the path that would take you away and then waved before turning back to his comrades and assessing the damage. You and Kung Lao walked down the path to the front gates where you could see headlights approaching. Silently you stood, waiting, and the longer you stood there, the more difficult it became for you to keep a straight face.

An old sedan pulled to a stop in front of you. The driver looked at you in surprise and then turned his gaze immediately. Kung Lao burst into laughter. You did the same, burying your face against his shoulder, holding the bell close to your chest. It hurt to laugh but god that had been such a chaotic mess. Kung Lao opened the back door of the sedan for you and you climbed in. He slid in after you.

“…back to town?” The driver seemed both concerned and as though he didn’t want to get involved.

“Folkloro Ominato, please.” Kung Lao managed to stifle his laughter and rested his hat in his lap. Then he leaned his head back against the seat as the driver started down the road. You sat listening to the quiet hum of the talk radio the driver had on. “At least we don’t have to walk six miles back to the hotel.”

“Kung Lao, could that have gone worse?”

“Yes. It could have. We’re alive and clothed, Y/N. That’s a win.” Kung Lao closed his left eye as blood dripped into it again. Poor guy’s forehead was swollen, hair soaked in blood. You tore more of your sash and patted at the blood above his eye. He watched you curiously and you avoided his gaze since he was trying to catch it. You didn’t need another tense moment. You were sore and exhausted. Kung Lao grabbed your wrist and stopped you from dabbing at his wound. You didn’t fight him but turned your gaze down.

He brushed his thumb over the back of your hand, then lifted it to his lips, letting them brush against the back of your knuckles. They were scraped, the back of your index finger bleeding. His lips pressed just next to the wound as the sedan came to a stop just in front of your hotel. Kung Lao didn’t let go of your hand even as the driver got out and opened the door for you.

You pulled your hand back reluctantly. Kung Lao got out of the car and you followed him. You offered some money to the driver for the trip and the late hour. He bowed his thanks and then got back into his car and left. Thankfully, because of how late it was, there were only a few employees in the hotel lobby. You were stared at as you entered the hotel, bloodied and filthy, but no one stopped to talk to you.

Kung Lao redirected you to the elevator instead of the stairs and once inside, you both leaned against the back wall, exhausted. Your rooms were closer to the stairwell, but the trek was still easier than four flights of stairs after the day that you’d had. Your legs were dragging. You probably would have slept in the stairwell if you’d decided to go that way. You stood in front of the doors to your adjacent rooms for a long time. Kung Lao leaned against his door and watched you. You opened the door to your room, both exhausted and wired. It felt weird to be without him after being joined at the hip for most of the day.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep. Want to clean up and come back to my room? Hang out?” He looked you over, eyes lingering on the torn sash and then the scrape that had ripped your sleeve.

“That depends.” You leaned against the door frame and watched him.

“On what?”

“Whether or not hang out is a euphemism, Kung Lao.”

He laughed. “No, it’s not a euphemism. I may have noticed when we checked in that they have a few martial arts films to rent. Figured we could put one on and just… be. Feeling nostalgic after spending today with you.” Kung Lao’s serious moments were going to kill you. If this was, in fact, a serious moment. It was beginning to feel like another moment of him manipulating the truth. You narrowed your eyes at him but he kept his on your feet. How could you say no to him? Especially when he was bloodied up the way he was. Would you have been able to sleep anyway? It would have been easier if you had just gotten one room with two beds. This was your fault for insisting that you had separate spaces to stay in.

“I’d like that. I just need to clean up a little.” You nodded toward your room.

“Yeah, me too. I’m a bloody mess.”

“You really are.”

“Thanks, Y/N.” He winked and then walked into his room. You heaved a sigh and then did the same. You placed the bell down and cleaned up. Some of the new clothing was ruined already, but it had served its purpose. You checked on your side to make sure it was still closed up tight and thankfully it was. In fact, it looked much better. You were scraped on your shoulder, your lip was swollen, and your throat was bruised, but other than that you’d made it off easy. Changing into some more of your new clothes, you picked up the bell and brought it back with you to Kung Lao’s room.

He had the door still open a crack and you knocked to make sure he was decent. That was all this day needed was for you to walk in on Kung Lao naked or something. You shook off the thought. “I’m clothed.” He called to you as though he could read your mind. You stepped into his room and closed the door behind you. It occurred to you now that you could just return to Raiden’s Temple. But sleep would do you some good and Kung Lao hadn’t mentioned it so you wouldn’t either.

Kung Lao was holding a cloth over the scrape on his side, having changed into clean pants. He offered you a wave as he fiddled with the remote with his other hand. you joined him and took the cloth from his side and tended to the scrape there. “You need to get these looked at.”

“No.” He spoke flatly. “Any preference for these movies?”

“I’m serious, Kung Lao.”

“I’m fine, Y/N. Just wrap it up and I’ll deal with it when we get back to the temple.”

“Why do you hate taking care of yourself so much?”

“Do you have a preference or not?” He yawned. “I’m just picking one.” He put on one of the movies and set down the remote by the television before sitting on the bed. You sat next to him and wrapped the wound up as he had asked. You hoped he took care of it otherwise he could be in trouble. You’d remind him in the morning.

Then Kung Lao laid on the bed on his back, staring at the ceiling. You discarded the cloth and set the bell next to the television. Then you did the same and laid next to him. You sat, listening to the sounds of the movie which was not one you recognized but was still familiar and comforting.

You could feel him watching you again but kept your gaze on the ceiling. If he had something to say then he would say it. Either that or he would just stare at you. You reached for his hand blindly and gave it a squeeze. You’d had one hell of a day. Anything that you’d argued about, left unsaid, or had said too much of could wait for another time. For now, you were at peace. You’d gotten what you’d come there for and that was what mattered.

Holding his hand, you drifted to sleep next to him.

[problematicfavesareproblematic]

A Rare Night of Peace

Ron Speirs x Reader Drabble

Summary: Some truths are revealed over a rare night of peace. A few are more impactful than others.

Warnings: none, some potty words. Literally no plot, just drabble bc why not. It’s not very good but I’m working on writing scenes with dialogue from multiple characters so thank you for your time

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She gaped at him, and Lip snorted in laughter she couldn’t help but join in.

“You didn’t.” Y/n accused, a note of betrayal in her voice as Ron tellingly smirks while he goes about collecting his winnings.

She couldn't believe it. She would’ve been truly pissed if she hadn’t been so surprised at Nixon’s revelation. Lip is giving her shoulder a squeeze of mock comfort, laughing again when she shakes him off with a hiss of shut it.

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you were coddling me in poker?!” 

Speirs shoots her a look of ignorance. “I’m sure I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

She rolls her eyes, pushing away from the table and going over to her jacket by the door to get a new tie for her hair.

“You let me play against Malarkey and Carwod!!” she said with a glare when she got back shaking her head with obvious disappointment. “You let me bet against Malarkey and Carwood!”

“And you won, didn’t you?” he asks with a quirk of his brow, undisguised mirth in his expression.. “‘Sides, Donald Malarkey can’t bluff to save his life and Lipton doesn’t know how to play at all.”

Car’s smile of amusement disappears and a look of annoyance crosses his face. “I know how to play—”

“Oh yeah, so why are you playing blackjack at the poker table?”

She leans back in her seat and sighs, glaring at the back of Ron’s head. “Traitor.”

He snorts in amusement, knocking on the table to signal the end of his turn. “Not the worst thing I’ve been accused of being.”

She shakes her head, glaring at Bull’s unmasked amusement at her frustration. 

Narrowing her eyes, she turns to Nixon and smiles sweetly. 

“While we’re sharing harsh truths- Nix?  Bull, Luz, and Gonorrhea have been paying me in chocolate bars to smuggle your whiskey out of Dick’s stuff. They’ve been putting it back with some amber colored replacement they’ve concocted—”

“They fucking WHAT?!”

“Oh, come on! What’d I do to get thrown under the train?” Bull groans, shooting her a glare before turning to deal with the appalled Nixon, who was reaching for his bottle of Vat 69 and holding it up to the light with skeptical horror.

While she pursed her lips and sent Bull an air kiss he angrily bats away like a mosquito, Malarkey took his turn before nodding for Welsh to begin his turn. 

Peeking over Ron’s shoulder, she tried to get a peek of what cards he held in his hand, only to be caught by the man himself when she almost leaned too far out of her seat and had to catch herself on the back of his chair so she did not fall.

“Cheater,” he snarked, a dark chuckle escaping his chest when she smacked his bicep in retaliation. 

Without looking away from the game Ron hooks his foot around one of the legs of her chair, using a strong leg to drag her (and her seat) up close beside him until their thighs are pressed together, the wood of the chair leg whining as it was dragged across the stone floor. “Like I’d show you my cards without making sure you aren’t giving me away with your piss-poor poker face—”

“I’ll have you know that I have an excellent poker face, sir.” she dramatically flicks her hair over her shoulder, intentionally hitting him in the face with the still damp strands. “You’re the one who smells lies or whatever it is you do…”

“I thought it was fear that you said you could smell, Lt. Speirs?” Lipton joked quietly, earning a chuckle from those still paying attention to the game.

“I think you’re thinking of dogs or bees, Lt. Lipton.” Ron says cooly, no inflection in his voice as he watches Lip take a card and add it to his hand.

“Well, that would make your former position in Dog Company all the more ironic, wouldn’t it?” Y/n said quietly, working as hard as she could to keep a smile off of her face.

Lipton guffawed loudly, the sound making her laugh as well. Ron looked like he wanted to kick her chair over, his hatred of puns and wordplay well known to her by this point.

“And just for that,” Ron takes a deep breath, flipping his cards over and throwing them in the middle for everyone to see. “I’m not going to teach you the trick to win this game every time.”

“God, DAMNIT, Speirs!” Bull cursed, throwing his cards down in frustration as Nixon continued to interrogate him about his precious alcohol. “I fucking knew you just were fucking with us...”

“Y/N, what the fuck?” Welsh hit her arm. “I was counting on your tell to tell me what cards he had! Doesn’t your vein pop out of your forehead or something?”

“That’s Joe Liebgott...and he doesn’t do it anymore since someone taught him how to control it!”  Malarkey glared openly at Bull, who held his hands up in surrender.

“Luz had taken all the boy’s cigarettes, Don! What was I supposed to do? It was getting sad to watch…”

She smiles at the scene around her, feeling privileged to be able to see all of these men relaxed at the same time. Malark hadn’t laughed and teased so openly since Bastogne, and she remembered how when they had first met he had been laughing as well.

She hoped this was the beginning of something good for Donald Malarkey. 

He deserved something good.

Ron’s hand on her knee startles her slightly, the heat of his hand unfamiliar and unexpected. But when she looks around and sees no sign of danger, she looks down at his hand as if she’s never seen one before, cheeks heating at the sight of it. 

His thumb moves slightly, almost as if he was trying to offer some sort of reassurance. When she finds the courage to look at his face she sees that he is watching her just as carefully, as if he too is somewhat surprised by his bold action.

Turning to look across the table, she saw that none of the other men seemed to take notice of their exchange, all of them talking about some replacements she hadn’t met and lamenting their greenness.

No one knew that Ron Speirs, the Ron speirs, was touching her. No one had seen how flustered it was making her.

Well, thank God for small blessings…

“Y/N, is this—?” he began to ask under his breath, but she couldn’t bear to hear him second guess his boldness, so she quickly moved her hand to cover his and hold it in place. When he slightly raised a brow she nodded as subtle as she could, confirming that yes, she did want this.

 She did want him.

With a squeeze that she hoped conveyed her whole-hearted invitation to join her, she stood from her seat and made a point to stretch her arms above her head in a big stretch.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” she says with a yawn, the sound almost slipping out as a squeal when she feels Ron’s fingertips touch the back of her knee in a way that was so deliberately distracting that she had to really focus on keeping her expression passive. “Unless there’s anything else for me to look over, Lewie—?”

The slightly drunk man shook his head emphatically and pointed to the door grandly. 

“Go forth woman, I free you from your shackles. Get thee to a chaise lounge post haste and rest that big, beautiful brain of yours!”

She can’t help but laugh at his theatrics, making a show of pulling her coat over her shoulders and wrapping it around her.

“Alas, there is nary a chaise in sight, fair sir. Might I perhaps be so bold as to ask his royal highness for permission to substitute a fainting couch for a lumpy floor mattress in an apartment filled with no fewer than thirteen haunted dolls?”

Standing with a quickness someone as intoxicated as he was shouldn’t have been able to manage, he hits his fist against his chest and nods.

“Off with you, then. I tire of your dawdling!”

Bull boos from his seat, throwing a card at her as she slings her bag over her shoulder. “Go do Shakespeare somewhere else, you nerds. You’re hurting my head…”

Making a sound of false sympathy, she walks over to the blonde man and squeezes the tight muscles of his shoulders, something that made Bull groan with relief and her laugh at his reaction.

“Anything for you, Mr. Randleman.”

Giving his shoulders one final squeeze she heads to the door. “Night guys—”

“Wait,” Ron said as she walked by his seat, scooting his own chair back and reaching for his stuff. “I’ll walk you. Gotta find the mailroom anyway.”

Heart in her throat, she watched as Ron casually slung his gun over his shoulder, looking as if he hadn't just taken the first step in what was certain to be a complex dance she never thought she’d actually have to perform. Not that it mattered, she was determined to see this through.

You’re allowed to be selfish, you know. If you want something, and it’s there waiting for you, then why the fuck would you just let it get away?

He’d been talking about stealing from estates at the time, but now she was wondering if he had been talking in riddles intentionally. 

She wouldn’t put it past him.

No one bothered to give more than a wave as the two of them fell into step, the dark of the house swallowing them up. 

When he grabbed her hand in the dark, she smiled.

Y/N had a feeling that Ron was going to make his intentions very clear tonight.

About time.

~ ~ ~ taglist: @mrseasycompany​, @itswormtrain​

[rohanrider3]

Brace Yourselves, I have THOUGHTS on this guy

Okay so I just watched Wizards (Tales of Arcadia) and I, along with many other folks, adore one (1) wizard in particular--Hisirdoux Casperan, better known as Douxie. I’m sure you’ve seen the art, the posts, and, well, the internet lately.

BUT HERE’S THE THING. One of the (many) reasons I love this guy. He’s not what one typically gets in a main character, AND he’s very different than other protagonists we’ve met in Arcadia. 

TLDR: Protective, kind-as-summer, ultimate “good older brother vibes” wizard who simultaneously 1) doesn’t think much of himself, 2) tries his hardest, and 3) is actually SUPER FREAKING POWERFUL is unique and I love him for all those reasons and more!! (Details (and spoilers) below the cut)

1: He’s young, yes, but he’s extremely experienced. He looks 19, but is 919. As the first episode shows, he’s been doing his best to live a good life and master magic for NINE CENTURIES. All the while looking like a kid! Douxie lived through the fall of Camelot, has seen technology blossom and evolve, AND has seen countless people come and go, all the while completely on his own except for Archie.

2: He’s extremely humble. He’s apparently been working odd jobs FOR ALMOST A MILENNIUM--so he can work from the shadows to protect people from terrors they don’t even know about--and works hard AT ALL OF IT. Menial jobs AND demon-fighting. First episode, he clearly WANTS to use magic to clean up the cafe (and as a former customer service worker I would have sold my wisdom teeth for magic, LET ALONE magic clean-up help!) but he refrains from doing so, because he really took Merlin’s advice to heart.

(Side note: IMO, Merlin’s an ASS. But the advice he gives in the beginning of “Wizards”--along the lines of “Relying on magic alone isn’t enough, first you have to master how to live well and THEN you can master magic, hard work is extremely important and not to be skipped”--is good. AND DOUXIE STICKS WITH IT FOR OVER 900 YEARS. OF HIS OWN VOLITION. Merlin’s in a tomb, he hasn’t been glaring over Douxie’s shoulder all this time!) Which brings me to-

3) Douxie, although a hard worker, sincerely good guy, and all around badass wizard, doubts himself a LOT (thanks Merlin’s endless snarking and yelling.) BUT, instead of always fighting/planning to get Merlin to approve of him, Douxie instead focuses on doing the right thing. But it isn’t easy and Merlin’s dismissal of him/his ideas/Merlin’s constant disparaging put-downs hurts him. But he doesn’t let it stop him.

4) Douxie CARES. A LOT. He’s patient, kind, eager to help, works hard, and has protected humanity from horrors it didn’t even know about for CENTURIES. While he was still an apprentice, with no master, and no other magic users (that we’ve really seen) that could teach him more about his own magic or how to use it. The hedge wizards are cool, but we don’t get to see much of them and it looks like they’re more of a side society in Arcadia than something Douxie’s strictly a part of.

5) Douxie protects whoever he can whenever he can. To him, all life is precious, and he gives off major “is anyone else protecting this person or trying to make things better okay cool cool cool, I’m gonna try to do that as much as I can for as many as I can right now!” attitude. Which gives off major older sibling vibes to me. 

(To emphasize, he cares about EVERYONE. He’s distraught at the thought of Arthur’s death, HE’S the one who uses his magic to remind--not enchant, REMIND--Arthur and Morgana of their old love of the forest and of Gwen (apparently the glue that held their trio together) and how, each in their own way, they miss her and still love each other. HE’S the one who’s constantly checking the time continuum, and keeps trying to tell Merlin that it doesn’t have to be Arthur vs. Morgana. But Merlin outright pushes him aside/ignores him, and events take their course. Interesting note: Right during the big fight scene in the past with Arthur vs. Morgana, just before Arthur cuts off Morgana’s hand with Excaliber and she falls to her death, you’ll notice the time continuum is blue. Which means it’s fine. The future is good. Douxie could go back to his future no problem. BUT WHEN HE SEES MORGANA’S DEAD FORM as part of the repaired timeline, HE SHOUTS AND RUNS TOWARD THEM TO TRY AND STOP IT. Morgana being DEAD didn’t mess up the timeline. Excaliber being broken did. But Douxie was still trying to save Morgana AND Arthur, and only the blast of magic from their fight knocked him back. And he still grieves her death as one of the parts of his failure, even while Merlin pushes him aside and focuses on Arthur and Excaliber in the aftermath of the battle.

6) Does anyone else think Douxie has a major guilt complex/super messed up self esteem? Because Douxie tearfully shouting “I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!” to Merlin, AS DOUXIE’S OWN LIFE IS IN DANGER AFTER HE TRIED TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS and keep the Arcane Order from destroying the world...that hit hard. His life is on the line and (most likely) his last words are a plea for forgiveness to the Master that routinely dismissed him as an incompetent idiot and was more than happy to leave teenagers (!TEENAGERS!) who’d fought and risked everything to protect the world to die horribly at the hands of his enemies. Douxie--caring, kind-hearted, I-get-my-ass-rountinely-handed-to-me-but-always-get-up-again DOUXIE was the one who ran back to get Jim and Claire. Not Merlin. Merlin was *this close* to leaving to protect Nari for the greater good, and only reconsidered because Douxie had thrown himself into the fray (and despite his best efforts got thrown hard into a rock wall by The Green Knight. And then volleyball spiked into the (equally hard rock) floor and crushed by MindControlledTrollJim.

7) Douxie DOES NOT GIVE UP. Merlin writes Jim’s injuries off as hopeless and him as a lost cause, but Douxie relentlessly tries to figure out ways to fix things. Arthur and Morgana’s relationship, Jim’s injury/worsening curse, all the scenarios where they (it looks like) have to choose between saving their friends AND the world. He doesn’t just shrug and write off losses the way Merlin does. Douxie keeps throwing himself at problems and putting himself at risk to solve them.

8) He’s honest. (Certain Lad of Fortune bowl games aside ;) ) Merlin only told Jim the problem with the wound and left it at that. Douxie makes sure that Claire knows the reality of the situation and promises he’ll find a way to fix it. He knows their situation isn’t ideal, but he refuses to just shrug and leave things as they are. He’s more than willing to throw himself wholeheartedly into finding a way to fix things and refuses to let defeat stop him. Which leads me to, finally--

9) Douxie willingly, without flinching or making a big deal about it, walks into the jaws of death for his friends and the world. For Pete’s sake, he does it with a SMILE. He KNOWS getting his friends back is a long shot. He KNOWS the Arcane Order cannot get Nari AND the Seals, or else the world is doomed--AND he could easily have chosen to go on the run, with the Seals, for the rest of his life. His friends would have died (or worse), Nari would have been trapped with the Order for the rest of time, but the world (and Douxie) would have been safe. Why? The Order doesn’t know he has the seals. Merlin said they could be FOUND if his staff was destroyed, he didn’t say they were STORED there. (And yeah, I wanted Douxie to trick the Order with fake Seals too, but after some thought I’d argue that they’re ancient and powerful enough where they probably wouldn’t have been fooled by or chased after a fake.) Also, going on the run with inanimate objects your hunters don’t know you have and having the kind of magic Douxie does--he could have had a niiiiiice life. Maybe a little mobile, but arguably MUCH easier than constantly making sure a small forest spirit doesn’t get snatched up by her angry brethren. In any case--

Douxie’s plan included--and even hinged on--his willingness to die buying his friends and Nari time to escape. He BUILT IT INTO HIS PLAN. And that bravery, courage, and matter of fact heroism--along with that defiant smirk he gives the Order when they threaten to kill him--is why I love this guy so much. 

[eztria]

trollhunters: rott and overall toa thoughts

decided to write down what i think of the movie and the series as a whole after watching rott

toby domzalski

first of all, i am so unspeakably sad that toby remained a comedy relief character until it was time for him to die. i really hoped he would get his time to shine but not like this. the death scene was definitely amazingly done and im glad that at the very least rott had a scene that showed the audience just how important tody’s friendship was to jim.

on that note tho, im sad that no one seemed to realize that toby was gone??? it was only after jim realized what happened that he was the first to desperately search for him. i get that toby has the strongest ties to jim but??? claire??? AAARRRGGHH??? they were also close with toby but even after seeing him take the car they didnt immediately shift their focus to him after finding jim???

i really wished we got more serious moments with him through all the toa series. i feel like after trollhunters (although he was also a comic relief there, but id say there was more to him back then), he became the designated comic relief and it makes him such a 2-dimensional character.

jim lake jr

jim is one of my favorite protagonists ever in any show, so seeing him struggle through all the series was always an emotional rollercoaster. i appreciate what rott was going for, the “he doesnt need the armor/amulet, hes always been a hero” sentiment but... the movie gives him the amulet back in the same scene in which he says it. i was severely disappointed when it happened, im not gonna lie. the scene would have been way more impactful if jim defeated bellroc by himself when they were stripped out of magic, instead of suddenly getting a power-up and besting her in combat. if jim didnt get the amulet right then the message of “i always was a hero, with the amulet or without” would have actually hit way harder. we see jim struggle about being just human and lacking the power to hold his own ground in a fight through the whole movie and him suddenly besting bellroc with the amulet is just. underwhelming. i think he should have gotten the amulet after the fight, so we still could have the whole time travel shenanigans thing happen, but def not when he got it. 

and on the topic of the time travel, what the fuck did they do to jim. like????? hello????? this. in Not. the same jim lake jr who went into the darklands all by himself so his friends wouldnt get killed/hurt. this is Not the same jim who refused to burden his mother with what he had to deal with as a trollhunter. the fact that he makes a concious choice to have toby pick up the trollhunter amulet????? is so out of character for him???? especially since he experienced all the struggles, the hurt, the trauma himself. i Refuse to believe he would ever have his best friend relive the hell he has been through all those years. especially since only He has the knowledge of the past??? how does he think this is going to play out??

not to mention that, by having the amulet choose toby, it means that the whole fate/destiny aspect of jim being chosen is out of the window. i didnt like how much the series leaned into it already, because im not a fan of stories which support the concept of “destiny/fate” but that ending really just confirm that jim was never the chosen one, he was just lucky to get the amulet first, because it could have been literally anyone. and im not trying to say that toby would not be a great trollhunter himself, i just mean that if toby can also be chosen instead of jim, the whole speech about destiny is kind of a lie.

claire nuñez

this isn’t really a criticism about her character, but more of how she has been treated by the narrative. im glad that claire gets to do more in this movie and that she keeps an active role (despite being spent in critical points to prevent her from solving problems). i really wish claire was more than Just jims love interest once they got together tho. i wish she was first and foremost his friend instead of his girlfriend, although that might be just my personal pet peeve of narratives putting romantic relationships above platonic ones. i felt it was really a shame that her wish for jim was to “find her and try until she falls in love with him again”. like i get that it was a sweet scene and sentiment overall but all i could think of was shouldnt she be freaking out that her friends and family are possibly dead because of the destruction of the whole town??? she could have been helping people evacuate and then join the fight.

the steve palchuk problem

ive seen a lot of people talk about this, but yeah the mpreg plot was really unnecessary. its really weird and it made me very uncomfortable considering both aja and steve are like. supposedly 18? in rott. this whole plot point not only feels like it takes up time that could have been better spent, but it also kinda portrays aja as a really bad partner to steve. like. you’re telling me she never really told him how this works??? like, ignoring how stupid and arbitrary the 7th kiss thing is, considering that she knows how kissing works for humans, she Should have told him about the possible consequences of it. i get that she was on akiridion-5 but is there really no way for her to communicate with him, considering that krel stayed on earth??? i dont remember if there was any communication mentioned, but if it was, that makes aja even worse in this context, honestly. they did my girl so dirty.

(on a quick note tho, i do like how aja was reluctant to follow jim. she’s a queen now and her priority will always be the safety of people surrounding her so her sentiment of “you can do the risky thing But my ships are still showing up either way” was really nice and i actually liked that she kinda went against jim and questioned him.)

with the mpreg steve plotline also comes the fact that eli is barely in this movie. we literally only get to see him to see that he has a growth spurt and then to have him deliver the babies. i really wish we could have gotten more about eli himself, maybe see how his relationship with aja developed into a friendship??? or the good old eli-steve friendship after a long time of being apart.

anticlimactic deaths/losses

nomura’s death scene was so fast and we didn’t even really linger on its impact, which honestly was. really disappointing. strickler was also done really dirty by being killed off nearly immediately after the reveal of his engagement with barbara. at the very least we got a scene of the lakes mourning him.

nari’s death served a purpose. they sacrificed herself to kill skrael. i did like how much it impacted douxie, but after the deaths, the characters are not really mentioned again until the very end when jim decides to time travel.

archie being left behind felt kind of forced and i wish he stayed in the story if only so douxie didnt have to lose two people close to him on the same day. we also never mention him again which... okay.

this is the finale... where is everyone, what is happening

is barbara just stranded in the castle now??? where is nana?? the changeling babies??? notenrique and claire’s family??? the trolls from the troll market??? this whole movie just felt rushed, honestly. we never were told how barbara and strickler got to the castle and we never even got to witness them see jim in the human form for the first time too. i honestly think this movie should have just been a series. it has enough action to stretch it out and we could have had more scenes that were about finishing arcs for characters and lingering on the consequences of certain deaths. its not a bad movie in itself, but it does not feel like a proper finale to the toa series, especially with the last 5 minutes of rott. im kind of disappointed, but at the same time we p much got an open ending so everyone can go wild with their interpretations/speculations.

[pixieminutes]

4th August, 2021 | KSM

genre: fluff, husband!seungmin

members: kim seungmin x reader, bang chan, hwang hyunjin, seo changbin, yang jeongin, lee minho, lee felix, han jisung

warnings: none

4th August, 2021: 10:42

“not too hard!” you gasped out as your bridesmaid, yerin, dragged the brush through your hair, “it’s always knotty after i get out the shower.”

she rolled her eyes, “you’re so overdramatic.”

“hardly!” you exclaimed, turning to face her, “look, how about we just wait for the hairdresser to arrive, hmm?”

she chuckled.

“what? what’s so funny?”

“your boob’s come out your dressing gown,” she snorted.

you looked down, sorting yourself out before giving her the finger.

“you just need to relax, okay? this is supposed to be the best day of your life!”

you sighed, playing with the ring on your fourth finger, “i know, i’m just nervous.”

“guess who’s here! and with alcohol!” your maid of honour, nari, exclaimed.

you laughed, “maybe that’ll fix it.”

yerin rushed forward, grabbing the bottle, “i’m not having you get drunk before the ceremony, y/n!”

nari frowned, “why not?”

when yerin opened her mouth to shout at her, your maid of honour just laughed.

“i’m joking! y/n’s not a lightweight, a glass of champagne is not gonna affect her,” nari said, rolling her eyes.

“fine,” yerin sighed, “but i need two times more than her.”

your other friend, and temporary make-up artist for the day, taemi, just rolled her eyes, “why don’t you just grow a pair and ask him out?!”

“i think he’s quite traditional! i don’t wanna be the one to do it and then make him feel bad!” yerin exclaimed with a sigh, “but i am tired.”

“me and seungmin did put you next to each other at the tables,” you shrugged, taking a sip of your champagne.

“you did?!” yerin shrieked, “what?! what am i supposed to do?!”

“talk to him,” nari shrugged, “you both like each other, it’s clear. chan’s not exactly good at hiding his emotions, is he?”

“and besides, after today he’ll be the only non-married member. he deserves someone. especially if that someone is you!” you exclaimed, “just take the lead. he’ll become comfortable with it in no time.”

“ladies!” your mum smiled, walking in the room, “hairdresser’s here!”

12:03

“seungmin’s gonna love you,” nari said, watching as you straightened out your skirt.

“thank you for being here, ri. there’s a lot i couldn’t have done without you.”

nari chuckled, climbing on the podium behind you, leaning her head on your shoulder, “you’re telling me. we’re so close my parents are crying. they barely did that on my wedding day.”

“shut up, they so did!”

“yeah, cause they hate hyunjin,” she laughed.

you shook your head with a laugh, looking down to your manicured nails, remembering the nights you’d spent with nari at sleepovers, both squished into either her bed or yours; talking, dreaming, thinking.

“it is everything we always talked about it being, isn’t it?” you asked, “getting married.”

“of course it is,” nari teased, “we’re never wrong, you know.”

you laughed, before turning and looking at her, not through the mirror, “but—”

“but seriously,” she spoke with a smile, taking your hands in hers, “you and seungmin love each other more than i’ve ever seen before. i could see it from the moment you met him.”

you rolled your eyes, hiding a smile, “that’s an over exaggeration.”

“you couldn’t take your eyes off him! and you didn’t listen to anything anyone else said for the rest of the evening,” she giggled, “you’re sure you wanna do this, though?”

“100%,” you sighed with a smile, “love you.”

she chuckled, mostly out of relief, “i love you too, now i believe there’s an army of bridesmaids and your dad waiting for you downstairs.”

12:26

“why the fuck are we here, seungmin?! it is half an hour before your wedding starts,” changbin pointed out, the eight boys piling into their old dorm building, now emptied out and ready to be filled by a group of new trainees.

“y/n might even be on her way now!” jeongin exclaimed.

seungmin shook his head, seeming distracted, “y/n’s never early.”

“can you at least tell us what you’re looking for so we can help you?” chan sighed, stepping up as the groom’s best man, a role he had taken on for all his members.

“don’t worry,” seungmin smiled, pulling up the loose floorboard in his old bedroom, taking out the box from beneath it.

“that’s definitely cursed,” minho commented as seungmin blew off the dust.

the soon-to-be-married man shook his head, opening the box and pulling out the handmade necklace you’d made him on your first date.

“i can’t believe i forgot this,” he whispered, sliding it over his head and popping it into his white shirt.

“happy now?” felix asked.

seungmin smiled with a nod, “yep. ready to get married.”

13:00

“everybody please stand,” the officiant spoke.

seungmin took a breath, shaking his hands out before standing and turning to face the entrance of the ball room.

chan smiled from behind him, wishing the younger boy luck.

the piano started to play and the doors opened, revealing minho and jisung’s daughters in their mother’s arms, spreading rose petals down the aisle as they went. a smile spead across seungmin’s face, watching the babies giggle at their jobs before happily being passed back into their dad’s arms to settle before the boring part.

then, his attention was taken again, by you.

the first time seungmin had met you, both of you were in a group of people. you; hyunjin’s girlfriend’s friends. him; stray kids. but for whatever reason, there was an unbreakable eye contact filled with blushes and shy smiles from the moment you’d seen each other.

he still remembers the first words he said to you: “i’m seungmo– min. i’m seungmin.”

then you laughed, that laugh he’s loved so much since the first moment he heard it: “i think i prefer seungmo.”

but now, you were in a white dress, you arm linked with your dad’s, followed by your friends, their own husbands watching them with loving eyes.

seungmin found himself with his mouth open, a tear forming in his eye as you hugged your dad, allowing him to take a seat.

“this is weird,” you whispered, taking seungmin’s hand.

he laughed lowly, walking forward, “i’m thinking about that chicken we’ll buy tonight.”

you looked to him with a smile on your face. this was it, the man you were going to spend the rest of your life with, “living for it.”

“we’re gathered here today for the marriage of miss. y/n y/l/n to mr. kim seungmin,” the officiant spoke, the real deal.

there were poems and songs, spoken by family and friends, filled with tears and laughs, and finally; the vows.

“mine aren’t as good as they could be,” you chuckled, “because i’m not good at saying things, or writing down things for that matter. but, here goes.”

seungmin smiled shyly, looking down at the floor before looking back in your eyes as you spoke your vows to him, and his to you. not once did either of you look away, not for the reactions of your friends and family and not for any random screams of babies. just you two; right there, together.

“do you, kim seungmin, take y/n y/l/n to be your wife?” the officiant asked, seungmin holding your left hand in his, the tangled silver ring in his other.

“i do.”

unable to hide your smile, he slid the ring on your finger.

“and do you, y/n y/l/n, take kim seungmin to be your husband?”

tears filled your eyes as you nodded, sliding the ring on seungmin’s left hand ring finger, “i do.”

“i now pronounce you man and wife!” the officiant cheered, all your friends and family clapping and crying, “you may kiss the bride!”

“may i?” seungmin chuckled, moving towards you, his hand on the back of your head.

you giggled, nodding as he closed the gap between you.

when he pulled away, seungmin stared at you for a few seconds before the two of you walked down the aisle and into the back room to sign the papers.

“i hope you’re wearing yours, by the way,” seungmin said, his hand not letting go of yours, “because i had to pull up an old floor board to find mine.”

you laughed, “seungmo, that’s your fault for hiding it there.”

he rolled his eyes, looking at you expectantly.

“but, yes, i have it,” you said, pulling the handmade necklace out the pocket of your dress, “and look! my dress has pockets!”

seungmin laughed, leaning forward and catching your lips in another kiss, “i love you.”

you smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck, “i love you too.”

15:28

“and now, the couple’s first dance,” chan announced, everyone in the ballroom clapping as the band began to play when you love someone by day6.

“my lady,” seungmin teased, placing his hands on your waist as your arms loosely wrapped around his neck, your fingers running through his hair as you swayed side to side.

“isn’t it weird that everyone’s watching us,” you giggled, leaning in so only he could hear you.

“they’ll start dancing soon,” he whispered, “though yes, i am sweating lots and lots.”

“and i’m really full. why are they expecting us to dance straight away after a four course meal?”

seungmin laughed, “that’s your fault for eating so much.”

“hey!” you protested, “it tasted really good.”

“you’re adorable.”

21:06

“i’m already tired,” you whined, “i think i’ve danced with everyone in this room.”

“and i’ve been between your mum and grandma too many times.”

you laughed as seungmin came towards you, sitting beside you on the front of the stage.

“these shoes are so uncomfortable.”

“mine too.”

you smiled, “let’s take them off.”

“i don’t think we’re allowed to do that,” seungmin frowned.

“it’s our wedding,” you giggled, already taking the foot-pinching high heels off, “we’re allowed to do whatever we want.”

“in that case, then,” seungmin said, pulling off his black dress shoes and taking off his tie.

“see?!” you laughed, taking some of the pins that were pinching out of your hair and letting it fall around your face, “so good.”

“care to dance?” seungmin offered, standing up with an outstretched hand a smirk.

“can we go up to our room afterwards?”

“and order as much room service as we like,” seungmin smiled, “come on, we have to stay until at least all the kids have left.”

5th August, 2021: 00:11

“finally!”

“in you go, mrs kim,” seungmin smiled, opening the hotel room door to let you in, following close behind you.

“mr kim!” you gasped with a laugh, “chicken!”

“and wine!”

you whined, “i don’t even wanna get out of this dress.”

seungmin laughed, throwing his suit jacket on the sofa before laying on the king sized bed.

“i’m eating chicken before anything else,” he shrugged.

you giggled, jumping beside him, your masses of skirt laying around you as you opened the box of fried chicken, seungmin opening and pouring two glasses of wine.

“to us,” you said, clinking your glass with his.

“cheers,” he smiled, “to us.”

he laid back, casually picking at the chicken as he turned the tv on, “shall we have a bath after this?”

“sounds amazing,” you groaned, “we have to be at breakfast in the morning though.”

seungmin rolled his eyes, “can they not leave us alone now.”

you laughed, pulling out the homemade necklace from your pocket and slipping it over your head, before your gaze fell on your left ring finger.

“thank you, seungmo,” you hummed, “this day has been incredible.”

seungmin smiled, looking up at you with love pouring from his eyes, “i hope everyday is just as incredible from now on.”

“for the rest of our lives,” you giggled, taking a sip of wine.

“thanks, hate that thought,” seungmin snorted.

“hey!” you laughed, throwing a cheese stick at him.

seungmin laughed, “but i love you.”

“nope,” you shook your head as seungmin leaned up to you, “you don’t get a kiss.”

[luckgods]

Opus 10, part 2: Dexter, Sinister

Prompt: “Paralyzed by fear” for Bad Things Happen Bingo Warnings: torture, mostly non-graphic violence, past minor character death, panic attacks, dissociation, some ableism against a sometimes-nonverbal character Word count: 2.1k Summary: Luce finds themself captured by a stranger with a grudge.

—

So. This is... bad. Fuck.

Luce generally tried to be a realist. But some situations called for preparation for the worst.

Case in point: being tied to a chair and having a knife brandished at you by some evil... oh, that chestplate, she was a Storm-Hunter. Whoops.

Maybe keeping the stolen cloak hadn't been the best idea. (Well, was it really stealing when they were already dead? And the Storm-Hunters had threatened and then nearly killed Vesca, which technically made them the aggressors, so Luce felt pretty justified.) And it was enchanted! Cloaks like that didn't just fall out of the sky every day.

Well, that was fine. Luce could deal. Even if this lady couldn't. Find out what she wants, give it to her, get out. Or distract her until Ari notices I'm gone. Easy as pie.

Which was a funny phrase, because Luce had seen Uncle Keren's pie recipe, and it did not look simple at all. Focus.

Appease, distract, mitigate. It was just another performance: find out what they wanted, give it to them, get out before they realize you'd emptied their pockets.

Showtime.

"Why... what do you want with me?" Luce aimed for halfway between confused and frightened.

"Where did you get that cloak?" the woman asked.

Ah. Easy. "Stole it out of some rich idiot's hotel room in Voiraux. You'd think they'd get better security with all their money, right?" They forced a laugh.

Really, Storm-Hunter or no, it was embarrassing that this woman had gotten the drop on Luce. Luce was supposed to notice if the people around them were dangerous. Can’t protect anyone without the basic ability to identify threats.

"I think you're lying," the woman said.

Luce widened their eyes slightly, and then pressed their lips together. "I'm not, I promise, I— do you want it? You can have it! I didn't realize anyone would— well, obviously I stole it, but rich people don't usually even notice if something goes missing, that's why—"

"Shut up!"

Luce snapped their mouth shut.

"I don't want the cloak, I want to know which member of your little cadre killed my brother in Atropos!"

Oh. Double fuck.

"Well. Um."

Luce squinted at the woman's face. She didn't look familiar.

New plan: distract. Her brother... possibly the boss. Fucker deserved what he got. Possibly some goon. Also deserved what they got. Worth guessing? Can't hurt.

"He was the... leader?"

"Yes," the woman hissed, "and he was going to make us rich. And renowned. And you fucked it all up."

Keep her talking.

"In our defense, he did trick and then nearly murder our friend. He tell you about that? I mean, not the murder part, on account of... yeah, but the seduction. It was a whole thing."

The woman turned her back on Luce, and exited the room. She re-entered holding a cocked crossbow.

"You know, carrying loaded weapons is—hnnf—"

"You don't get to speak about him."

Crossbow bolt to the stomach. That's a new one.

Luce tilted their head back, glancing at the ceiling. They couldn't hide the grimace on their face, but they could give themself the dignity of some false privacy while they schooled their face back into some semblance of calm.

"Could have just... told me."

"You're lucky I need you to tell me how to get to your friends, or that bolt would have gone into your chest. Or maybe not so lucky."

Luce affected a wide, strained smile. "Any day I'm living... is better than one I'm not."

"Let's test that, shall we?" the woman asked. She turned away again. Probably to grab more weapons.

Well, if that's how she wants to play it. "You could always... ask... your brother."

The woman screamed in rage and whirled on Luce, planting a heel in their stomach, knocking the chair onto its back. Pain exploded up into their chest, down their spine, burst across their skull where it collided with the ground. Their lungs were paralyzed, burning but unable to draw in air.

Okay. New plan. Fuck. Fucking ow. Avoid dying until Ari notices I'm gone. Piece of fucking cake. Then avoid dying when Isaure has to fix me. No, unrealistic. Avoid dying until Isaure can kill me herself. It's the least she deserves.

Anything to distract from the pain.

Luce didn't realize they'd shut their eyes until their head spun as the chair was hefted back upright. The woman was back. They'd missed her footsteps. Lot of use you are. Focus.

They grunted as the change in position jolted the crossbow bolt, still embedded in the back of the chair—and their torso. Couldn't help but wince, wincing made it hurt worse. Tears welled up in their eyes.

"Weak, aren't you?"

Like to see you get shot and tossed around and shed nary a tear, Luce thought, but their voice was no longer working. Fine. "Fuck you," they whispered.

"What was that?" You fucking heard me. The woman laughed. "Not so tough at all. Tell me where your friends are or I'll figure out a way to make you scream."

Luce glared up at her. If their hands had been free, they'd have had a lot to say to her, not that she'd understand any of it. "Not fucking scared of you," they whispered instead. "Figure out a fucking way."

The woman's brow furrowed. Take that. "Is that a challenge? No matter. You'll tell me, or you'll die in misery and I'll just have to hunt your friends down myself."

She hefted a metal rod—fire poker, should have noticed, oh fuck—and swung it down on Luce's forearm. Luce heaved out a voiceless gasp. Oh, Lady. This is only going to get worse.

More blows. Arms, legs. A couple to the chest, not too many, probably doesn't want to break a rib and risk collapsing a lung, so considerate. More questions. The stomach was the worst. Like being shot anew every time the poker made contact. Gonna be puking blood when this is over. Luce didn't answer. Didn't scream. Would have struggled to produce a full-throated sound, even if they'd wanted to. Broken speech is good for something. Bet she's mad.

Eventually, the beating stopped. Luce could hardly tell through the tears blurring their sight, but they'd bet good money that the woman's face was contorted in fury.

Their theory was confirmed when she growled, "Why won't you break!"

Luce offered up a shaky grin in response. Squeezing their eyes shut to concentrate, they whispered, "Untie... hands... I'll tell you."

The woman only snarled in response. Worth a try.

Luce kept their eyes closed, tracking her retreat with their ears instead. Leaving. Regrouping. Good. Time. Speed up, Maré. Need you.

They half-drifted, breathing in time with the pulsing in their stomach. Ari, Maré, Maré, find me. Don't tell Darnell, he doesn't need to see. Secret, safe, secret, keep it. Time. Give it time. Find me.

The woman returned. Her steps were slow and heavy.

"What," Luce murmured, head lolling to the side, eyes blinking open lazily. Weapon? Knife. Hunting. I'm the prey. Threat established, they closed their eyes again. It wasn't much, but the darkness was a slight balm to their headache.

"Everyone fears something," the woman said. "You don't fear pain, I'll give you that. But you fear something. Death, I can tell. You don't want to die." She paused for a long moment. "Fire, probably."

Luce couldn't restrain the slight laugh that escaped them. Fire. Nothing would be as terrible as the all-engulfing flame that had scarred them in the first place. No, they didn't fear fire.

"Not fire," the woman concluded. Whoops. Ah well, she deserves one for free.

"You're a peacock. If you weren't already disfigured, maybe a threat to your pretty face would get you to talk."

"Rude," Luce whispered. "Still pretty."

"Still, there's more than one way to skin a kobold. You still wear makeup. Hands?"

Luce did not freeze. Their breath did not hitch. They forced their lips to curl into a smile. "So sweet... you noticed."

She doesn't know. Don't let her know. She doesn't know, she can't know, don't let her know, hide, hide, hide-hide-hide.

The silence dragged on and on. Luce put all their concentration into looking as unconcerned as possible. They regretted closing their eyes. Wished they could see the woman's face, couldn't risk looking and letting her know they cared. Couldn't move, for fear. Rabbit in the open. Pretend it's on purpose, but could you move if you wanted to?

Head hanging. Eyes closed. Playing dead. Being dead. The dead don't feel fear. Remember, the best way to sell a trick is to believe it yourself. Nobody likes a jaded magician. But don't over-sell. Watch my hands. How does it feel to see something impossible? Good, use that. That's what you're selling.

"Ears," the woman finally continued. "I see you tracking me. Neat trick, with your eyes closed. And of course your smart mouth."

Smart mouth, Luce echoed soundlessly. The last of their voice was gone. They opened their eyes.

The woman was twirling her knife. The front of Luce's shirt was wet with blood, cooling and crusting over. Probably the back as well. Their stomach burned. Their limbs throbbed in time with their pulse, too fast. I just want this to be over.

Focus on the pain. Like that hit to your stomach. Hurts, right? That's why you can't go down. Stay up, keep fighting. Doesn't matter how much it hurts. You go down, you're out, kid. Fight's over. In the ring, it don't matter, but in real life, you die. Got that?

"Hands first, I think. Then your tongue, then your ears. We'll see if I can't make you scream before then. I doubt it, given your apparent... defects, but we can try nonetheless."

No, no, no, no. Anything else. Can't perform without my hands, can't fight, can't talk. Be useless. Change her mind. Anything else.

Lower your eyes, Luce, don't look so invested. Watch your breathing. Not too fast, but not too slow, either. Smile. Look confident. Remember, you have something that they want. Confident, not cocky, Luce. They have something you want, too. Make them feel good about giving it to you.

"Knife or club, do you think? Is it worse to have fingers broken beyond repair, or no fingers at all?"

Frozen. Neither. Anything else. No more magic. No more fighting. No more sign language. Trapped, voiceless, again, forever.

Use your words, Luce. Negotiate with me.

...I'm sorry, Mom. I can't.

Then there was shouting and flames, almost pleasantly warm, dancing at the walls, when did it get so cold? Shouting, orange and purple bolts of magic flying past, a familiar dry voice saying "buckle up, bud, this is gonna suck."

Luce exhaled through gritted teeth as someone yanked at the crossbow bolt. Hands on their shoulders, hands on their stomach, a hand holding their own, pressing reassurances into it, words like safe and home and free.

Voices were passing over their head, the words lost in the buzz of adrenaline, a wave of exhaustion crashing over them in the aftermath of fear fear fear. Where was Ari? There. Warm and soft and safe, crooning soft reassurances to Luce's low humming. I was afraid. I wasn't good enough. I waited. You found me. Be careful, she's looking for you, the Storm-Hunter. They tried to stand up but their knees buckled underneath them, a web of hands and arms catching them mid-fall, settling them gently onto the floor.

"The woman, she's a Storm-Hunter, she wants revenge," Luce signed.

"She's been taken care of," said Isaure, in her typical understated fashion. "And you're next."

She sounded like she wanted to say more. Luce raised their eyebrows at her. Isaure shook her head in response. She looked tired.

Bad, then.

"Ari," Luce whispered, and there she was, on their right, Darnell on their left, Tesla twining around the three of them. "Am I okay?" Don't lie.

"You're going to be," she promised.

Luce hummed in agreement. "Got me... just in time," they said. I was so afraid, they didn't say. "'M cold," they said.

Ari turned to look at Isaure. Luce's head swam. Tesla chirped his sound of distress. Why? Maybe because of the water. Yes, the water. It was cold, which was why Luce was cold. It distorted and clouded the shapes around them and muffled the sounds. But it was nice in the water. It didn't hurt so much. Luce slipped under the surface and let the currents tug them away.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 19

Douxie x fem reader

Masterlist in Bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 19 summary: The past gets messy. It's got a very fluffy ending.

A/n: It’s finally here and it's 7,547 words, yay!!!

“Death to all trolls!” Called Arthur as he rode towards the forest.

“Death to all trolls!” His knights repeated.

“Let's get out there, boys, and rip their faces off!” Galahad cheered and you wrinkled your nose at the violence.

“Medieval Bessie, go! Ho-ho! Cow-ho!” Steve prompted his cow forwards and you decided to do the same with your horse. Past Douxie was supposed to be helping you ride, but he was overly excited to be going on a mission.

You tried to steer the horse in the right direction, but he just went towards the left. You huffed in frustration when he wouldn’t move. You knew it wasn’t the horse's fault, but that didn’t stop you from getting a little irritated.

“Would you mind helping me?” You asked Past Douxie, but he was in his own world.

“What a beautiful day for a ride. It just makes you want to-“ he stopped talking and suddenly you noticed that he wasn’t on the horse anymore.

“Huh?” Steve asked. You looked to see your Douxie moving past Douxie back inside the gate.

He came over to you. “Would you like to help me?” You asked as he got onto the horse.

“Gladly,” he responded, taking the reins.

“You do know that repeated sleep spells can cause memory loss permanently,” Archie informed, soaring past you.

Douxie shrugged. “Huh, don't remember that. No matter. Let's go! The king needs us!”

You held onto Douxie as he sped up the horse. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to be on one, but it calmed you to know that you could catch yourself with magic.

~~~~

Eventually you had to abandon the horses and while you had enjoyed riding him, you were glad to be on your own two feet again.

You went to walk with Merlin so you could distract him from Douxie’s plan. You silently followed the old wizard, doing your best not to irritate him, while also trying to keep him away from Claire and Douxie.

Your job was going well, Merlin seemed to be content with ignoring Douxie and just focusing on protecting the king. He occasionally talked to you, inquiring after your name and whether you had magic or not. He seemed satisfied with your answers, but he warned you about using your magic.

“Arthur has never been fond of magic and he also doesn’t like strangers. You’ll need a good excuse if he notices you,” Merlin was saying.

“I was just going to say I was hoping to be your new apprentice,” you said and Merlin considered it.

“That should be fine,” Merlin eventually responded.

You looked over to Douxie as you and Merlin settled into vigilant silence again. He looked tired and you frowned. He was putting too much pressure on himself. He had been stressed before you had gone into the past, but now you didn’t know how he was able to function.

When he saw you staring at him he gave you a small smile and a wave. You waved back, focusing on a knight as you felt your face heat up.

“No sign of them, sire. Trail's gone cold,” the knight announced. You looked past him and saw the trees swaying gently. You would have expected a place called the wild wood to be more creepy, but it seemed like a nice place.

Douxie began to walk over to Arthur who was looking into the woods. “Say, my liege, didn't you used to spend time in this wood?”

Arthur sighed wistfully. “Yes. As a boy. Much time was lost in this accursed forest. I often fled to these woods to escape from my growing responsibilities.”

Douxie gave you a bright smile, full of hope before waving his hands discreetly. Bright Blue magic bloomed around you, bringing to life three children. You smiled as they laughed, remember it when you and Jim were carefree and could just play together. Now he was somewhere in these woods and you were supposed to be hunting him, not that you’d ever harm your little brother.

“On your guard, men! We've been bewitched!” A knight called and you rolled your eyes, they were so scared of magic.

“What's happening? It's coming for me!” Another painicked. “It's dark magic!”

Merlin scoffed. “Stand down. We're not in danger. Uh, my lord...”

You turned your attention to Arthur, who seemed to actually be bewitched. “Gwen,” the king breathed. “My betrothed. My beloved. She was the heart of me.”

Morgana came over. “Mm, we loved these woods. The freedom they offered. The wood showed us kindness for our courage. Gwen and I were never scared. Arthur, however...”

You smiled as a creature that looked like Nari offered the two girls a gift. However, your smile faded when a much younger Arthur pulled a dagger on her.

Arthur scowled. “I knew what danger lurked in the darkness.”

“Gwen! Away from her, demon!” Young Arthuer yelled, scaring Nari away.

“As we grew older, and duty kept me inside, Morgana encouraged Gwen, brought her out when she should have stayed safe within Camelot,” Arthur explained.

“Arthur always blamed me for our moonlight trips. But that night, it was Gwen pulling me out of the door. We'd stumbled into a Stalkling nest,” Morgana said sadly.

“Gwen!” Past Morgana yelled as a Stalkling growled.

“It was afraid,” Morgana said and you looked away as you heard the illusion scream. You recalled that a Stalkling had hungered your brother on his birthday, it was scary to think of what could have happened to him.

“That night, Gwen went into the woods and never returned.” Arthur sighed. “You, sister, should have known better.

Morgana looked away. “You never forgave me. And when my own gifts blossomed, you saw yet another abomination. Ordered Merlin to teach me to control that part of me... though Gwen loved magic as I did.”

“Yes. Yes, she did. I... I miss her terribly,” Arther whispered.

“As do I... brother,” Morgana whispered back. You felt a tear slip down your face. It was so sad what had happened to Gwen. Having lost friends, you knew how hard it was to come back from it. You couldn’t imagine losing Jim or Douxie or anyone.

You hadn’t known Douxie for as long as Arthur knew Gwen, but just thinking of losing him made the tears fall faster.

Lancelot snapped you out of your thoughts.    “Troll! We found one!”

Arthur growled. “I will lose no one else to those creatures. To arms!”

Douxie sighed. “No, no, no, no, no! Not now!”

Claire looked over to you. “Oh, no! Jim!”

“Steady, men! Remember your training. Kill the beast!” Lancelot ordered.

“Wait, kill? I thought this was catch-and-release!” Steve yelled as he ran off.

“Using magic? On the king? Are you mad? Come, we must protect Arthur,” Merlin hissed at Douxie and you followed him silently.

Douxie fell into steps beside you. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying.”

“Oh...their story really got to me,” you mumbled.

“It’s gonna be okay Y/n, Jim will be safe.”

“I hope so,” you replied. You ran over to another clearing where you saw the knights take down a gumm-gumm. You couldn’t say you were too heartbroken over it, but Morgana didn’t seem too happy.

“Take the beast down!” Arthur ordered.

“Arthur, no!” Morgana cried out.

Lancelot threw his sword to Steve. “Squire Steve, will you do the honors?” Steve hesitated and the gumm-gumm tried to attack him. You got ready to use your magic, but Arthur stepped up.

“Careful, young squire. Show these beasts no sympathy.” Arthur killed the gumm-gumm and the knights cheered.

You watched them, but when a scream sounded behind you, you whirled around to see Bular by Steve. Protective sister mode kicked in and your hands glowed orange as you got ready to fight the gumm-gumm prince to protect Steve.

Bular grabbed Steve by his collar and threw him aside. You ran over to the poor boy and caught him with magic. You were honestly grateful that you didn’t have to take the beast on. You had seen how hard it had been for your brother to kill him.

“Thanks, Y/n,” Steve rasped. You helped him to his feet and went over to help deal with Bular. He couldn’t die or the future would be changed drastically for you and your brother, but you also couldn’t let him hurt anyone here.

“The Gumm-Gumm prince himself!” Galahad laughed “Oh... Come on, let's see what you are-“

Bular threw Galahad to the side and with that Arthur charged. “For Camelot!”

“I'll drink your blood out of a goblet made of your skull! I'll carve you open, let your guts spill out!” Bular snarled. You ran over to the knights with bows and got ready to redirect any arrows as Douxie and Merlin went to help Arthur.

“My king!” Galahad cried.

“Arthur!” Lancelot ran over to help. Bular raised his hand for the finishing blow, but Douxie stopped him.

“There's no spilling anything today!” Douxie grunted as he did his best to keep Bular from killing Arthur. Merlin used his own magic to create a seal on the floor and when Douxie dragged him to it, a bright green net of magic trapped Bular.

Arthur stood and walked over to the troll. “Finish it, then, fleshbag!” Bular taunted.

“The spawn of Gunmar. I won't dull Excalibur's edge with you,” Arthur snarled. “Drag this monster back to Camelot! I have plans for him. The rest, with me! My blade hungers.”

“As you wish, milord. Onward!” Lancelot called.

“Who's the monster here?” Morgana asked.

None of you knew how to answer, so when you continued walking you went back to your respective posts. Merlin walked by Morgana, so you got the chance to talk to the sorceress. It was pretty interesting getting to know this side of Morgana.

Once you told her you had magic she gave you tricks, asking if you could do shadow magic. When you said ‘no’ she was understanding and told you about this tea recipe should you ever need it. Douxie already had the recipe, but it was kind of Morgana to think of it.

As you talked you began to wonder how Morgana could have possibly turned evil. Of course you had never met her back in your time, but you had heard horrible stories about her.

You heard Arthur shouting ahead and you all ran over to the clearing.

“Wait!” Douxie yelled.

“My king, it's not safe!” Merlin tried, but Arthur ignored them.

“Oh, no,” Claire muttered and you nodded your head in agreement.

Morgana waved at you and Claire to follow her. “Come, handmaiden. Not a moment to lose.”

“What are you gonna do if we catch them?” Claire asked.

“Whatever I have to.”

With that the three of you ran over to another clearing.

“This way!” You whispered, trying to guide Morgana away from Jim’s aura. But suddenly you heard a clatter and panting. Morgana ignored your advice and went the other way. You had no choice but to follow her and help Jim.

“There you are,” Morgana shouted, jumping off a ledge. You followed her, ready to use your magic.  

“Morgana?” Jim asked.

“Jim! Jim!” Claire called. She hadn’t made it to the clearing yet, but you would do your best to battle Morgana. You went to stand between Jim and the sorceress, ready to protect your little brother at any cost.

“You will not hurt him!” You growled, your hands already lighting up, ready to fight.

However, Morgana surprised you. “Don't be afraid. I won't hurt him,” she promised, kneeling next to Jim.

“Jim! Don't kill him! You said-“ Claire cried, not yet in the clearing and seeing what was happening.

“I'm sorry you were ever in a cage,” Morgana apologized.

A knight shouted in the near distance, “Down in the clearing!”

“Go. I will draw away the others. Go!” Morgana ordered, helping Jim up.

“I'll find you,” Jim promised. He gave you one last look before going to run. You got ready to face the knights when you heard Jim cry out behind you. Now it was Arthur about to kill him.

“Arthur!” Morgana yelled.

You didn’t care about being inconspicuous anymore, you had to keep Jim safe. You raced over to him, ready to fight King Arthur himself if it meant saving your brother.

Claire followed you. “Jim!”

“So, sister. Your true loyalties stand revealed at last. I warned you not to return with a clean sword,” Arthur growled. He brought the sword down, but yours materialized and was right there to meet it. Unfortunately, Arthur was stronger and you began to struggle.

“Can’t. We. Talk. This. Out?” You gasped. Suddenly, when you were sure your arms were about to give out, Morgana took your place, using the staff to keep Arthur’s sword off Jim.

“What? What are you doing?” Arthur asked, addressing his sister, completely ignoring you.

“What I should have done years ago,” Morgana retorted.

“You dare raise arms against your king?” Arthur asked, shocked.

“Run, Jim!” Claire cried, helping you get him to his feet.

“Get back here, you gravel-eater!” Lancelot yelled, shooting an arrow at you. Both of your hands were holding Jim, but thankfully Claire took care of it, blasting the arrow aside with her purple magic.

“No!” Claire screamed.

Lancelot stared in shock. “What the...? She's a wit-oh!”

Steve hit him on the head with a rock. “Oh-ho, man! That troll-that came out of nowhere! Right, guys?”

Lancelot got up again and Steve hit him. You winced and turned back to Jim.

“Go!” Both you and Claire ordered. He gave you and Claire a quick hug each before running off. You watched sadly as he faded into the forest. You hated letting him leave. You were so very worried about him. It just wasn’t fair that you couldn’t be there to protect him.

Eventually, you turned and ran back over to the clearing. You heard the clanging of swords and raced over to Merlin.

The old wizard gasped. “Morgana? She takes Arthur's life?”

“No, no! No, wait, wait! We don't have to figh-“ Douxie ran to stop them, but Merlin blasted him to the side. You went to help him up.

“Are you alright?” You asked.

“Yeah, I just don’t get why they won’t listen to us. They’re supposed to be the adults, but all they do is fight.”

“We’ll figure it out,” you promised.

“Defend the king at all costs!” Merlin ordered.

Morgana glared at him. “You, too, old man?”

“I do what I must for the greater good!” Merlin yelled.

“Traitors!” Morgana yelled, flying into the air. “You throw us in chains, fearing what you cannot control, but we of magic are not lesser creatures, we are more!”

That was when you realized that maybe Morgana wasn’t right. You believed that everyone should get along, it wasn’t right that one species was better or something. They should be equal. Morgana and Arthur were on opposite sides of the spectrum; he believed that humans were better while she believed that magical creatures were better. History was on Arthur’s side when it came to people and trolls finding peace, so you would have to side with him if you couldn’t reason with Morgana.

“Stop! We found another way!” Claire yelled, coming into the clearing.

“We did, this doesn’t have to get any worse!” You cried.

“We can do this peacefully!” Douxie added.

Morgana sighed. “The time for peace ended long ago.”

Morgana continued to attack Arthur and you and Claire went to stop her. “Morgana, he's not the enemy,” Claire yelled.

Morgana scoffed. “I trusted you! Now you side with my brother over your own kind? You're one of them. You're all against me, but I am more powerful than you know. Ortum obumbratio!”

Gold and black shadows of Morgana rose from the ground and you screamed. You looked to your own shadow and you saw it rise to fight you.

“Oh, buckets,” Douxie cursed and you backed over to him. The shadows chased you all out of the forest to a cliff.

Had you been there in any other situation, you would have stopped to admire the beauty; the sun was setting and the ocean was magnificent, but now you had to fight for your life. Once Morgana had deemed you a traitor to her cause, she was ready to end your life.

“Your cruelty towards magic-kind knows no bounds! You have taken and taken, and now we take back!” Morgana cried.

“Protect the king!” Merlin ordered again. You blasted your shadow in the stomach and went to help Arthur. However, his shadow sent him tumbling to the edge of the cliff. You raced to use your magic to help him up, but he ignored the offer. He climbed up on his own and stood his ground.

“Enough!” Arthur yelled, raising Excalibur to the sky. The clouds parted and a beam of light came down, enchanting the sword. Arthur brought it to the ground and a ball of magic exploded from it, knocking you to the ground. You flew away from the king, hitting the ground hard.

The air was knocked out of you and you struggled to get up.

Morgana cackled at him. “You outlaw magic, but fight with an enchanted sword! You snuff out any power that isn't yours, but I won't go so quietly.”

“I denied your true nature for so long because you are my sister. But when I look at you now, all I see is a demon! A witch!” Arthur roared and he and Morgana continued to fight. You watched in horror as the time map showed the timeline deteriorate. It flashed red and blue, but red seemed to be winning.

“And all I see is a little boy driven mad by hatred and prejudice! Goodbye, brother.” Morgana cried. She waved her arm to do a spell, but Arthur got to her first, cutting off her hand. Morgana gasped.

“Morgana! No! No, no, no!” You and Douxie yelled.

Arthur hesitated. “No...”

“Brother?” Morgana whispered, she took a step back, underestimating the distance between her and the edge of the cliff. You watched in horror as she disappeared.

“Morgana!” Douxie yelled.

“No!” The rest of you echoed. You watched as Arthur took a step away from the cliff. He eyed his sword and smashed it against the ground. Pieces flew everywhere and you created a shield as a piece of shrapnel almost hit you.

You let your shield down and looked over to Douxie. He looked absolutely beaten and hopeless. You didn’t know how you were gonna fix this.

~~~~

After a while Merlin convinced Arthur to leave and you walked home in silent defeat.

“Now magic has truly taken everything from me,” Arthur muttered angrily.

Claire looked over to you. “She's gone. We failed.”

You opened your mouth to say something soothing and optimistic, but nothing came out. Instead Douxie spoke, “No, I failed. Master I-I'm so sorry.”

“This is why you don't meddle with time,” Merlin said.

“But I tried. I tried to fix it,” Douxie argued.

Merlin sighed sadly. “Don't you see, boy? There is no 'fixing' anything. Every change has consequence. Knowing the future is a responsibility to bear with caution, lest you cause worse things to happen.”

Douxie sank to the ground, staring at the flashing time map. “Morgana's dead, Excalibur's broken. That never happened.”

You and Archie went to go and comfort him. “We are in uncharted territory.”

~~~~

You couldn’t believe it was only a day ago that Merlin was vowing to save the king. He had accomplished his goal of course, however, he had failed to save Morgana. After you had spent time with her in the wild woods you felt awful about her death, but there was also the fact that she wasn’t in her right mind. It was all very complicated.

Now you were about to go with Merlin to help fix Excalibur. You huddled up in a jacket that Douxie had found for you. It was freezing and the fog wasn’t helping.

Archie sat by you on the rail of the boat, gazing at the sea. “I try to avoid water.”

Steve came over to the two of you. “Personally, I always pack my swimsuit. Extra-personally, it's actually my birthday suit.”

You rolled your eyes at him then looked at Merlin. “When are we going to get there?”

“We’ll get there when we get there,” Merlin stated harshly.

“I was asking if I had time to check on my brother,” you responded, giving him a dead look. You had the patience to wait, you had taken a trip to the moon that had lasted forever without complaining after all.

“Ah, yes,” Merlin said and that was all the confirmation you needed before closing your eyes. You felt the shift and focused on what you remembered Jim’s aura to be like. When you opened your eyes you were no longer on a boat, but in a room.

You looked around and saw Jim, his friend, and...Blinky.

“Clearly he’s delusional,” Blinky was saying to Dictatious. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Jim. “Snap out of it!”

“Ow!” Jim yelped as Blinky continued to slap him. “Blinky, it’s me, Jim!”

“‘Blinky’? For the last time, that’s Blinky’s Gakadrigal to you, outsider.”

“And my nightmare’s real,” Jim muttered.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Dictatious said, shaking Jims hand. “Forgive my brother. Your traveling companion was a little more hostile upon waking up.”

“I startle easy. That’s on you,” the other troll said.

Blinky began to rant and you snuck over to Jim. “Are you okay?” You whispered.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. How are you?” He whispered back.

“I’m alright, I’ll try to check in daily okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Stay safe.”

“You too.” You gave a small smile before returning back to your body and to the freezing cold boat.

“How is he?” Claire asked.

“He’s fine.” You chuckled. “He just met a very irritated Blinky.”

Claire smiled. “Good, I’m glad he’s safe.”

You were cut off from saying anything more when the boat turned the corner. You walked over to the edge of the boat by Douxie and saw a bunch of wrecked ships.

“Whoa, it's a ship graveyard,” Steve marveled.

“We've arrived,” Merlin announced.

“Huh. The Lady of the Lake is real! I thought she was just a myth,” Claire said.

Douxie smiled. “Oh, no, the Lady's very much real. Though, only Merlin's allowed to meet with her... until now.”

“Because her power is beyond your comprehension. It was from her mystic waters I helped Arthur first retrieve Excalibur and unite the kingdom. Hisirdoux, the sword please,” Merlin requested.

“Yeah! Quest, quest, quest, quest!” Steve chanted.

Merlin hopped off the ship and began to walk towards two face carvings. “Watch the ship. I shall return shortly.

“What? We have to wait in the car?” Steve whined.

“But I thought we were doing this together,” Douxie protested.

Merlin sighed. “You should be thanking me. I got you out of Camelot. Arthur's unstable and the people are afraid. And not only that, Y/n practically committed treason, so the less Arthur sees her the better.”

You smiled sheepishly as Douxie tried to go after Merlin. “I thought you trusted me. I won't just sit here without making things right!”

“And I will not lose another apprentice!” Merlin shouted and it echoed throughout the cave. Douxie took a step back and you grabbed onto his hand in silent comfort.

“Who dares to disturb my slumb-“ the door on the right asked suddenly asked and you jumped. Douxie chuckled at you and you gently elbowed him.

Merlin cut the door off. “It's me, Merlin. Open up, you idiots.”

“Oh, it is you! All right, walk in,” the other door said, sliding apart so Merlin could enter.

Douxie ran after him, but the doors slammed shut before he could get through.

“Lake's closed!” Righty said.

“None but the master wizard shall pass. No amateurs. That's you,” Lefty taunted.

Douxie stood back. “Causa crepitoose!” He yelled and a blue blast hit the doors, doing nothing

Righty laughed. “Is that all you got, punk?”

“Come on, get close so I can bite your legs off!” Lefty howled with laughter and you rolled your eyes.

“Come on, ignore them,” you said, leading Douxie over to Claire and Steve.

“Ugh! Merlin's magic is so annoying!” Claire groaned.

Douxie sighed. “The talking door is right. This sorcery's uncrackable.”

“Well, at least we don't have to see Steve's birthday suit,” Archie said optimistically.

“Too late! Whoo!” Steve yelled and you were glad he was by the water where you couldn’t see him.

“Oh, no! My eyes!”

“Oh, I can't unsee that now!”

The four of you minus Steve walked over to a grassy area and Archie helped you collect sticks. Once you assembled them he set them on fire.

“Thanks, Archie,” Douxie said, giving a small smile.

“Jeez, how long is Coach Wizard gonna take? It's been forever!” Steve whined, walking back to you.

“What if the old man needs our help?” Archie asked, curling up onto your lap. Even with the fire and your jacket you were still shivering.

You watched as Steve stood and charged at the doors, trying to scare them open. You weren’t surprised when it didn’t work.

“Uh, Open Sesame! Abracadabra! I'm begging you, man!” Steve tried after violence failed. “Hey, door dorks, open up!”

“Why don't you open up?” One of the doors mocked.

Steve huffed. “Maybe I will! So, I'm-I'm really scared that I won't be a good knight.”

“Well, you won't be, but don't be scared about it. You know, then you worry about, like, what is your purpose on this planet?” Lefty said.

You turned away from Steve to face the fire again. Douxie scooted close to you and wrapped his arm around you.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, trying to hide your blush.

“You seemed cold, so...yeah,” Douxie explained.

You faded into silence, the only noise in the cavern was Steve’s therapy session with the doors.

Claire opened up her book on shadow magic and Douxie stood up excitedly.  “Merlin doesn't know shadow magic. Claire! You could make a shadow portal and slip us right through!”

Claire hesitated. “I don't know, Douxie. I don't have my staff.”

“I've seen you do magic without it,” Douxie said.

“But Merlin said-“ Claire started.

“Merlin's not here,” Douxie countered and you noticed Claire’s aura twist with fear and anger.

You were about to tell Douxie to drop it when Claire yelled, “I don't wanna become her!”

She went to sit on the log by the fire. “What if the darkness takes over, like Morgana?” She asked. You walked over to her and gave her a hug.

“Claire, you are nothing like Morgana, you are way better,” you reassured her.

Douxie sighed, coming over. “Claire, look, I know you're scared, but you're not her. You can make the magic your own. I never had the gift for shadowmancy, but you do. You can do great and wondrous things. I've seen it.”

Claire sighed and nodded. “Okay, Douxie, I'll try. But I need you to walk me through the spell book, Teach. I don't speak Wizard-ese.”

Douxie shook his head and backed away. “You want me to teach? I'm not even a good student.”

“You've got that right.

“The worst!”

You glared at the doors. “Back off!”

“Quit it!” Claire snapped.

“Who asked you, knobhead?” Archie growled and you smiled a bit at how you all defended Douxie.

“Why are we yelling?” Steve cried.

You turned to Douxie. “Some of my favorite spells are the ones you taught me in Bulgaria, you’ll be a great teacher.”

Douxie laughed. “Right. Put your hands out like this. Beyond there is your destination, your emotional anchor.” He put his hands out and Claire mimicked him while you levitated the book in front of them.

“Got it,” Claire said.

Douxie nodded. “Then pull the magic around you. It will be your door to the Shadow Realm. That's it, that's it. Steady. Focus. Eyes on point, mind on anchor. You got this.”

“I'm scared,” Claire cried as the portal began to form. You saw how her aura twist and you began to sing a lullaby.

“Magic is emotion. Don't let fear control you. Use it! Stay true to yourself. That will protect you from the shadows,” Douxie encouraged and you saw Claire’s aura slowly start to go back to normal.

“Uh, Doux?” Claire asked, her aura suddenly twisting again.

“Don't be afraid, Claire. This is your magic. You can control it,” Douxie reassured. “Keep your eyes on point.”

Claire started panting and you tried to sing louder, but suddenly the portal rushed at her, taking her.

“Claire!” All of you screamed in unison.

“Doux, how do we bring her back?” Archie asked as Douxie flipped through the spell book.

“Hold on. I can figure this out. It's gonna be fine,” Douxie said, sounding anything but fine.

“Fine? Shadows just ate her alive, man! What are we gonna do?” Steve asked.

“We will figure something out,” you promised, already trying to hold your hands out like Claire had done. You may have not had the tolerance for shadow magic, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t perform it.

“Whoa, whoa, Y/n, stop,” Douxie said, rushing to stand in front of you. “You can’t do this, you’ll get sick again! There’s got to be another way!”

“I’m going to get her back,” you said. Your heart was racing with panic and you tried to take that fear and use it to bring Claire home. You focused and just when you felt the portal expand in front of you, Claire made her own. She dropped back into reality, right on Douxie and Steve.

“Are you hurt?” Archie asked Claire.

“Claire! Claire, are you all right?” Douxie asked, rushing to get up and help her.

“Give her some space,” Archie ordered.

“I saw her-a vision of Morgana!” Claire exclaimed.

“Oh, hot dang,” Steve whispered.

“Was it really her? Or was it guilt, or fear, or...“ Claire started.

“The Shadow Realm is a place of mystery. We understand if you don't want to go back in,” Douxie said.

“Yeah, shadow magic is nasty stuff,” you mumbled, swaying on your feet before crashing into Douxie.

“Y/n? Are you alright? Talk to me, Y/n,” Douxie begged.

You let out a string of coughs as Douxie helped you sit down by the fire. “I’ll be fine,” you promised.

“What happened?” Claire asked.

“Y/n used shadow magic again,” Douxie said and you could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I wasn’t gonna let Claire get stuck in the shadow realm. I knew what I was doing and I will be fine with a little rest and tea.”

“Mhmm,” Douxie mumbled, but he still seemed upset with you.

You sighed before turning to face Claire. “How do you feel about getting us past those doors? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No. It's okay. I'll be all right. Thanks for talking me through it, Teach,” Claire said. “And thank you, Y/n, for trying to go in after me.”

You coughed. “Of course.”

Claire stood up and got ready to open a portal.

“No way this works, witchey!” Righty taunted.

“True.”

“Not your fault your teacher's a dunce.”

Douxie ignored them and you glared at them even though you were sure you just looked like an angry puppy with your watery eyes and runny nose wrapped in a large jacket.

“There is your anchor,” Douxie said, using magic to send a glowing blue orb towards the doors and past them.

“Let go of the fear,” Claire mumbled.

“No, no, don't do that,” Lefty said.

“Uh, no, no, no! Not good! Bad, bad idea!” Righty cried as a large shadow portal formed.

“Yes, yes, yes! Claire, you did it!” Douxie cheered.

“Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Shadow magic!” Claire celebrated.

“Whoo-hoo!” Steve shouted.

“Nice job Claire!” You smiled before coughing again.

“Wow, she picked that up fast.” Douxie grinned.

“She had a stellar teacher,” Archie praised.

Douxie smiled even wider. “What are we standing 'round for? That magical sword won't repair itself. Let's go! To the Lady!”

“Gentlemen, after you,” Claire said, gesturing for them to go into the portal. You went to walk into the portal, but Douxie stuck his hand out, blocking you.

“What are you doing?” You asked.

“Are you sure you should be traveling through a shadow portal right now?” Douxie asked.

“I’m fine and I’m not letting you go alone,” you argued.

Douxie opened his mouth to counter, “You’re sick and I’m plenty capable o-”

“I never said you weren’t capable, I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to have back up. If you guys don’t come out later it will be a suiside mission for me to go in alone, but if I go in now we have each other's backs.”

Douxie slowly removed his arm and you felt bad about arguing with him. You walked through the portal and shivered, Douxie was right, it did make you feel worse and so, when you were out on the other side, you threw up. Thankfully Douxie didn’t see and so he didn’t force Claire to send you back.

“We made it!” Claire exclaimed as she walked through.

“Thanks to you.” Douxie smiled at her, creating a magic light.

Steve sniffed. “Ugh! This lake stinks like butt thunder!”

Douxie frowned. “I'd say we've arrived.”

“Yeah, but where's Merlin?” Claire asked.

“Gah!” Steve yelped as you heard wood creak near you. Douxie shined his light on a boat. It would have been already scary for an old piece of wood to be floating in the creepy lake, but this one had to have Excalibur on it, putting it on a whole other level.

“Uh, he can handle himself. L-Let's just stick to the plan and find the Lady. And everything will be fine,” Douxie reassured, not sounding at all confident. You walked over to him and he helped you onto the boat. You shivered and coughed and Douxie put his arm around you. You looked up at him, but he was looking ahead.

You knew you had worried him when you made the portal. You felt really bad that he seemed to be upset with you.

“What the...?” Steve screamed as lanterns on the boat posts lit up and you began to move. You huddled closer to Douxie who thankfully didn’t protest.

“Come on, Steve. Get it together. Knights don't scare,” he whispered to himself.  You watched as the water in front of you began to glow and up rose a turquoise lady in an odd veil.

“It's... It's her!” Claire marveled.

“I am the Lady, Nimue, Eldest of Oracles. Why do you seek me?” She asked in a clear voice.

“Okay, everyone, just be nice to the goddess. I'll sort this,” Douxie cleared his throat. “Oh, mighty Lake Lady... we are here to request your aid.”

“And we're missing an old wizard, if you've seen one,” Archie added.

“I can give you what you seek,” Niue said.

Douxie took this as a sign and continued. “Only you can help us on our quest to fix Excalibur and save Camelot.”

“That is not which you truly desire.” She gestured to Douxie. “You seek redemption from a scorned mentor.” She moved to Claire. “Escape from guilt.” She went to Steve. “Validation of knighthood.” Finally she moved to you. “Safety for you and your friends.”

You sighed in relief when she didn’t say ‘Douxie’ or something embarrassing. You had half expected her to say Mao, though, you really missed the kitten.

She moved on to Archie next, but she seemed to hesitate with him. “And you seek...roasted salmon?”

“Guilty,” Archie admitted.

“What? Come on, Arch!” Douxie glared at his familiar, but turned his attention back to Nimue as the boat rocked.

Nimue moved away from the boat. “You are not the first to try and deceive me. You are not worthy!”

“Uh, guys…” Claire panicked as the water around you began to bubble.

“Uh, Mr. Magic Man?” Steve asked.

“That is no lady!” Douxie yelped as tentacles came out of the water.

“You seek, you take, and all receive their final reward,” Nimue rasped in a gravelly voice.

“Time to prove my knightly skills. I'll protect thou-thee. Uh, huzzah! Huh?” Steve screamed as Nimue picked him up and dropped him in her mouth.

“Steve!” You all cried.

“Now, onto your rewards,” Nimue threatened.

“Y/n, get out of here now, you’re not fit to fight,” Douxie said, trying to persuade you.

“Not without you,” you responded, shielding all of you as one of her tentacles whapped the boat.

“Such puny creatures make tasty meals,” Nimue laughed, a tentacle wrapped around Douxie and you yelped, doing your best to blast it without hurting him. Douxie reacted though, cutting her with what was left of Excalibur.

“I hate to say it, but perhaps we should've stayed in the ship!” Archie called as he flew around breathing fire on Nimue.

“We need to subdue her so she'll fix Excalibur!” Douxie said. Once Archie was back on the boat you and Douxie worked together to send the boat backwards, rocketing away from Nimue. Archie helped by sending fire.

“We need to get Steve out of this seaside freak show!” Claire countered.

“Oh, fuzz buckets.” Douxie cursed as the Lake Lady rose up infront of your boat again. Douxie sent a blast at her. She retaliated by ripping a piece of the ceiling off and hurtling it towards the boat. Thankfully you and Douxie reacted fast. The chuck of ceiling glowed orange and blue and

“You've been a very bad Lake Lady!” Douxie yelled as you rammed the pillar at her stomach.

You watched as Merlin and Steve fell out and you did your best to cast a spell that would slow their fall.

“Oh! Hey, I-- I did it. I'm a hero,” Steve slurred before collapsing.

“My revenge tasted so sweet,” Nimue groaned.

Douxie scoffed. “Wait, revenge? What revenge?”

“You attacked us, lady!” Claire yelled.

You opened your mouth to add your own retort, but you stopped when you noticed symbols around the cavern. They were written in green magic, Merlin’s green magic.

“Long ago, I gave him the blade, but he imprisoned me here in this cave without hope,” Nimue explained.

“Wait, Merlin trapped you here?” Douxie asked, shocked. You went to grab his hand.

Nimue roared. “Now my prison will be your tomb!”

“Take her down, man, or we're all gonna get dead!” Steve cried.

“But who'll repair Excalibur, Douxie?” Archie asked.

“Well, she's not going to! What do we do, Douxie?” Claire asked and you sensed Douxie begin to have a panic attack. You smiled at him and squeezed his hand and he smiled back.

His decision was made and you watched as he raised the broken Excalibur and blue lightning coursed up it. “Tenebris exilium!” Douxie shouted, throwing the sword at the wall. It shattered, creating a way for Nimue to leave.

“Wait, you let that tentacle lady bounce?” Steve asked, you looked back to him, he was clutching a tooth next to an unconscious Merlin.

“And destroyed Excalibur?” Archie stated.

Douxie looked away. “What are you waiting for? Just go! I may not know how to fix this...” he sighed, “but I do know that you shouldn't be stuck in here.”

Nimue hesitated. “You are... different. You are kind. This gift must be repaid. The sword was meant for those worthy. Do good with it.”

The way the lady phrased that made you pause. Nimue never said he should give it to Arthur, she told Douxie to ‘do good with it.’ You put that thought aside and focused on what was happening.

“I shall return it to its rightful place. Thank you, Scary Monster Lake Lady,” Douxie said.

Steve waved goodbye as Nimue left. “Good-bye! Sorry I almost slayed you, Monster Lady!”

Merlin coughed. “Hisirdoux, what have you done? Uh... oh. Is that Excalibur?”

Douxie smiled proudly. “Indeed. I've resecured Camelot's stability, just as you'd planned.”

Merlin looked around, getting his bearings. “Ah. We must return to Camelot, where we will discuss your blunders later.”

Claire nudged Douxie. “Nice work, Teach.”

“And I got a monster trophy! Whoo! Quest!” Steve whooped.

~~~~

It was a day later when Arthur threw a ball. The next day there was to be a tournament. It was supposed to be a ball of mourning and everyone was dressed up.

When you had gotten back from your quest Douxie had given you some tea and you were feeling much better, though you knew you and your friends were still in trouble. One of the many things troubling you was how Douxie seemed upset with you. It was hard to tell, but you could sense some sort of underlying anger or something at you. But it could just be all in your head. After all, He had found the gorgeous black dress you were wearing.

It was stunning, with silver embroidery along the skirt and over deep black silk. You felt absolutely amazing, you just wished the dress wasn’t for a funeral. It was your first ball and it was one of mourning.

You looked at the crowd at the courtiers. Many of them didn’t look to be in mourning. You had stopped reading their auras long ago, but those you had read didn’t seem too upset by the death of Morgana. They were only excited about the return of Excalibur and what that meant to them.

You were only at the ball because Arthur wasn’t going to be there. Merlin was still concerned that you’d get in trouble if Arthur saw you.

Many people tried to talk to you. It was the court gossip that Merlin had taken a new apprentice, and people wanted to know everything about you. It was kinda funny watching people fawn over your lies.

You looked around for Douxie, maybe less people would ask you to dance if you could find him. Steve was off doing knight stuff and you didn’t know where Claire was.

You made your way through the room, eventually realizing that Douxie wasn’t there. It made sense, even though he was proud of himself for getting Excalibur, he was upset that he hadn’t saved Morgana.

Once you were out of the ballroom, you began reading auras again. It would be easier to find Douxie that way.

It was like deja vu searching for him through the castle just like you had done on your first day in Camelot. It felt like forever since then, so much had changed.

You finally found him in the gardens, an area of the palace that you had never been to. “Hey,” you called, walking over to him. You could hear the music from the ballroom and you realized that you were right below it.

“Y/n,” Douxie said and you took a step back, he still seemed to be kind of upset with you.

“Douxie, I know you’re not happy with me,” you started, “but I made the choice to use shadow magic. I knew what I was doing.”

“I’m sorry if I came across as upset. I was just scared and it’s terrifying to see you so sick, it’s like I could lose you any second.”

You gave an understanding smile. “I’m sorry about that, but you know what, you need to relax. You have so much on your shoulders, you should have some fun tonight. This is my first ball and I want to enjoy it.” You grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Grabbing his other hand you began to dance. The song that was playing was clearing one that you would waltz to and you were glad you knew how.

“I’m so sorry I pulled you into this,” Douxie said, twirling you.

You shook your head. “You do know I had magic long before I met you and that my brother was fated to be the Trollhunter, right?”

“Well, yeah, but I got you stuck in the past.” He lifted you in an arch and you smiled brightly.

“No...a piece of ice from the Arcane order did that. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything Douxie. I know things are bad, but we will find a way to fix them.”

Douxie looked ready to argue with you, but instead he leaned forward, it was a good second before you realized what he was doing and you moved to close the gap.

It was definitely something to be kissing Hisirdoux Casperan, something wonderful. It was so full of love and you smiled into it. It was a sweet little kiss, filled with the promise of more. And it was all too soon though when you broke apart.

“So, uh, that happened,” Douxie stuttered.

“I’m glad something happened,” you heard Archie mumble and you twirled around to see the familiar sitting on the bench, you hadn’t known he was there. “It’s been painfully obvious that you two like each other from the moment I met you.”

You laughed a little. “Huh, that obvious?”

“Very.”

****

Tada! I really hope y’all liked it and are excited for more. I have no clue when more is gonna happen, but it will happen soon. I have a fun idea for chapter 19.5! Anyways, thank you all so much for all the kind comments and I hope you have a fantastically safe and wonderful day!!

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.