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worryinglyinnocent · 3 years ago

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Fic: Haven (24/50)

Summary: They say Resembool is a haven, and they’re right. Lush pastures, quaint country town, farmers’ markets on Saturdays: a bucolic paradise.

But it’s more than that. Resembool is a haven for the runaways, the deserters, the people who don’t want to be found…

The Resembool community knows there’s something odd about Hohenheim, but they’re not going to let that stop them helping him out. This is Resembool after all, a place where no one has to hide and neighbours help neighbours, be they building a fence, chasing a sheep, or trying to save the country from an evil they inadvertently helped release centuries ago…

Or: A series of slices of life in an AU in which Hohenheim never leaves, and several broken state alchemists find hope and home in Resembool.

Rated: T

Haven

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18][19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [AO3]

Summary: A traumatised young alchemist on the verge of a nervous breakdown leaves Ishval in the middle of the night. Through a mixture of providence and sheer stubbornness, Roy Mustang finds his way to Resembool entirely by accident.

Characters: Roy, Hohenheim, Trisha

Content Warning: Suicidal thoughts and PTSD.

I kind of… broke Roy a bit here. Don’t worry. He’ll get better.

Roy Mustang was eighteen years and two days old when he was deployed to Ishval as a very newly-licensed state alchemist.

He was not ready for what happened after that.

He knows that if he’d been able to follow the path that he’d originally set out - enrol in the military academy and graduate there, complete his apprenticeship under Berthold Hawkeye within the normal length of time instead of getting swept up in the whirlwind of fast-tracked licensing - then things would be different. He would still have had to do all the terrible things he’s had to do, but he likes to think that he would have been slightly more mentally prepared for them. Even just a couple of years as a buffer would have been enough. He would have been fully prepared for everything that he would have been expected to do, and he would still have felt horrible, but he wouldn’t have broken down. He doesn’t think so, at least.

As it is, Roy is now a couple of months shy of twenty-one and it feels like he’s clinging on to his sanity by a thread. The smell of burning flesh won’t leave his nose and he’s lost count of the number of times he’s woken up screaming with Hughes’ concerned face hovering above him.

Things had been just about manageable until Lieutenant Colonel Sherman vanished. Roy wishes he knew what happened to her. She’d always kept an eye out for him and the other wet-behind-the-ears alchemists barely out of short trousers. Then she’d had one argument with General Abrams too many and then she was gone. He doesn’t know whether she deserted or whether she was shot for insubordination behind a tent somewhere.

All Roy knows is that if he doesn’t get out of Ishval right now, he’s going to steal someone’s sidearm and blow his own brains out, because he can’t go on like this any longer. He curls up in his bedroll, looking over at Hughes and thinking about Hawkeye just a couple of tents away. He can’t leave them here in the middle of this hell, but at the same time, he can’t stay here either, and surely it must be better to vanish like Sherman did rather than leave them to deal with the aftermath of his very final departure from the world.

The bombardments are heavy tonight, and Roy wonders privately if it’s artillery or just Kimblee on a spree.

Still. Whoever it is, they’re providing good cover, as Roy very quietly gets out of bed and pulls his boots on, filching Hughes’ sand overcoat because Hughes is taller and his coat comes down to Roy’s ankles.

He leaves everything else behind. Uniform, spark cloth, pocket watch, anything that could identify him or slow him down. Roy sneaks out of camp wearing boots, boxer shorts, an undershirt and someone else’s sand coat, and as he continues to creep away, he thinks that he really has tipped over the edge into insanity. Someone’s going to find him gibbering in a ditch in the morning. Maybe he’d get discharged and sent home then.

Maybe not.

He has a choice between heading east into the desert or heading west back towards Amestris, and he’s got enough sense left to know that wandering into the desert isn’t a good idea despite how incredibly inviting the notion is.

He keeps ploughing forward through the contested zone, keeping to the shadows, keeping out of sight, but in reality not caring too much if he’s caught and shot. He’s not sure what sense of innate self-preservation keeps him going whilst his thoughts are spiralling, but he keeps going nonetheless, not knowing or caring where he’s going, as long as he keeps moving, and keeps out of sight.

Roy doesn’t know how long he walks for. It feels like years.

Once he’s crossed into Amestris proper, it starts raining. Roy can’t bring himself to care. In books there’s the idea of the rain being a purifier, washing away people’s sins and leaving them clean and fresh. Roy can’t see it that way. The rain is just turning the dust and sand of Ishval into mud, making him feel even more stained and broken, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever feel properly clean again, not after everything that’s happened.

He pushes on, not even sure where he’s going or what direction he’s going in anymore. Maybe wandering out into the desert to die alone would have been a better option. At least it would have been warm and dry rather than cold and wet.

Maybe dying face down in a muddy ditch is what he deserves, but despite the dark thoughts running through his head, he keeps moving nonetheless, trudging on through the night into the dismal day and back into darkness again, keeping to fields and hedgerows, away from the main roads.

It’s only when he sees a little house on the top of a hill in the distance that Roy receives a new lease of life, remembering that he hasn’t eaten for a couple of days, and he’s suddenly ravenous, knowing somewhere deep down that if he wanted to die he should have just given up and done it by now.

He can't really ask for shelter when he’s a deserter and a traitor and probably wanted by the military already, but he’s not thinking that far ahead right now, and as he approaches the house, he can make out an expansive vegetable patch outside it and the smell of ripening tomatoes. They won’t notice a few missing, surely...

Roy crouches down behind the tomato plants as a light comes on in the house upstairs. He can see shadows moving around and curtains twitching, and he stays as still as he can, hoping they can’t see him. With any luck, the pale sand coat is now dirty enough not to be noticeable in the moonlight.

There’s no luck. More lights are going on and the door is opening, and someone is coming out into the rain.

On instinct, Roy snaps, but he left his gloves miles away and it’s pouring with rain anyway. The figure comes closer, holding out an umbrella over him, and Roy makes out a man with long hair wearing a raincoat and rubber boots over pyjamas. He holds out a hand to help Roy up off the ground.

“You’ve come from Ishval, haven’t you?”

Roy looks down at the drenched sand coat and military issue boots. He can’t really deny it.

“Well, you’re not the first and you won’t be the last. Come into the dry.”

Roy finds himself in a warm kitchen with a woman in a dressing gown making tea.

“There’s no need to hide under the tomatoes,” she says, pouring hot water into the pot. “We don’t bite. How long have you been out there? I’ll go and run you a bath, you’ll catch your death. Just leave your wet things in a heap by the door, we’ll deal with them in the morning and Edward, I told you to stay upstairs.”

The woman bustles out of the kitchen, and Roy gets a glimpse of a tousled golden head around the door before she chivvies him away and up the stairs.

Roy just stands dripping in the doorway for a few moments, not entirely sure he’s not actually lying in a ditch somewhere and this is all a fever dream.

The man brings over a couple of blankets and goes to pour the tea. Elsewhere, Roy can hear hot water pipes clanking and hissing, and he finally realises that he’s very cold and very wet. He strips down completely, reminded that he was so out of it that he managed to walk here from Ishval in little more than his underwear, and wraps up in the blankets, taking tentative steps towards the kitchen table.

“You seem very calm about all this,” he ventures. “Has this happened before?”

The man shrugs. “You’re the first person we’ve ever found in our vegetable patch, but you’re by no means the first person that the village has taken in on the run from Ishval. Both Ishvalans and military runaways; we get them all and we take care of them all. We always have. War is a horrible thing and we do what we can to mitigate it.”

He looks like he must be in his late thirties, but there’s something in his unusual golden eyes behind his glasses that gives Roy the impression that he’s seen centuries’ worth of violence in his time.

He gives a tired smile. “My name is Van Hohenheim. Welcome to Resembool.”

Whilst Roy has always firmly claimed not to believe in God, and that Ishval only strengthened that lack of belief, when he looks back on his first night in Resembool, he thinks that something outside of normal human power must have happened to have provided this safe haven just at the moment when he was on the knife edge of despair.

Hohenheim and Trisha let him into their home with no judgement and no expectations, giving him tea and food and a hot bath and spare pyjamas. They give him a makeshift bed in Hohenheim’s study, and when he wakes up screaming from nightmares of Hughes and Hawkeye paying the price for his desertion (Hughes was shot point blank in a phone booth, of all places, and Riza had her throat cut with a sword that looked suspiciously like Bradley’s), Hohenheim just gives him a knowing look from where he’s working on something at his desk. They talk about nothing of importance until the sun comes up and the rest of the family start to stir.

He meets Trisha and Hohenheim’s two boys in the morning, and they’re obviously intrigued by the stranger who turned up under their tomatoes in the middle of the night. Alphonse is more reserved, but Edward has no fear whatsoever.

“Are you an alchemist?” he asks. “We get a lot of them coming here from the east.”

Roy looks down at his hands, remembering everything his alchemy has done and his stomach churns with the memory of that awful stench that still won’t leave him behind.

“I was.”

Whether he’ll ever be able to use it again without needing to throw up afterwards is another matter entirely.

“That’s enough, Edward.” Trisha’s tone is firm as she flits around the kitchen, getting ready to leave on some kind of errand. Edward opens his mouth to protest, but a look from his mother silences him.

The other alchemists who’ve arrived in the town probably didn’t arrive in quite as dramatic a fashion and in quite such a hopeless state. He can understand Edward’s curiosity - he could tell from the moment he set foot in Hohenheim’s study that he’s a master of the craft to rival Berthold Hawkeye and Basque Grand - but at the same time, he’s grateful not to have to talk about it, and Edward dutifully doesn’t ask anything more.

A couple of hours later, Trisha returns with a familiar face that Roy has never really entertained the hope of seeing again.

At least he now knows the identity of at least one of the other alchemists who made their way to Resembool.

Alex Armstrong smiles at him, a smile that’s both sad and sympathetic at the same time.

“It’s good to see you, Mustang.”

#FMA: Brotherhood #FMA Fanfiction #Roy Mustang #Fic: Haven

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lady-divine-writes · 5 years ago

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Kurtbastian one-shot “By the Skin of Our Teeth” (Rated PG)

Summary:

When one of Westerville's Pee-Wee players has a loose tooth that needs to go, Sebastian devises a convoluted - and disgusting - plan to help the boy remove it. And Kurt does not approve. (1288 words)

Part 56 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

“Are you really going to do this?” Kurt asks, right hand half covering his eyes, watching while his boyfriend ties a piece of floss to his pee-wee captain’s last remaining baby tooth. The thing has been hanging by a single thread of flesh for weeks, the gum supporting it swollen and red. The boy’s parents have tried everything to get it out short of sawing it out of his head, but nothing has worked.

Roy, the boy in question, is fearless on the ice, but he’s terrified of the dentist. When he found out his mom had made him an appointment for the following afternoon, he begged Sebastian to help him.

And this is what Sebastian came up with.

What he has devised is disgusting beyond belief, and more than a little bit dangerous (in Kurt’s opinion. Hockey players seem to have a different definition of the word dangerous). His stomach turns Biellmann’s just thinking about it. The only reason he’s opted to stick around is because there needs to be something close to parental supervision overseeing this fiasco.

Someone with the presence of mind to dial 9-1-1 if necessary.

“Of course, we are.” Sebastian gives the piece of floss a tug, watching as the tooth wiggles in response. “It’s a rite of passage for hockey players to lose their baby teeth doing what they love, and that’s playing hockey.”

The rest of the team, gathered around them in the locker room for moral support, gives a rousing cheer, but Kurt shakes his head. “Do you make up these rules as you go along?” he asks. “Or are these written down somewhere?”

“Hockey lore, passed down by word of mouth.”

“How is that even remotely possible if you guys keep yanking out your teeth in this barbaric manner?”

“We’re old school.” Sebastian takes the free end of the floss and starts wrapping it around a hockey puck. “We use AOL messenger.”

“I think that might say more about you than this horrific ritual.”

As the black puck turns white with the floss wrapped around it, Kurt feels the tension rise in the small room, multiple layers of excitement whirling together as anticipation soars to a fevered pitch. You’d think they were about to watch a bootleg copy of the latest MCU blockbuster, not even in the theaters yet, the way these kids are biting their lips, eyes glued to Sebastian’s every move. But Kurt, more anxious than impressed, quickly considers the logistics of the feat Sebastian plans to attempt. This isn’t going to be a simple matter of tying a piece of floss to a doorknob and slamming the door shut. Sebastian will be shooting that floss-covered puck out the door of the locker room and into the hallway, with the hopes that Roy’s tooth will be attached to it and not his mouth in the end. Sebastian’s slapshot is legendary. He holds the record for most speed and power at the high school level in Westerville, Ohio.

Kurt’s afraid that if he gives it all he’s got, he’ll rip the poor boy’s head right off.

He’s mentioned that, several times as a matter of fact, but it’s an issue that doesn’t seem to bother anyone else but him.

Seeing as the tiny mob of hockey players are bouncing on their blades to watch this tooth get torn out of Roy’s mouth, they’ll probably be tickled to no end if his head comes off with it.

“Okay …” Sebastian ties a knot when he’s confident he’s wrapped the puck sufficiently, dangling it in the air to make sure it’s not going anywhere. “You ready?”

“Ready,” Roy says.

“Good.”

“This is never going to work,” Kurt grumbles.

“Of course, it is.”

“This is going to be a disaster. A bloody lawsuit of a disaster.”

“It’s a good thing my uncle’s a lawyer, then. Now, brace yourself.” Sebastian drops the puck to the ground and Roy takes a defensive stance. “Alright, everyone! Helmets on and stand back!”

The team splits down the middle, racing to opposite sides of the locker room, vying for a spot with the best view that will keep them out of shooting range. Unwilling to mess up his hair - or his health - by borrowing a sweaty, ill-fitting helmet, Kurt meanders to the left, sliding behind the safety of the bathroom door.

“Okay, guys!” Sebastian grabs his stick, grinning wider than the entire team combined, probably having more fun with this than they are. “On the count of three! One …”

“One!” the team echoes, leaning forward as far as they dare.

“Two …”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Sebastian brings his stick back, raising the blade to shoulder height, then sweeps it down fast. Kurt hears a crack as the blade comes in contact with the puck, then a loud thwack! as the puck hits the wall of the penalty box outside. Realizing it might ricochet back the direction it came, he leaps further into the bathroom, feeling minorly guilty that he left a room full of little kids to fend for themselves against a hockey puck flinging around the room at Mach 10.

They’re wearing helmets. That’s a small comfort to him.

Kurt can’t see a thing, but the clatter of the puck is immediately joined by two other sounds – an “Oof!” as Roy flies forward and lands on his stomach, and a loud “Ow!” that doesn’t sound like Roy at all. Whacks and smacks are replaced by the confused murmuring of small children, and Kurt ventures out of hiding. He scans the confines of the locker room, trying to decide if anything went right.

It looks like a bomb went off.

Roy is lying face down on the floor at Sebastian’s feet.

The team is also on the floor, having dropped to the ground to take cover from the rogue puck, bags and equipment scattered, victims of the fray.

Off in a corner, a boy has a hand to his face, blood pouring down his chin behind a cracked cage.

Sebastian, standing in the midst of all this, looks stunned.

“What happened!?” Kurt asks.

“I’m … I’m not sure,” Sebastian admits.

“Is anyone hurt!?”

Sebastian makes a don’t know noise.

Kids start rising to their feet, coming out of hiding when they see it’s safe.

“Look!” one of the bystanders yells. “Here’s the tooth!”

“Uh … but it’s not mine,” Roy mumbles.

“What?” Kurt rushes forward to help the boy up and examine the damage to his mouth. When Roy lifts his head, Kurt wishes he hadn’t. The boy smiles at him, his tongue toying with the gap where the tooth still remains, hanging by less of a thread but holding on nonetheless.

“Your tooth is still there?” Sebastian joins them, gawking in disbelief.

“Yup,” Roy declares proudly.

“Then, whose tooth is that?” Kurt asks, pointing at the tooth on the floor that he refuses to touch.

“Mine,” the little boy with the bloody chin says, stepping forward.

“Uh …” Sebastian looks from the bloodied boy to a seething Kurt. “Was it loose, at least?”

“Not really,” the boy says, walking past them to retrieve his tooth. “Doesn’t matter. If I put it under my pillow, maybe I’ll get a quarter!”

“Yeah!” the other kids agree, lights springing in their eyes as they all come up with the same masterful plan.

Kurt glares at Sebastian. Sebastian shrugs.

“I know what you’re going to say, Kurt …”

“Oh, you have no idea …”

“… but you have to admit, you were wrong about one thing.”

Kurt’s jaw drops open. He crosses his arms, dialing up the fire in his glare till it could melt steel. “And that was …?”

Sebastian snickers. “Technically, it did work.”

#Kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #frankie writes

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sunnysideofsaturn · 6 years ago

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WINGFICS

so i browsed ALL of the wingfics currently on archive TWICE and these are some of the ones i liked: (these are mostly completed) (none of these are mine) (LEAVE KUDOS)

I��M MAKING A SEPARATE POST FOR STUCKY, STONY, JOHNLOCK, and DESTIEL CUZ THERE ARE SO MANY

FLUFF:

ereri: (Attack on Titan)

-Magic Does Not Make A Garden: oneshot 3,674 words

Levi grows his garden peacefully on the edge of the desert, until the day he finds a boy with wings dying of exhaustion and takes him in.

-Don’t Hide: oneshot 2,636 words

Levi didn’t know what the hell Eren had done to his wings, but the kid was going to regret it. They felt…he didn’t know what word could be used to describe it, but maybe there wasn’t any word because that was it: They felt.

-Feels Like Flying: oneshot 943 words

Eren is already far from the ground, and it makes Levi’s stomach twist uncomfortably to see him up there with nothing to support him but a pair of magical wings that appeared out of nowhere, but—

Eren is laughing and twisting around in the air, and he looks like he belongs there.

He’s beautiful.

klance: (Voltron)

-Rest Stop: oneshot 10,776 words

Lance wasn't like the rest of the world.

And he had never had a loving mother tell him it made him stronger for it. So he told himself, gathering up his courage and grit to face a world of winged humanity, when he, in fact, has no wings and turns into a mermaid instead.

A world that wants him to die.

So he'd keep this secret like a knife in his boot, a sharp weapon until he died on his own terms. Not because of who he was.

Except, Team Voltron isn't so sure why Lance is all rough edges and sharp points about showing off his wings. Or acting like a member of the Flock in general. It's clear he cares for them, but he's never shown an intimate part of him.

Until he has to.

-Meet me Between the Ocean and the Sky: part 1 part 2 37,091 words

"I'm telling you, Allura! Humans are real!" Lance yelled enthusiastically, adrenaline buzzing in his veins. His sister gave a heady sigh, setting down her book. "Everyone else in the clan stopped believing in humans when they were fledglings, it's time you did too. Your obsession is growing to be unhealthy" She muttered. Lance slammed his foot down with a loud thump, "I saw one! I swear!". Allura looked far from impressed. "Sure".

Or, Lance stumbles upon a human and he ends up getting more than he bargained for.

-Golden Thread: 5 chappies 11,755 words

The Lions of Voltron are searching for their new Paladins. It was going fine until the Blue Lion gave Allura the name of an elusive, untrusting species that would be almost impossible to track down.

-Three Important Facts: oneshot 2,574 words

At first, Lance had found it funny. Suddenly, feathers of varying shapes, sizes, and hues of maroon and black found their way into inconspicuous places, and no one was safe from them. Pique-hilarity came when Pidge threw a handful of feathers back at Keith, shouting for him to keep them out of her shower drain. There was never an explanation as to how they got there.

-Silken Feathers (Wrap Me Up): oneshot 2,909 words

Lance is self-conscious about his wings as he compares them to everyone else's. Lucky for him, there's a knight in red armor that comes to his rescue.

-Watercast: unfinished 14/16 chappies 188,505 words

Shiro has been a Galra prisoner for over a year; with his flight feathers clipped and unable to fly. Desperate to escape, he jumps overboard while being transported to the capitol on a Galran ship. Lance is a merman who saves him from drowning. Keith thinks Shiro is about to become mermaid dinner. Hunk just wants Lance to stop going to the surface all the time, dammit!

(AU where Avians (winged folk), Galra, humans and merfolk cohabit earth. Shiro and Keith are avian soldiers, Lance is the youngest son of a Queen, Hunk is also a merman and Pidge is still looking for her family. They get caught up in a war.)

shatt: (Voltron)

-Watercast: unfinished 14/16 chappies 188,505 words

rinharu: (Free!)

-Spring Tide: oneshot 6,931 words

He's adept at choosing his own path without hesitation, yet there's no denying how much brighter his world becomes when Haru is swimming in front of him like a beacon—occasionally breaching the water while he races the shadow Rin's wings cast upon the waves. If only one day they could fly to the ends of the world together like that.

-how it feels to take a fall: oneshot 2,783 words

“How fast can you fly, Haru?”

“My wings are made from wind,” Haru says by way of reply, and Rin nods as if he’s satisfied.

kagehina: (Haiykuu!)

-Take Flight: oneshot 2,175 words

'They're supposed to be soulmates. No—they are soulmates. Hinata is his. And Kageyama is Hinata's.

And so—why? Why won't Hinata open up to him about something as important as his wings, their link, the symbol of their bond? Why do they keep having this fight?'

No matter what they fight over, they will always come back together again.

-A Tangle of Feathers: oneshot 6728 words

Vignettes highlight moments of a young crow's immortal life.

-only waiting for this moment to arise: oneshot 2,277 words

“Liking you was my idea, not yours. Don’t think you tricked me into it with your -- your wings and your kissing. Asshole.”

-sand and salt: oneshot 2,415

"Hey, Kageyama, have you ever thought about swimming?"

"Don't be stupid, dumbass. Crows can't swim."

"But what if we could? Has anyone even tried?"

"Well, I guess there is a slight possibility that -"

"We should try it!"

-wings above waves: 2 chappies 7,518 words completed

“Can you fly?” He probed. Whenever he asked Izumin or Kouji to fly with him, they refused.

Kageyama faced him directly with an indignant scowl on his face. “Of course I can fly,” he spluttered out. “What kind of an idiot can't -”

“No,” Shouyou interrupted, “I meant, can you fly?”

daisuga: (Haiykuu!)

-An Angel Silhouetted: 15 chappies 49,986 words completed

There is a certain kind of joy that comes from flying that cannot be replicated.

Not on a trampoline, or a trapeze, or high on a tightrope. Not planes, either. Being high in the air, supported or unsupported, it didn't matter. Nothing was the same.

Suga hadn't felt that kind of joy in a long time.

A very, very long time.

In which half-angel Suga rebels against everything he's ever been told about the circus he stars in, dances with Daichi, and rebuilds himself anew.

-A Tangle of Feathers: oneshot 6728 words

Vignettes highlight moments of a young crow's immortal life.

victuuri: (Yuri on Ice)

-Taking Flight: oneshot 5,823 words

This was all Yuuri had ever known: the cage, the pain, and the silent, pretty, blue-eyed boy in the cage across the way.

Yuuri was an avian-human hybrid, resigned to life in a cage for the rest of his life. But freedom was more than just a dream for himself. He'd do anything to see that boy in the cage fly free.

-On Wings of Love: oneshot 2,079 words

Yuuri knew about Victor before he even knew about soulmates.

-Diphylleia Grayi: oneshot 8,010 words

This flower is called Diphylleia Grayi, Vitya.

It’s commonly known as the skeleton flower. At first glance it may appear to be nothing but an ordinary flower but when it comes in contact with rain, its petals turns translucent.

Like a flower made of glass.

It’s very beautiful, Vitya.

otayuri: (Yuri on Ice)

-Diphylleia Grayl: oneshot 8,010 words

This flower is called Diphylleia Grayi, Vitya.

It’s commonly known as the skeleton flower. At first glance it may appear to be nothing but an ordinary flower but when it comes in contact with rain, its petals turns translucent.

Like a flower made of glass.

It’s very beautiful, Vitya.

drarry: (Harry Potter)

-There is Always the Moon: 13 chappies 159,356 words completed

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

-Flare: 15 chappies 43,582 words completed

Caught in the middle of a misfired curse, Harry is half-transformed into a phoenix, to the point of carrying wings on his back. He arranges with the Healers for research that will hopefully cure him--only to find that Draco Malfoy has a strange vested interest in him keeping the bloody things.

royed: (Fullmetal Alchemist)

-Know the Difference: podfic 1-1.5 hours

“You’ve heard the rumors,” Mustang says, looking at Ed over the top of his latest report, “about the angels.”

Ed scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Angels don’t exist, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Of course, of course,” he murmurs, gaze sliding back down, “There have been multiple eye witness accounts, however.”

Ed slouches into the chair and doesn’t bother to keep the contempt to from his voice when he says, “Don’t depend on anything with wings to save you. Things that were made to leave always end up doing so, in the end.”

“Yes, well,” he says, “sometimes they come back.”

-Know the difference: oneshot 9,083 words

“You’ve heard the rumors,” Mustang says, looking at Ed over the top of his latest report, “about the angels.”

Ed scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Angels don’t exist, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Of course, of course,” he murmurs, gaze sliding back down, “There have been multiple eye witness accounts, however.”

“Yes, well,” he says, “sometimes they come back.”

LOL NOT FLUFF *wiggles eyebrows*:

bakudeku

-Lucky for Me: oneshot 4,837 words

Izuku, Katsuki's summoned succubus, takes an attack meant for him. Katsuki decides to deal with an unwanted rush of emotion in the only way that makes sense between them.

drarry: (Harry Potter)

-Spread Your Wings: oneshot 1,830 words

After spending months growing closer to Draco, Harry finds himself in a situation that more than encourages him to blur the lines between roommates and lovers.

-Flare: 15 chappies 43,582 words completed

@alphonses-posts @teilzeitsunny @anyone who cares

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catsncomics · 6 years ago

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A Simple Theory

As the greatly anticipated release of the first issue of Heroes in Crises approaches, I would like to throw my hat in the ring with a few ideas and theories.

Now, before I go any further, a disclaimer: I do not follow any of Harley Quinn’s storylines, nor did I read Cyborg’s solo run. Therefore, despite my best attempts to research the characters involved, there’s a good possibility I missed an important clue.

Also, a warning for potential spoilers might be in order.

That being said, let’s dive right in, shall we?

First off, the “Marked Six” as I call them.

Due to solicits for the coming months, it’s safe to say that Kyle Rayner, Cyborg, and Harley Quinn are safe. So that narrows it down to Tim Drake, Booster Gold, or Roy Harper. However, I think the statistics given in DC Nation #4 are bit of a red herring.

On the surface, the odds do not appear to be in Roy’s favor. He was given a 5-1 chance of dying in HiC. His send off in Green Arrow and RHATO were quite ominous. It would be the obvious play. Bnd he’s been put through the wringer quite a bit already throughout his character’s history.

Roy’s battled addiction, been abandoned by his father figure and mentor, unknowingly sired a child then said child was cruelly kept from him, watched his first love Donna Troy die, had his child was kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, been shot five times in the chest (a wound that earned him a get out of jail free card from Deathstroke), and had his throat slit. Then, as if that weren’t enough, writer’s cut off his arm, callously killed his daughter, and plunged him back into addiction.

If Tom King kills off Roy Harper, I just… I don’t think there are words for it.

Booster Gold. He’s had an interesting run lately. Popping up in multiple titles. His odds are listed as 10-1, and I do think it’s likely he’s one of the two that will die. Some have said he’s safe because he’s been accused of committing the murders, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I think Booster is innocent, and his desire to be a hero will be what leads to him being the second major fatality in the story.

Timothy Jackson Drake. Tim. Tim. Tim. I’m going to miss you. But then again, I haven’t seen the real you since Flashpoint.

Yes. Despite being the long shot of these three with 25-1 odds, I think Timmy will definitely perish in HiC and his will be the first shocking death. How can I say such a thing? We haven’t seen hide or hair of him since Detective Comics #981. Nor is there any hint of his coming back in any future issues. His Rebirth appearances have been limited to one title. Meaning to remove him from the board again would not impact any ongoing storylines. Not to mention Tom King is all about torturing Batman right now.

What’s that you say? “They already killed Tim once. They won’t do it again.” The promo material continues to espouse the idea that the DC universe will be thoroughly shaken as a result of this series. How better to do that than to kill the someone everyone thinks is safe? The person they want you to believe is safe?

So who did it? If not Harley Quinn or Booster Gold, who is responsible?

Wally West.

“How DARE you?!” you gasp, clutching your chest in horror.

According to DC Nation #2: King did confirm that… heroes will change radically, and the DC Universe will never be the same.

The results of the Flash War left Wally thoroughly shaken. He’s experiencing flashes of a life that no longer exists. He was willing to do anything to reunite with his family. Wally is in pain. People in pain do illogical, irrational things. Sometimes those things lead to people getting hurt. Or killed.

I have two solid reasons for this outlandish accusation. First, the cover art of the first issue.

Wally is covering his mouth. Hand to mouth gestures are often the result of revealing too much information, or letting a lie slip, or come from the need for reassurance. Because Wally is the only one demonstrating this body language I suspect it falls more in the category of deceit than a self-comforting reflex.

Second, the cryptic line from Mr. King: You can’t have a Crisis without a dead Flash. There’s more than one way to kill a character. It would be the twist no one saw coming; if this Flash dies in the sense of becoming a fallen hero.

From the coming months’ solicits, we’ve learned that something’s gone awry with the AI and computer systems at the Sanctuary. Which is where I believe Cyborg plays a part in the story. His mother box has the ability to access and override non-sentient machines. Infiltrating, the AI would be a walk in the park for him. I think he play the role of an accomplice of sorts to Wally.

Before I go, I would like to put one last offering on the table. One that’s a bit… out there. I think Dr. Manhattan might be involved somehow.

Hear me out. Several of the key players in HiC have already drawn his attention or have the potential to pose a threat to him. What better way to remove those who could stand in your way than to take them out when they are vulnerable? And if they all happen to be at same place at the same time, even better.

Tim Drake was sequestered outside of space and time by Dr. Manhattan. Why?

Because he was “reconnecting threads that should not be reconnected.” He was “so loved, so deeply intertwined. It became crucial that (Dr. Manhattan aided by Mr. Oz) take (Tim) off the field.” At his last sighting, Tim was heading off to investigate the existence of diverging timelines. Doesn’t sound like his experience in that extradimensional prison really posed as much of a deterrent. Perhaps Dr. Manhattan has decided Tim needs removed permanently to keep him making those connections.

Kyle Rayner has tangled with a mysterious entity that was most likely Dr. Manhattan.

While attempting to resurrect the Blue Lantern corps, a “presence” interfered and fractured the White Lantern ring. An “intruder” of power beyond anything they’ve ever encountered. His previous ability to master the seven rings and wield the White Lantern ring has probably put him on Dr. Manhattan’s watch list.

Cyborg’s Element X laden mother box grants him a deep connection to the multiverse. As a result of the Flash War, Hypertime has been shut off to the Flashes. However, Cyborg was able to access it through his mother box during the Metal event.

He may now be the only one who can. This definitely makes him a potential threat to the Doc.

As for Booster Gold, the writers have stated plain as day that he’s at risk because of Dr. Manhattan: Time travel has become more deadly, what with Dr. Manhattan and the ongoing events of Doomsday Clock. Buddy, there’s only room in the DC Universe for one person playing god with time. This also shows that the doctor is on their minds when it comes to the events of the this story.

“This is nonsense! Dr. Manhattan has nothing to do Heroes in Crisis. You’ve gone off the deep end.”

Probably. I’m most likely completely way off in left field. But it never hurts to throw things against the wall and see what sticks. Who knows? Maybe I’m right: Wally makes a deal with the devil (Dr Manhattan) to get his family back. He beseeches his old pal Cyborg to hack the AI system of Sanctuary as part of the master plan. But it all goes terribly wrong when Tim Drake discovers what he’s up to. Booster and Harley are the natural suspects because Wally would never do such a thing. Harley is the first one to connect the dots because she thinks outside the box. Booster tries to make things right by going back in time, but Dr Manhattan stops him and puts an end to his time travel for good.

What do you think? Who do you think is guilty and who won’t survive?

#dc sanctuary #dc comics #crazy comic theories #just a bit of fun

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twdmusicboxmystery · 7 years ago

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8x02: Suspicious Stuff on TTD

Good morning! Let's go over the TTD after 8x02 because some super interesting things were said that made me happy. ;D I think it's super-interesting that Gimple was on this episode. It's unusual for episode 2 of a season. I think this was a very important episode and Gimple wanted certain things said or emphasized, which is why he went on the show himself this week.

It's also important to note that next week's guest is Norman Reedus. That’s ALSO very odd in the middle of the season. We usually see Norman appear in the TTD after the MSF or Finale, but generally not in the middle of the season like this. There will also be a "surprise guest" next week they aren't announcing. I'm gonna cross my fingers that Beth will be back next week and the guest is Emily Kinney. The other option is a major or relatively big death next week (like Morgan or Morales, perhaps?) and the actor will be the surprise guest. Either way, I think next week's episode will be Daryl-heavy. (Yea!)

The first thing Chris Hardwick asked Gimple was what his thinking was in bringing Morales back now. Gimple answered, "This whole season, the past keeps coming up in one way or another." Oh that makes me SUPER happy! Morales was a loose end. Something never explained or circled back to. And what is the mother of all loose ends on this show...from TF's past? Beth's disappearance.

Gimple also said some interesting things when talking about production of such high-action episodes. He said it takes 8 days to complete an episode, and then he referenced GoT. Okay, I get that taking 8 days to shoot an episode is fact and GoT is arguably TWD's biggest audience competitor. But still, I couldn't help but note these because we've seen Gimple make apparently off-hand remarks on TTD that proved to be hints at what was to come. The biggest in memory is when he mentioned Zapruder when talking about who Negan's victim was in 6x16. Zapruder's first name was Abraham. No one will ever convince me he wasn't dropping hints. That's why EVERYTHING they say on TTD, even if it seems like casual conversation, is suspect to me.

Here, he mentions an 8, and in the same sentence mention the OTHER show where a major character was very obviously killed, but returned to life.

They also asked why Rick didn't shoot Negan when he could in 8x01. This isn't really a TD thing but I thought it was interesting. Gimple said it partly because there's a lot of innocent people in the building behind Negan that he doesn't want to hit. But even more, he actually doesn't want Negan dead right away. Their plan is to lay siege to the Sanctuary and starve out the Saviors. He wants Negan's own people to turn against him. It's an ambitious and very risky plan, but if they can pull it off, it's extremely smart. It would create loyalty from many of the Saviors toward Rick, which is much more effective than simply holding them at gunpoint and forcing them into a cell or something.

Gimple was asked if Eastman would fight if he'd lived. Gimple kind of hemmed and hawed over his answer, but there was a lot of emphasis on Eastman, which I found Interesting.

For the quiz, they focused on the Savior's names, including Roy. This is the second Savior we've heard of named Roy. The first was the guy Shiva chewed in 7x16. The same one who told Enid to slow down and not use the word, "veggies." And if I remember correctly, there were two Joeys too. The one was called Fat Joey to differentiate him from the other Joey. I'm not sure why this motif of giving multiple Saviors the same name, but they've pointed both instances out on TTD. Obviously they want the audience to be aware of it.

They also emphasized Ezekiel's positivity/confidence. "And yet I smile."

Oh, and the rope bridge thing. I'm gonna rewatch one more time at least for my details post tomorrow, but I've already watched the episode twice, and I didn't notice a rope bridge. But the quiz said there was a rope bridge with a sign saying it would only hold 2 people. Anyone know where that was? They also said the location they filmed in for the bridge was near where Dale hid guns from Shane in S2.

The only reason I can think of for emphasizing the rope bridge is the Bridge Theory.

Gimple was also asked why it was important for Tara and Jesus to argue about killing Dean. Gimple said it was to show that, had it not been for Jesus, everyone who surrendered and was taken prisoner would have been killed.

I think this goes along with the "My mercy overcame my wrath" theme. We'll see it heavily in Rick's arc, but I think we'll see this thread running through all the character arcs in this story line.

Along with that, they asked Alanna Masterson if Tara would be able to forgive Dwight. She said it would be explored throughout the season. You can see how this arc is especially playing out for Tara. I think she needs to find a place of forgiveness about Denise. My worry is that once she finally reaches that point, she may die. ☹

Oh, and Gimple KINDA, SORTA, A LITTLE BIT confirmed that Ezekiel loves Carol. They were talking about how happy/confident Ezekiel is. Then Chris Sullivan jumped in and said, "Or is he in love?" At first, Gimple didn't really react, but then Chris Sullivan said, "I think it's all about the love, and Gimple nodded and said, "Yes, it is." (Carzekiel for the win!)

Okay, this was something that jumped out at me as weird. They showed a video interview with Norman about his and Andy's relationship. It struck me as odd because it had nothing to do with the episode. Why put this interview in the TTD for this episode? And granted, they've done some general things like this for the show from time to time, but they usually do connect to the episode in some way.

Let me give you an example. There was one during S6 (or S7? Can't remember) where Nicotero explained they make all the injuries on the show, especially walker bites, as medically and anatomically realistic as possible. While that's general for the show, they still showed it after an episode where there were some heavy injuries. It made sense.

This is odd to me because there's not an obvious reason for it, other than Rick Daryl being in the same building. There wasn't even a ton of interaction between them here. I'm just saying that I think this is a hint about their arcs being very entwined this season.

1) The fact that Morales is there is a big deal, because as I said yesterday, Morales was there when Rickyl met, so you know Daryl will be involved with Morales every bit as much as Rick is.

2) If certain spoilers are correct (X) then Rick will probably have a major loss in the next few episodes. I really think they'll parallel that loss with Daryl's loss of Beth in S5. They foreshadowed Daryl's emotional death by putting him in the coffin in 4x12. Rick's red eyes in 8x01 foreshadow his.

Also, in the interview, Norman said he and Andy were like the Golden Girls. Gimple said Norman would be Blanche. Chris Hardwick asked if Andy would be Dorothy and Gimple said, "No, Sophia." Again, might have just been goofy and conversational, but I'm feeling suspicious. I mean, they went out of their way to mention the name Sophia. And as I type this, notice how many 2s we have here. 2 people on the rope bridge. Names given to 2 separate saviors. Dale hiding guns from Shane in S2. And then mention of Sophia, which happened in S2.

And I honestly am not familiar enough with the Golden Girls to read anything into the characters behind those names. If anyone has any insights, let me know.

When talking about Morgan surviving, Gimple said it wasn't supernatural. He said he did get "winged," but it was largely luck. *ahem, LUCK THEORY*. But he had a logical, straight-forward way to explain the fake out. Wouldn't be hard for him to explain Beth's.

I'm not going to talk about the baby much today because I'll be doing a "baby" post later in the week. But I wanted to mention that Gimple said we would find out the "final fate of that baby," which sounds really ominous. Killing babies are we now? Not sure what it means or how it will play out, but I’m sort of connecting it to the dark, icky baby symbolism around Denise in 6x14. Some food for thought.

The sneak peek was a little boring in my opinion. It shows Carol/Ezekiel/ Morgan's group leading prisoners down the road. Jared keeps razzing and Morgan almost kills him. Again. Yeah that's it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can I say that I've been wanting a TWD Monopoly game for like 3 years? My brothers all grinned at me when this came up because I've talked about it before. I know there is a TWD Monopoly game, but up until now they've only had a comic book one. I wanted a show one! Now it's here! I looked over at my brothers and reminded them that Christmas is only 7 weeks away. ;D

Okay, before I shut up for today, maybe you guys can help me with something I'm totally stumped about. When talking about Morales, Gimple says, "He's in The Encounter at Farpoint." I assumed it was some show the actor (Juan Gabriel Pareja) is in, but I can't find it. The closest thing I can find is the pilot episode of Star Trek: TNG which is called Encounter at Fairpoint. Slight difference. Anyone have any idea what they were talking about? Perhaps something from the TWD universe I’m not familiar with?

That’s it for TTD. Anyone catch any other details?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #beth is almost here #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance

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gascon-en-exil · 7 years ago

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The Top Ten Women of Fire Emblem (As Written by a Gay Man)

#1 - Micaiah

When we were separated during the war, you changed, Sothe. And I changed too. I want to protect Daein more than anything. Our people must be saved, and if I can help in that effort, I will.

Let it not be said that this was an obvious pick simply because Micaiah happens to be a lord, and one from my favorite game in the series moreover. Although I thought it appropriate to end this ranking with a lord I’m well aware that all the women who’ve fulfilled that role in FE (excluding Avatars for obvious reasons) have had to work against writers determined to screw them over in one way or another. There’s not much point therefore in me rehashing the many criticisms, valid or not, that have been leveled against Micaiah over the years. I’m instead going to be breaking down just why I think she works for me as well as she does, and how thoroughly she earns the distinction of being the least narratively compromised female lord in the franchise...for whatever that’s worth.

Revenge of the Jugdral Waifs

Parts of Tellius’s worldbuilding borrow extensively from Jugdral, some in more subtle ways than others. Micaiah is one of its more obvious allusions, as both her look and class design owe much to a group of female light magic users from those games who also exist outside the framework of the traditional clerical classes (some - or all? - of them even share their starting class name with the Japanese name of Micaiah’s third tier class). Deirdre, Julia, Linoan, and Sara are all women of high standing, and three of them are linked by blood to the dark Loptyrian cult not unlike Micaiah’s association with the “dark” goddess Yune. In spite of circumstances that ought to grant them significant plot relevance however all four of these characters are diminished by the narratives of the two games, either kept on the political sidelines in preference to a man or turned into barely-characterized damsels in distress. To paraphrase Markoftheasphodel, Deirdre and Julia in particular encapsulate the whole of Jugdral’s particular brand of misogyny - some of the most important and powerful characters in the setting reduced to tormented plot devices devoid of personality.

It’s probably a stretch to suggest that Micaiah was intentionally written as a means of redeeming these characters after the fact merely because she owes so much of her design to them. Still, that reading is certainly there. Micaiah assumes Julia’s role during Part 4, becoming the human vessel for Yune as Julia is inhabited by the spirit of Naga during the last chapter of FE4. While there’s no arguing that Micaiah drew the short straw when it came to gameplay power-ups from her resident deity, in return she is allowed substantially more screentime and agency even when she’s sharing her body with someone else. Certain characterization threads relative to Micaiah and not Yune, like vengeance against Numida and Lekain and the back story of Micaiah’s relationship with Sothe, are followed through to their conclusions only during Part 4. Also, while it’s Yune calling the shots as the army ascends the Tower of Guidance Micaiah is still an active participant, taking responsibility for awakening Yune before Dheghinsea and saving Lehran among other things.

It’s a common criticism that Ike takes over the plot of Radiant Dawn from Micaiah, but the truth is that he’s sharing the endgame spotlight with Micaiah and Yune together. Ike is still the saga hero of Tellius - the Seliph equivalent - but Micaiah displays none of Julia’s blankness and passivity at any point. She’s unquestionably closer to being the deuterotagonist of Tellius than any Leif equivalent (Elincia, perhaps?). What’s more, while Linoan must cede her political relevance to Leif and Julia’s epilogue has her being little more than a support to her emperor brother, Micaiah gets to rule the kingdom she’s spent the game trying to save - while not invalidating the rule of her recently-discovered younger sister over her own country, incidentally - whereas Ike leaves the continent to have adventures and gay sex. In Jugdral the best most women can hope to be is support for their ruling husbands; in Tellius all three beorc nations have women ruling them by the end. Indeed, even compared with the other non-Avatar female lords that’s a huge step forward.

Conquest Needs to Take Notes: FE10′s Villain Campaign

This should really be a more controversial statement than it actually is: the Dawn Brigade chapters of FE10, especially those in Part 3, make for a better villain campaign than the entirety of FE14′s Conquest route.

It’s sad how that it isn’t really an exaggeration at all, and even more sad that FE10 doesn’t rely on narrative shortcuts to convey the idea that you’re temporarily playing as the bad guys like Conquest does. Daein isn’t draped entirely in black, and its antagonistic history as a nation saddled with a legacy of racism and Ashnard’s goals of conquest isn’t swept under the rug or left to be inferred only from Path of Radiance. The Daein of Radiant Dawn still displays its anti-laguz prejudice from the previous game, and there’s no indication that that prejudice doesn’t extend to members of the playable cast or that it’s something that will be quickly and cleanly done away with after the credits roll. Micaiah herself plays to the wishes of her racist followers when she has to in Part 3, and though she’s not rabidly bigoted like Jill is in FE9 before her character development she does have a personal interest in not making waves.

I’m not only talking about her ambivalence toward laguz as a Branded, either. One of Micaiah’s most defining traits is her patriotism. It’s a curious element of her character, based in her feelings toward her adopted homeland and willfully unconcerned with Daein’s racism even as it forces her to hide her Brand. It’s rather amusing that probably the most common criticism leveled against Micaiah is that she’s a Mary Sue blindingly adored in-universe, not just because the same could be said for Ike but because that’s exactly what she’s built up to be. If anything the mounting conflict between Ike’s loyal followers - technically the Gallian army and later Crimea and Sanaki’s forces, but they all join together under him - and the cult-ish adherents of “the Maiden of Dawn” deconstructs this accusation. Everyone in Daein may adore her and may have rallied around the Dawn Brigade in a bid to remove the Begnion occupation, but by Part 3 that fervor is shown to be clearly unhealthy and something that Lekain is able to manipulate to his advantage.

It’s not just the alliance with Begnion that places the Dawn Brigade chapters in villain campaign territory, as Micaiah is forced to resort to increasingly underhanded tactics to satisfy the demands of the senate, from ambushes in the dark to outright war crimes. All the while she’s being ironically proclaimed by her soldiers a symbol of light and divine will, a stark contrast to Nohr’s shadowy branding. It’s a matter of opinion whether Lekain’s blood pact is more or less contrived than the various plot devices that keep Conquest Corrin in line during the invasion of Hoshido, but Micaiah is actually allowed to be genuinely antagonistic toward the armies she’s opposing, in large part because of her pronounced nationalism and the atmosphere of blind worship she’s allowed to grow around her. One of the most important elements of a well-written villain story is that the characters involved shouldn’t think of themselves as the villains unless they’re fully evil and are committed as such (which usually isn’t that interesting anyway). Conquest focuses too much on Corrin’s angst over the ruin of Hoshido and leaves the motivations of the Nohrians vague, whereas Daein in Part 3 carries both its legacy of bigotry and militarism from FE9 and the memory of its glorious uprising against foreign oppression from Part 1. It’s not hard at all to imagine the members of the Dawn Brigade and even the Daein military thinking themselves heroes of their own story, bolstered by a leader determined to do whatever is necessary to save her people.

The Token(-ish) Het of Tellius

I would be remiss though if I didn’t talk about queer content at some point, because Tellius pretty much runs off the stuff. In that regard Micaiah is admittedly lacking; she has her auto-A support with Sothe and almost nothing else, and while exposition on their early relationship reveals that their bond is a quasi-incestuous one riddled with age issues it’s not in the same league as Nailah/Rafiel totally inverting gender roles, Haar/Jill almost literally robbing the cradle, or Elincia’s complex feelings for her two closest retainers. One can appreciate though that Micaiah/Sothe displays a certain symmetry with Ike/Soren, from parallels in their first meetings to the experiences of one member of each pairing being Branded to their roles at the heads of their respective armies (from a gameplay perspective note that Soren and Sothe stand beside their partners when faced as enemies in 3-13 and 3-E respectively). I might go so far as to say that these symmetries provide additional legitimacy to Ike/Soren as a paired ending, especially since they get their own exposition-laden base conversation in endgame.

Ooh, Shiny!

And ok, my bias in favor of light magic users is on display here too. I was hyped for Micaiah as soon as she appeared in promotional materials as a caster lord, the first and so far only purely magical unit to hold that title. Even notwithstanding the fact that Radiant Dawn is arguably the worst game in the series in which to be a magic user Micaiah has some serious issues as a unit, but at least when she sucks in-game she does so in manner completely distinguishable from the likes of Leif and Roy. She can be a staffbot (she can use Physic as soon as she promotes), she can nuke stuff with Thani and/or Wrath crits thanks to her nonexistent defenses, she can riskily play around her late promotions with Resolve (Easy only, please), and even at the end of the game when she’s probably still frail and will never be fast enough to double everything she’s still the best candidate for Rexaura just because the saints are even worse. I appreciate too that light magic got some much-needed statistical buffs compared to Path of Radiance, and we most likely have Micaiah to thank for that. Even if the game hates her she can make for a fun if challenging unit to use to her greatest potential.

...Now I want to play FE10 again.

#Fire Emblem #Micaiah #Radiant Dawn #FE10

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sorcerusdragonbionics · 5 years ago

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Reading List 7/14-7/20

Only a google link because I went to update this and it kidnapped all my Tumblr formatted stuff. https://docs.google.com/document/d/12lrphSAHIEbNqcnL3DStEewJnZ78zELj_HG35MC2hBY

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #fullmetal alchemist #fma #roy mustang #edward elric #Harry Potter #Draco Malfoy #marauders #podfic #tradtional fic #summer reading list #Summer FanFic Challenge #FicRecList #reading list 7/14-7/20

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alexiablackbriar13 · 8 years ago

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One word prompt: healing! PS please for the love of my sanity use this to finish the Slade prompt

Darkness Bleeding In (Part 3 {Final Part})

Send me an ask with a single word and I’ll respond with a +200 word ficlet set in the service dog!Verse.

Part 1 ~ Part 2

“Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”

Oliver glanced up from where he was sitting in the waiting room of the vet clinic, shaking hands twisting nervously together. He’d signed himself out of the hospital AMA at around 6am, having not slept all night; part of that was due to needing to watch over Felicity and ensure his wife was okay, whilst texting Roy and Thea every half an hour to check on his daughter. Slade’s attack had shaken him to the core. The archer knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep until Felicity and Lizzie were both at home with him, and Hunter was confirmed to be alright.

Lyla and Diggle were regarding him with matching concerned expressions. “Man, you have a concussion. You should really be lying down,” Diggle admonished him softly.

“Shouldn’t you two be with your daughter and son?” Oliver questioned flatly, staring down at the floor.

“Shouldn’t you?”

“Thea and Roy are looking after Lizzie.”

“Dinah is watching Sara and JJ.” Hesitantly, Diggle took another step forwards, laying a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. When the archer tensed instinctively, still on high alert and vigilance after last night, his partner rubbed his shoulder soothingly with a quiet, “Easy there, brother.”

“Why are you here, Oliver?” Lyla asked, bending slightly to look him in the eye. “You really should be resting in hospital.”

“I need to see Hunter,” he croaked.

“Do Quentin and Donna know you’re here?”

“Quentin drove me here, and I texted Donna. I need to see Hunter.”

Lyla nodded understandingly. “Okay. Does the vet know you’re here?”

“Yeah, I - I spoke with him a few minutes ago. He says that Hunter will have to stay for a week or so but that I can see him now…”

Lyla breathed out in relief. “He survived the night then.”

Oliver ran his fingers through his hair, eyes squeezed shut. “There still could be complications,” he rasped. Just thinking about Hunter possibly not waking up one day made him tear up, and he leant into Diggle’s side, sniffling. “I - I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“You won’t have to, hun,” Lyla soothed, slowly sitting down beside the archer. She cautiously reached her hand out to settle in on top of Oliver’s knee, and although Oliver had to fight back a flinch, he allowed it to stay there. “I’m sure Hunter will be fine.”

“Broken ribs,” he said, voice breaking. “Punctured lung. They - they wanted to put him down, Lyla. Last night, they -” He couldn’t hold back his emotions anymore, letting out a single, anguished sob. “The vet told me they asked you two for permission and -”

“And we didn’t let them,” Diggle interrupted him, expression set into one of hard resolve. “Because Hunter is strong, Oliver, and he will survive this.”

“He could get an infection. He could die tomorrow.”

“But he won’t,” Lyla shook her head fiercely. “Because he is getting the best possible care, and if we have to, we will call Barry and get him to bring Caitlin down here to kick those vets’ asses into gear.”

“I just can’t help but feel as if I… as if I failed him,” Oliver muttered, scrubbing his wet eyes viciously with his hands. “As his owner I’m meant to protect him.”

“I don’t think we have to remind you, Oliver, that Hunter is not a normal dog. He’s technically your bodyguard, and he’s an ex-soldier. He knew what he was getting into. He got injured during his service.”

“To me.”

“To his charges,” Lyla corrected. “He saved you, Felicity and Lizzie from Slade.”

“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t -”

“Oliver, if you blame this on yourself because of shit that went down with Slade over a decade ago, I will not hesitate to slap you,” Lyla cut in sternly. “As many times as it takes to snap you back into reality.”

“Look, man, if you want to play the blame game, fine,” Diggle sighed. “But do it after seeing Hunter, alright? He needs you right now and in all honestly, I think you need him as well.”

The vet appeared in the doorway and the archer went still, staring up at him with the sickly feeling of dread turning his stomach. It wasn’t that he dreaded seeing Hunter - it was more the idea of seeing the service dog in such a vulnerable, injured state that agitated him. The vet motioned for him to follow and Oliver stiffly got to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself. He heard Diggle muttering to Lyla that he was going with Oliver and silently exhaled, relaxing slightly. At least if he fell apart, he knew his brother would be there to pick up the pieces for him.

As they strode down the corridor towards the recovery room, Diggle tried to distract Oliver. Asked him about Quentin and Donna, about how Felicity was doing, what their plans for Lizzie’s third birthday were. Although the archer’s anxiety was heightened, he found himself calming, slipping into the conversation up until the point where they entered the room, and his wary gaze fell upon his service dog.

“Oh god,” Oliver choked out, tears springing to his eyes as he raised a trembling hand to place over his mouth. “Hunter…”

The service dog looked so weak. But he was alive. His fur was all shaggy and matted, and there were mounds of blood spotted bandages over his chest, but he was breathing. At first, the archer thought he was sleeping, eyes closed as his chest rose and fell shallowly, but as soon as Oliver stook a step forwards, calling out the dog’s name in a broken voice, Hunter’s eyes slowly opened. The blue was no less intense, but there was a sheer exhaustion within them that caused another sob to burst out of the archer’s throat. Drowsy, Hunter very weakly raised his head from the table, managing a whine before he was forced to lie back down due to lack of energy and strength.

Oliver had to be supported by both Diggle and Lyla due to how numb and useless his legs felt, his light-headedness causing him to stumble. As soon as they reached the medical table, the archer slid his fingers into Hunter’s soft fur, mapping out the splotches of colour and the colour patterns within it, grooming him with trembling hands.

“Hey, buddy,” Oliver whispered, not even bothering to hide his tears anymore. “How’re you doing?”

Hunter let out a heavy sigh, emitting a rumble. He fixed his tired gaze onto Oliver for a few seconds, and the archer could tell he was trying to convey sympathy and comfort, before the dog’s eyes slipped closed.

When the service dog jerked his head up into Oliver’s hand, he murmured, “Yeah, I’m tired too, bud. You wanna get some rest? I’m right here.” He leant down to press a kiss against Hunter’s forehead, and when the dog’s paw caught his arm, he whispered, “I love you, bud. Don’t ever forget that. You’re my hero, and you are a shining beacon of hope in my life. Things never would have worked out with Felicity without you, we never would have had Lizzie - I would be dead without you. You’ve saved my life in so many ways, and I love you so much. So please, please fight for me. You have to get better, Hunter, please. You have to fight to live, have to fight to come home. You have to.”

The service dog blinked blearily up at him, and when Hunter bumped his fingers with his muzzle with a quiet purr-like growl, Oliver knew that he was saying without words: I promise. I’ll fight for you.

“I love you, buddy.”

“Oliver, it’s time to go.”

“No,” he protested desperately, yanking himself out of Diggle’s grasp. The man was trying to drag him towards the door, and the archer realised he’d missed the vet saying that they needed to put Hunter on pain meds, so needed to take him back to the recovery kennels. “Dig, no. Please.”

“Oliver, you’re not thinking straight. You’re falling apart, and right now, Hunter needs to rest. We can come back and visit him tomorrow once he’s slightly better, and once you’re more stable.”

Oliver fought, calling out his dog’s name frantically, anxiety taking over and making him feel as if he was on fire, but Diggle still managed to drag him out of the room. Loud sobs erupted from his throat when the archer saw Hunter raise his head weakly, whining as he tried to comfort his master as he was meant to, but couldn’t reach him.

As soon as the door closed, Oliver pretty much collapsed into Lyla’s open arms, crying freely. Diggle and his wife rested their hands on his back and shoulder blades supportively, hushing him gently and trying to calm him down, to no avail. His head was pounding and the wounds on his back were aching, and Oliver had to pull away suddenly to gag, the nausea due to his dizziness and also his anxiety making him feel overwhelmingly sick.

“Let’s get you back the hospital, okay, honey?” Lyla rubbed his back. “I think you need to get some more rest, sleep the nausea off.”

“Hunter…”

“You can’t be here for him if you’re not well rested and healthy yourself,” Lyla said softly, threading her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck in a comforting, motherly manner, which made him sigh. “You’ll collapse. And you need to stay strong for your wife and daughter.”

“Oh god, Felicity and Lizzie.” Oliver’s voice trembled. “They’re going to be devastated. What am I going to tell them?”

“The truth,” Diggle responded, crossing his arms. “And you let them and us support you whilst Hunter is incapable of duty.” He shot him a stern warning look when Oliver opened his mouth to protest. “Don’t, Oliver. Your anxiety and PTSD are already acting up and nobody can blame you for that after last night. You can worry about Hunter, but you have to look after yourself as well.”

“That’s what Hunter would want,” Lyla agreed.

Dazed, Oliver repeated softly, “What Hunter would want…”

“Is Quentin still outside?” The archer bobbed his head in a nod to his friend’s wife, and Lyla inclined her head. “Okay, he and I will take you back to the hospital and John will stay here with Hunter.”

“I want to stay here.”

“I know, man. But you need to rest so that concussion gets better. We’ll bring you back to see him tomorrow morning. Alright?”

“… Alright.”

They did take him back there the next morning. And the morning after that. And the morning after that. The fifth visit, Felicity came with Oliver, and although his wife cried her eyes out, Oliver didn’t that time, just holding her and feeling as if his chest was going to burst open due to the constricting forces within it. The sixth visit, he and Felicity brought Lizzie along, and as soon as Lizzie started asking confusedly with tears in her eyes if Hunter’s soreness was going to lead to not-breath, Oliver left the room to make sure that he didn’t start weeping in front of his daughter.

He didn’t cry at any of the visits after those ones either, until the day came, the fourteenth visit, where the vet announced that Hunter was well enough to go home.

The fifteenth day after Slade’s attack, Oliver fell to his knees in the parking lot of the vets’ in the early hours of the morning as Hunter slowly loped towards him, blue eyes bright again with a relief and happiness that the archer had never seen before. As soon as he had Hunter in his arms, and the dog was whining into his neck, licking under his jaw enthusiastically to try and calm his master down, Oliver started crying again.

This time, however, he was crying with happiness.

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50yearsoftop40 · 8 years ago

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My 40 favorite Top 40 singles of 1962.

All these songs hit the Billboard Top 40 for the first time in 1962. Or rather, in an issue of Billboard with a 1962 street date. Close enough.

(spotify link)

Gary U.S. Bonds, “Dear Lady Twist” (Billboard debut week: 1/13, chart peak: #9)

Bobby Bland, “Turn On Your Love Light” (1/20, #28)

Gene Chandler, “Duke Of Earl” (1/27, #1)

Corsairs, “Smokey Places” (1/27, #12)

The Ikettes, “I’m Blue” (2/3, #19)

Bruce Channel, “Hey! Baby” (2/10, #1)

Sam Cooke, “Twistin’ The Night Away” (2/17, #9)

The Marvelettes, “Twistin’ Postman” (3/3, #34)

Roy Orbison, “Dream Baby” (3/3, #4)

Ketty Lester, “Love Letters” (3/10, #5)

Shelley Fabares, “Johnny Angel” (3/17, #1)

Clyde McPhatter, “Lover Please” (3/24, #7)

Elvis Presley, “Good Luck Charm” (3/24, #1)

Arthur Alexander, “You Better Move On” (3/31, #24)

King Curtis & The Noble Knights, “Soul Twist” (4/7, #17)

Bobby Gregg & His Friends, “The Jam - Pt 1” (4/14, #29)

Ronnie & The Hi-Lites, “I Wish That We Were Married” (4/21, #16)

The Crystals, “Uptown” (4/28, #13)

Brenda Lee, “Everybody Loves Me But You” (4/28, #6)

Freddy Cannon, “Palisades Park” (5/26, #3)

The Castells, “So This Is Love” (5/26, #21)

Johnny Crawford, “Cindy’s Birthday” (6/2, #8)

Joe Henderson, “Snap Your Fingers” (6/2, #8)

Chuck Jackson, “Any Day Now” (6/2, #23)

The Isley Brothers, “Twist And Shout” (6/30, #17)

The Shirelles, “Welcome Home Baby” (7/7, #22)

Barbara Lynn, “You’ll Lose A Good Thing” (7/14, #8)

Claudine Clark, “Party Lights” (7/21, #5)

Little Eva, “The Loco-Motion” (7/21, #1)

Sam Cooke, “Bring It On Home To Me” (8/4, #13)

The Springfields, “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” (9/1, #20)

Chris Montez, “Let’s Dance” (9/8, #4)

The Beach Boys, “Surfin’ Safari” (9/15, #14)

The Contours, “Do You Love Me” (9/22, #3)

Carole King, “It Might As Well Rain Until September” (9/22, #22)

Bunker Hill, “Hide And Go Seek, Part I” (10/13, #33)

Dee Dee Sharp, “Ride!” (11/10, #5)

Brook Benton, “Hotel Happiness” (12/8, #3)

Mel Torme, “Comin’ Home Baby” (12/15, #36)

The Drifters, “Up On The Roof” (12/29, #5)

#Playlists #'60s

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devereauxsdisease · 8 years ago

Text

A Very Darko Sequel, Pt. 18

I am forever indebted to @wrathofthestag @chronicopheliac and @disraeligearsgoestumblin for listening to me whine and stopping me from making horrendous mistakes.

Special shout-out to @plan-d-to-i for Romanian help yet again!

Catch Up: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17

Chapter 18: Meet the Fucking Parents

Nigel was running out of red fucking balloons. He’d been filling them since the moment he and Adam had picked Harlan up at LAX.

“I’m just saying, marriage as a concept is on its way out.” Harlan leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Bev and Adam decorate a welcome cake for Constanța. Nigel hunched over security plans, pressing a little harder with his red wax pencil. “No need to get married in this day and age. Hell, Nigel’s proof it usually doesn’t work out.”

The tip of Nigel’s pencil snapped. Bev cast a glance over her shoulder at Nigel, offering a sympathetic smile. “I don’t know, I want to get married someday. The only problem I can see with a wedding is nosy relatives causing unnecessary drama.”

Harlan glared at her, but Adam looked up with a smile. “It would be difficult if family members weren’t supportive. I don’t particularly care for the concept of marriage beyond the fiduciary benefits that are intrinsic in the system, but it’s important to Nigel.”

Nigel felt his stomach churn as he hunted for a new pencil in his briefcase.

“But if it’s not even important to you-”

“Nigel’s important to me, Harlan.” Adam turned and flashed a brilliant smile over his shoulder, offering a little wave. “It’s important to me that he’s happy and it’s important to him that I’m happy.”

Bev hip checked Adam with a wink. “You two are already basically the best married couple I know – no matter what any big mouthed idiot has to say.”

Adam looked at her, confused. Harlan huffed in annoyance. Nigel could have kissed Bev.

“Who would say anything bad about us getting married?”

“Just some jerk. Especially saying anything this close to the wedding” Bev said, voice dripping with annoyance. Adam tensed slightly, sensing something was wrong. Bev shook her head, pulling out her brightest smile. “Do you think that’s enough rosettes for the cake?”

Adam studied the mauve frosting. “One more there to make it symmetrical, please. You’re almost as good as Darko!”

“Thanks!” Bev preened. “It’s a lot easier to make these damn things when you’re surface isn’t breathing or complaining you’re not holding the tip properly.”

Nigel laughed.

-XXX-

Nigel heard Constanța before he saw her. Excited Romanian chattering filtering through from the hallway as she and Darko approached. Harlan and Adam both looked a bit frightened as the noise got closer, both tentatively stepping toward the door. Nigel stood, he needed one of Constanța’s hugs to keep from killing the stupid old man who was staying with them.

Bev remained by the sink, she took a deep breath and passed a slightly shaking hand over her hair. Nigel slung an arm around Bev’s shoulders.

“She’ll love you more than he fucking does,” he whispered into Bev’s hair, leading her into the living room. Bev offered him a tentative smile and let him steer her.

The door flew open and Constanța rushed in, trailed by Darko who was huffing under the weight of four bags.

“Adam! I recognize you from the computer!” She moved toward him arms outstretched. Adam tensed. “Oh! That’s right, I’m not to hug you, am I?”

Adam kept his eyes down. “No. I find physical intimacy with strangers uncomfortable.”

“May I shake your hand?”

Adam nodded, a small smile curling his lips. “That would be OK.”

Constanța took Adam’s proffered hand in both of hers. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I promise to keep my clothes on while you’re here.” Nigel and Constanța laughed, Harlan made a high pitched noise. “Oh, Constanța this is Harlan, Harlan this is Darko’s mother.”

“Well I can certainly see where Darko gets his eyes from,” Harlan said as he took her hand. Constanța blushed and offered him a blinding smile.

“Oh, don’t you flatter me,” she said. “I know all about the dangers of charming American men!”

Nigel sneered.

“Now, where’s my other boy? Nigel! I’ve missed-” Constanța gasped, immediately walking past Nigel to Beverly, who had been trying her best to hide behind Nigel’s shoulder. “Beverly?”

“Yes,” Bev’s voice sounded a little high, she looked at Darko with slightly wild eyes. She held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet-”

Constanța yanked her into a fierce hug, murmuring to her in Romanian. She pulled back, teary eyed, her hands taking Bev’s face. “Look at you. A doctor and so beautiful! Oh, Phillip is lucky he caught your eye.”

Bev smiled, allowing more hugs and caresses.

“Mamă, te rog opre��te-te!” Darko gently pulled at his mother’s hands, trying to extract Bev.

“De ce? Doar o să-mi devină noră într-o zi?”

Darko flushed tomato red and glared. “Nu dacă o sperii! Dă-i drumu la față.”

Constanța waved her hands dismissively at Darko before leaning in to Bev. “You and I will talk later. I brought baby pictures.”

“You just made my day, Mrs. Dalca.”

“Constanța, my darling, you call me Constanța. Now excuse me, I have to go embarrass my other boy.”

Turning on her heel, Constanța let Nigel sweep her into a bear hug.

“Bună Mamă,” Nigel whispered, burying his face in her shoulder.

“Nigel, darling, what happened to your face?” Constanța reached forward to brush her fingers lightly over the welt still pinking Nigel’s left eye.

“Probably a bar fight,” Harlan muttered.

Constanța’s head snapped up, she felt Nigel tense beneath her hands. With a set jaw and narrowing eyes, she studied Harlan.

“Oh no, he got that welt attempting a striptease for me,” Adam supplied with a cheery smile. “He’s not a very good dancer, but it was a thoughtful gesture all the same.”

Harlan made a face, shaking his head slightly. “Figures he’d do something like that.”

“Figures?” Nigel’s tone was ice, his hands clenched into fists. Darko looked up, body primed to move. Constanța took a small step in front of Nigel.

“It does figure,” Adam said, obliviously smiling at Harlan. “He’s always doing things to make me happy.”

The rigidity left Nigel in a second. His eyes flooded with warmth as he looked at Adam. “Who wouldn’t want to make you happy, gorgeous?”

Constanța clapped, rubbing her hands together.

“Harlan, I couldn’t make myself eat the food on the plane. I know it’s far too early for these children to eat, but I was wondering – would you mind accompanying me for an early dinner?” Constanța offered a bright smile, her blue eyes flashing.

Harlan blinked at Constanța before smiling. “Of course. I have a rental car downstairs.”

“Wonderful!” Constanța beamed. “Nigel? What was the name of that restaurant you and Phillip like? Ralph’s?”

Nigel squinted at her. “Roy’s.”

“Oh yes, Roy’s. Shall we go there?”

Harlan nodded. “I can look it up on the car’s GPS.”

“I’ll just grab my purse, then.”

Nigel leaned into Constanța. “Ce faci?”

“Te opresc din a face of prostie,” she murmured with a wide smile on her face. “Consideră-l cadou de nuntă.”

Constanța looped her bag over her shoulder and held her arm out. Harlan easily slipped his hand around her elbow and led her from the apartment.

“Your mom is a goddamn superhero,” Bev sighed, letting Darko take her weight as she relaxed into his arms.

“I liked her quite a bit too!” Enthused Adam. “And she and Harlan are getting along, maybe they can both visit more often.”

Nigel’s jaw ticked, he grabbed his keys off the table in the hall. “I’m going to grab some more milk, we’re out.”

“No we’re not.” Adam frowned. “Nigel? Nigel we have milk!”

“I got this.” Darko snagged a kiss from Bev and loped after Nigel.

Adam sat on the sofa, he rocked slightly as his fingers tapped rhythmic patterns on his legs. “He’s mad. He’s been upset for hours, but he wouldn’t…Do you know why he’s upset?”

Bev bit her lip and sat next to Adam, she bumped him with her thigh and offered him a smile. “Harlan was being kinda hard on him don’t you think?”

“What?” Adam worried the cuff of his shirt. “I don’t understand. I-I should understand, but I miss things sometimes.”

Bev carefully threaded her hand in Adam’s, squeezing it lightly. “All that stuff about marriage being on its way out, bringing up Nigel’s divorces, saying Nigel was probably in a bar fight, making snide comments about Nigel doing the strip show – he’s been subtly picking at Nigel since I got here.”

“I let him. I missed it and I let him say horrible things all day.” Adam looked heartbroken. Bev pulled him into a hug. “Is that why Constanța took him to dinner?”

Bev nodded.

“W-why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t Nigel say anything? He didn’t even yell.”

“He knows what Harlan means to you, and he knows Harlan loves you.” Bev kept her voice even, hoping Adam would steady his breathing. “I think Nigel’s just trying to keep you happy by keeping the peace. He just needed a walk to cool off, that’s all.”

“He’ll come back. He’ll come back and offer me something silly he bought for me,” Adam said, rocking slowing. “It’s what he does when he knows he’s upset me.”

“OH? I hope Darko brings me a present too.” Adam smiled softly at Bev and she hugged him tighter.

-XXX-

Nigel had returned with milk they didn’t need, a packet of astronaut ice cream, and a sheepish expression. Darko trailed behind, winking at Adam before having an elaborate conversation with Bev, in which they used only their eyebrows. Soon after, they left.

“I’m sorry Cosmo, I really did think we were out of milk.” Nigel hovered in the kitchen doorway, trying to gauge how much trouble he was in.

“Don’t lie.” Adam offered him a plate of chicken and Bev’s cheesy broccoli before sitting to eat his dinner.

“I’m sorry.”

“I trust you to tell me when I miss things.” Adam poked at his food. “You’re supposed to tell me, I can’t defend you if I don’t know it’s happening.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.” Nigel aggressively cut his chicken, willing his voice to stay neutral. “He doesn’t like me. Lots of fucking people don’t like me. It’s fine.”

“It’s the last fucking time.” When Nigel looked up, Adam was staring directly into his eyes. “From now on, you tell me. You wouldn’t let anyone make me feel bad when you’re around. You let me defend you when I need to.”

“Adam-”

“No one insults you in our home. I don’t care how much I love them.” Adam took Nigel’s hand. “Do you understand me?”

Nigel squeezed Adam’s fingers, marveling at how strong and calm Adam looked.

“I do.”

When Harlan returned, Adam was waiting for him on the couch. Nigel scrubbed dishes in the kitchen, using his pent up frustration to scour off all traces of dirt.

“Nigel’s got himself one hell of an adopted mother!” Harlan smiled, sitting next to Adam. “You know that woman once caught the captain of the secret police screwing his secretary when she went to scrub his office? She asked him if he would life up his feet so she could vacuum! Oh, does she have some stories. Adam? What’s wrong?”

“You know I don’t always pick up on implied meaning, and you’ve been using that to your advantage to insult Nigel all day.” Adam’s mouth worked into a firm line as he stared at his hands. Nigel shut off the water and moved to the kitchen doorway. “You shouldn’t insult Nigel, especially when you know I might not understand that you’re doing it.”

“Adam, I think this is a mistake. This marriage thing, he just got a divorce for Christ’s sake,” Harlan reached out. Adam recoiled. “I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“You shouldn’t have come here.” Adam was monotone, but his whole body had tensed. He started rocking as he wrapped his arms around his middle. “If you’re asking me to pick, I pick Nigel. So it seems pointless for you to stay for a wedding you don’t believe in.”

Harlan opened his mouth, hurt clear on his face. “Adam, I-”

“I’d like you to go, please.”

“Adam!”

“Y-you should go.”

“Cosmo?” Nigel strode into the living room and took Adam into his arms. “I don’t think we need to kick the man out, you didn’t even give him a chance to apologize. You always give me a chance to apologize.”

After a beat, Harlan sighed. “Nigel, I’m sorry. I should have kept my big mouth shut, Adam’s certainly old enough to run his own life. And I’m sorry I let you believe I was being civil when I wasn’t, Adam. I won’t do it again, and I’d like to stay and stand up for you at the wedding… if you’ll let me.”

Adam screwed his mouth into a moue and looked at Nigel before bringing his eyes back to Harlan’s chest. “OK.”

“OK?”

“Yes. I believe you’re sorry.” Adam relaxed into Nigel’s arms. “I’m going to go get us glasses of milk and then we can talk about your date with Constanța.”

The second Adam cleared the kitchen doorway, Nigel snatched Harlan by the jacket and dragged the older man to his face.

“You can hate me ‘til the day you fucking die for all I care,” Nigel snarled. “I fucking promise you I’m gonna piss on your grave when you finally fucking expire. But for now, we play fucking nice. The 17th is in two days and Adam’s-”

“The interview, I know. I don’t want him to feel unstable before he talks to that professor, either.” Harlan met Nigel’s eyes, mouth grim. “Adam’s more important than our bullshit anyway.”

Nigel smiled, but his eyes stayed cold. He released Harlan. “See? We’re practically best fucking friends already.”

-XXX-

Harlan watched Nigel pace up and down the hall. He could see the nervous energy pouring off the man, his fingers twitching as he wore a path in the floor.

“You seem a bit tense.”

Nigel jumped. He looked at Harlan like he hadn’t realized he was there.

“It’s taking too goddamn long.” Nigel paused to press his ear against the outer office door, he could only hear the staccato clacking of the office administrator as she typed. “Fuck! I can’t hear a fucking thing from here.”

“Well, we could have waited in there if you had kept your fool mouth shut.”

“That fucking radio blaring would have thrown Adam off! He gets fucking upset with loud noises.”

Harlan shot out a hand and grabbed Nigel, stilling him. “Son, I’ve known that boy since he was inside his mother. You don’t need to tell me a damn thing about him. Now, I know that music would have been a problem for him, but you jumping down some woman’s throat about it didn’t help him. It just got us kicked out of the office.”

Nigel’s head dipped briefly, his jaw working. Harlan sighed.

“I know you wanted to protect him, but sometimes it’s better to let Adam do for himself.”

“Do you think I fucked up his interview?”

Harlan’s hand slid from Nigel’s elbow to his shoulder, giving the Romanian a few conciliatory pats.

“No.” Harlan smiled. “The second Adam starts talking about space and stars, they’ll forget all about you threatening to break the secretary’s computer.”

“I just didn’t want him to freak out. He can fucking do this.”

“’Course he can.” Harlan rubbed hands together, eyes on the ground. “I, uh, I’m glad you’re pushing him to do it. Never had the stomach to force that boy to go further in school. I think that may have been a disservice to him.”

“He wasn’t ready in New York,” Nigel said, scuffing his shoes as he moved to lean next to Harlan on the wall. “He’s got Darko and Bev to help him with all the academic shit, now. He’s so much better with people, too. He’ll be fucking amazing.”

“He’s got all of that because of you.” Harlan looked down the hall, away from Nigel. “I can see it, you know. I can see the change in him. I never saw him smile so much when he was around people before. Hell, I’ve never known the boy to have friends. He’s got a life here, a real goddamn life. I may not like you, but I like the change.”

Nigel smiled, running a hand through his hair. “Harlan, you’re gonna make me fucking cry.”

Harlan huffed out a laugh. “You’re a floppy haired shit, and I hate that Adam loves you. But no matter how many times I tried to reason with the boy, he still picks you every time. I guess I’m stuck with you, ugly neck tattoo and all.”

Nigel snickered, shifting to knock his shoulder into Harlan’s. “Be sure to put that in your fucking toast.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, before the door in front of them opened and both men jumped to attention.

“How did it go?”

“You ok, gorgeous? How are you feeling?”

Adam looked between both for a moment, then grinned. Nigel nearly collapsed with relief. Harlan returned the grin and moved to slap Adam on the shoulder.

“I think it went well. Professor Lutgend wants me to join his research team.”

“What?”

“You’re in the program?”

“No. Professor Lutgend said he couldn’t make the decision by himself. The admissions board would have to weigh my test scores and his evaluation.” Adam moved to Nigel, eager for a hug. “The board won’t decide for 14 weeks, so Professor Lutgend asked me to join his research team in the meantime. He wants me to start right after our honeymoon. I think that will reflect positively to the board, don’t you?”

Nigel whooped, grabbing Adam and spinning him in the air. “My fucking gorgeous genius!”

“Stop swinging him around like a rag doll,” groused Harlan. Nigel stilled and Adam frowned. “Won’t do to shake the boy’s brains up now that he’s going to be a doctor.”

Nigel put Adam down, kissing his temple. “The man’s got a point.”

“Did you two bond while out here?” Adam looked between the men. “Good. It would have been awkward for Harlan to pursue Constanța if you two didn’t get along.”

Harlan’s eyes went wide. Nigel stopped dead in his tracks, jolting Adam.

“What?”

“You have another lunch date with her tomorrow, don’t you? Bev was telling me about it.”

Nigel rolled his neck and focused on his breathing. Christ, he was going to need more red balloons.

-XXX-

“It’s your last night as a single man, Cosmo.” Nigel leaned over the back of the couch, running a hand down Adam’s chest. “Any ideas on how to spend it?”

Adam arched into the touch, making a breathy little noise when Nigel moved lower to cup his thickening cock. “It’s not my last night as a single man.”

“What?”

“Technically, we’re not married until the paperwork is filed by the officiant. That means we won’t really be married until the certificate is received in the government office. If it’s mailed, that means we won’t be married for three-to-four business days. If she drops it off personally, Monday.”

“Jesus, Adam.”

“Also, you’re about 12 years older than me, so in all likelihood you’ll die before me.” The corner of Adam’s mouth curled the way it always did when he teased Nigel. “So I’ll be single after that, barring some type of accident that kills us both.”

“You keep talking and it’s going to be murder suicide.” Nigel moved his hand to Adam’s sides, tickling. “You impossible little shit, do you want to fuck or not?”

Adam laughed batting at Nigel’s hands and falling to the side. Nigel took the opportunity to leap over the sofa and land on Adam’s prone body. He continued the tickle torture as he pressed nipping kisses into Adam’s neck and shoulder.

“Yes! Yes!” Adam was breathless with laughter as he held up his hands in surrender. “I want to fuck!”

“Well that’s too bad young man, because Nigel has to go.”

Both men froze and looked up to the front door, Constanța and Harlan stood before them. Harlan’s eyes were trained on his shoes, Constanța was frowning.

“Where is Nigel going?” Adam asked, he turned to look at Nigel. “You’re going somewhere?”

“You can’t spend the night before your wedding with your intended!” Constanța fussed moving to shoo Nigel off of Adam. “You don’t sleep here tonight, go sleep with Darko!”

“I never did this bullshit with Gabi.”

“And look what happened.”

“I’m not leaving Adam, he doesn’t sleep well when I’m gone.”

“Nigel, it’s tradition.”

“I’m not leaving-”

“It’s OK.”

Nigel turned to look at Adam, who was rubbing his hand soothingly along Nigel’s chest. “Cosmo, you don’t have to.”

“I know, but it’s traditional, like a wedding. If we uphold one ultimately meaningless tradition to solidify our relationship before family and friends, it would be silly not to uphold another one.” Adam turned to Constanța. “Would it be acceptable if he skyped me at bed time?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Adam smiled at Nigel. “I’ll be OK for the night and we can masturbate on Skype, it will be fine. Go pack a bag.”

Harlan made a pained sound. Constanța smiled.

-XXX-

Bev was working her hand into Darko’s pants when the door banged open.

“OH NO! You don’t get laid after your mother cock blocked me.” Nigel stomped into the living room, slung his duffle bag on the ground, and glared.

“You really need to get a safety chain on your door,” Bev muttered, getting up from the sofa. “Nigel, you suck. I’m going to bed.”

“Night, gorgeous.”

Bev flipped him off and Nigel winked. Darko chucked a remote at Nigel, hitting square in the chest.

“The fuck? It’s not my fucking fault I’m here. You think I wanted to sleep in your fucking guest room instead of with Cosmo?” Nigel shouldered his duffle and headed for Darko’s guest room. “Your goddamn mother had to convince Adam it was tradition to sleep in separate places before the wedding.”

“You can’t sleep there, where will Mamă sleep?”

There was a snort from the bedroom, Darko frowned at it before turning to Nigel, who shrugged.

“She said she was staying at my place,” Nigel said. “Guess she didn’t trust me to stay away.”

Another snort. Bev appeared in the guest room doorway, wearing one of Darko’s t-shirts. “Seriously, guys? She’s had lunch with Harlan every day this week and didn’t make it home until one last night.”

“She and Harlan have been getting on pretty well. He’s much nicer to Nigel now.” Darko scrunched his brow. “Still, I don’t like the idea of her sleeping on a sofa.”

Bev rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she’s got access to a bed.”

Nigel’s eyes widened, he made a face. “FUCK!”

“What?” Darko looked between the two of them. “Why are you-FUCK! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING? I HAVE TO GO GET HER!”

Bev put a hand on his chest. “Your mother is an adult. Now maybe Harlan sleeps on the sofa tonight, maybe your mother makes other sleeping arrangements…whatever they are, they aren’t your business.”

“She’s my mother!”

“And he’s a cunt!”

“Ok, I’m going to go make some cocoa and when you boys are done pouting we can have a nice long talk about the dangers of patriarchal attitudes.”

“But Adam already told me about that!”

“Apparently you need a refresher.” Bev walked away leaving the men to grumble.

“You don’t really think Mamă would…”

“I have a fucking feeling Adam will let us know in the morning.”

Darko looked pained. “Come on, fucker. Let’s go get our lecture, I want to get to bed.”

Nigel smiled. “You’re going to fucking marry Bev, right nenorocitule?”

Darko nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good,” Nigel slapped Darko’s back. “Lock her down before she realizes what a cunt you are.”

Darko laughed and shoved Nigel toward the kitchen. “Fuck you, you fuck.”

Translations:

Mamă, te rog oprește-te! - Mama, please stop! De ce? Doar o să-mi devină noră într-o zi? - What? She’s going to be my daughter one day, isn’t she? Nu dacă o sperii! Dă-i drumu la față. - Not if you terrify her. Let go of her face. Bună Mamă - Hi, mama Ce faci? - What are you doing? Te opresc din a face of prostie. - Keeping you from doing something stupid Consideră-l cadou de nuntă. - Consider it a wedding gift.

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ethereummininghardware-blog · 7 years ago

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BIOSTAR Reveals Two AMD AM4 Ethereum Mining Hardware Motherboards

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onceuponahedafics · 7 years ago

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Title: Real To Me Author: OnceUponAHeda Pairing: Emma/Regina Rating: T Disclaimer: All copyrighted material in this story belongs to their respectful owners.

Summary: Being alone most of her life Emma Swan has been bumped from one foster home to another and the only constant in her life being her imaginary friend a Princess from a far away kingdom named Regina. But one day everything changes and Emma has to face the fact that either Regina is just figment of her imagination or something more magical is at work.

AN - Hey guys! So I have had this idea about imaginary friends actually being people from a different realm for a really long time and I finally decided to write it. I have absolutely no knowledge of the USA foster system and all the events in this story are fictional and scripted to aid in the narrative of the stories and in no way reflects on the foster system or people living within the system. This is a Swan Queen story but it will be a long journey getting there.

Chapter 1 - Worlds Apart

Green eyes watches as dirty pink sneakers swing back and forth over the polished white floor, the untied laces making a swishing sound as they swing. Shifting slightly when the hard plastic chair starts to dig into her tiny frame while her teeth bite nervously into her thumbnail to the point of almost drawing blood.

Angry footsteps echo down the hall growing louder and louder until a pair of ugly loafers appear in front of her. Slowly lifting up her head to gaze at brown eyes glaring down at her. Before the woman can open her mouth the wooden door opens revealing an older lady with large frame glasses stepping over to them.

"You're Emma Swan's legal guardian?" The secretary asks the angry woman.

"What did she do this time?"

The secretary looks down at the six year old from behind her large glasses not answering the woman's question and making the blonde squirm under her gaze.

"Principal Keenan will see you both now."

Emma just keeps looking at her hands trying to rub off the dirt and grass stains on them, she is sure her blonde hair and hand-me-down clothes are looking even worse. Rubbing harder at a particular dirt mark only to realise that it wasn't dirt but a small drop of blood.

"She got in a fight." The angry words snap her out of her trance.

"Yes, a teacher had to pull her off of the other girl during recess." The principal explains in his overly calm practised voice. Turning his beady little eyes to the young girl she does her best to hide behind a few loose strands of blonde hair. "Emma can you tell us what happened out there, why did you hit Chloe?"

"Emma answer him."

Chewing at her lip she looks up at her foster mother, probably ex-foster mother now, before turning to the principal, taking a deep breath she starts to explain.

"She-she was showing all of the other kids this tiara she got for her birthday. She said that she is a princess now 'cause she has a tiara. But that's not how it works, you can't just be a princess 'cause you have a stupid pink tiara." She lets out an annoyed huff before continuing more quietly. "Then she said I was just a jealous stinky foster kid."

"So you hit her." The principal asks with a frown.

"Y-yes. But she lied! A tiara doesn't make you a princess. You can only be a princess if you parents are the king and queen or if you marry roy-royls."

"Royalty."

"Yes. That's what Regina said you need to marry royalty before you can be a princess."

"Who is this Regina?" The principle asks her foster mom, looking up from the notes he has been taking while Emma talked.

"Oh it's just this imaginary friend she created." She says dismissively.

"She is not imaginary she is real!" Emma jumps up kneeling on the chair staring daggers at her foster mother. "She just lives in a other place." Emma huffs out crossing her arms as she falls back into her chair.

"Regardless," The principal cuts in. "Emma you could have seriously hurt Chloe today. Do you understand that?"

Emma bows her head in shame giving a slight nod.

"I'm sorry but Emma is suspended-"

After that Emma zones out focusing instead on her untied shoes again. Maybe she should have paid a little more attention when Jamie tried to teach her how to tie her shoelaces, all she can remember is something about bunny ears. As the principal and her foster mother continued to drown on in the background Emma just tried to figure out what bunnies had to do with tying your shoes.

On the car ride back Emma just keeps looking out of the window, she is not going to miss this stupid town. The people are way too talkative and Mr Patterson's dog always chased her down the street. During the day when she looked out the room window she could see the neighbour's kids playing in their pool, while she was stuck in her room that smelled like mothballs and old bread.

The car hasn't even been put into park when Emma is already out of the car and running into the house, her short legs caring her quickly up the stairs and slamming the door to her shared room closed. Dragging the desk chair across the room and moving it under the doorknob before climbing into the closet, sitting down she pulls her knees up to her chest hiding her face in them as tears start to roll down her dirt stained cheeks.

"Emma?"

Green eyes snap up to see concerned brown eyes looking back at her.

"Emma are you okay, what happened?" Emma quickly wipes her face with her hand trying to hide the evidence, Emma Swan is not a cry baby.

"I got suspended." She mumbles with a sniff.

"I don't understand."

Letting out a huff as she scuffs her shoe against the closet floor.

"Stupid Chloe." Emma puts her head down on her knees. "She thinks she is so smart, but she is not. I know the truth. But sheÃ¢â‚¬Â¦she." Emma can't help but the lone rolling down her cheek. "I hit her."

"Oh Emma."

"I'm sorry I was bad."

"I know." Regina says with a small reassuring smile moving a little closer to the blonde.

Turning her head Emma wipes her nose on her pants before looking back up at her friend.

Emma can't remember a time her friend wasn't there by her side, good and bad her princess was there. So what if she was the only one who can see Regina, that just makes her more special to the blonde knowing she is just hers.

"Cant I just come live with you." Emma asks playing with the little threads on her sleeve.

"I would like that." Regina says with a soft smile. "I would really like that."Even if they both at the age of six already know that's not possible it is still a nice dream. After a moment Regina finally asks the big question they both have been avoiding. "What are you going to do now?"

Emma lets out a long sigh as she stands up.

"Now I'm going to pack my bag and wait for my social worker to come get me."

"I'm sorry Emma."

Emma looks at the girl, her best friend, her only friend before holding out her pinky finger.

Emma watches as Regina hooks her pinky with hers not really touching but as close as one can be to touching someone in a different realm.

"It's going to be alright Emma." Regina tries to reassure her, and Emma just gives her a weak smile.

Emma opens the closet door and stepping out, turning around she casts one last glance at the now empty closet before closing the door.

There wasn't a lot to pack, only a few pieces of clothes and a ratty old teddy bear with a hole in his foot Emma uses to hide her things in and then of course her baby blanket.

The thud of the backpack hitting the floor next to the stairs makes the woman's head snap to the direction, seeing the girl standing there backpack on the floor and blanket under her arm.

"When will Julie be here?"

"In about 15 minutes."

The little girl nods picking up her bag and walking out the house, sitting alone on the porch steps is how Julie found her. Walking up the steps she takes a seat next to the girl.

"Where are you taking me this time?" Emma asks in a emotionless voice.

"There is a group home in Boston, nice family and the kids-" Before she can continue Emma stands up pulling her backpack on and makes her way to the car and climbing into the back of the black car.

"Okay then." Julie says standing up from the porch steps glancing back at the house before she makes her way over to the car where the little blonde is waiting for her.

-x-x-

Regina is strolling through the castle library trailing her fingers along the spines of the old books. Ever since she learned to read she has spent many hours emerged in the books of the castle library learning new things and going fantastic adventures across their pages. This was her escape, where she could do and be anything she want and not have to worry about being the perfect young lady her mother commands of her.

Currently the book of choice is one of such a faraway land full of magic and mystery.

"When are you going to stop reading?" Complains a voice from the floor next to her.

"I rather enjoy reading unlike some people."

Emma just lets out an annoyed huff.

"You know if you keep reading like this your head is just going to get fuller and fuller and soon there is going to be no space left and everything important is just going to pop out of your head and you wouldn't even remember your name any more. Is that what you want, not to remember your own name?"

Regina chuckles.

"I'm not going to forget my name Emma." Emma just grumbles from her spot on the floor. "So, do you want to tell me about the new family you are staying with?"

"No."

"Emma."

"Ugh fine, they are okay. The mom smells like earwax but the dad has a pretty cool moustache."

"Are they nice people?" Emma knows what she is really asking, are you safe.

"I guess."

"That's good."

All of the sudden Emma jumps up standing in front of Regina.

"Oh I know what we should do!" Emma says excited making Regina look up from her book clearly they are now moving onto a new topic. Regina looks at the big smile Emma is giving her, closing her book she knows she is apparently done reading for the day.

"I can't believe you talked me into doing this." Regina says looking up and down the hallway finding it empty.

The halls in this part of the castle is mostly deserted, except for the occasional guard and maid going about their usual rounds not paying the princess much attention. She likes to think it's because they respect her privacy but she knows it's just because they are afraid she would tell on them to her mother and they would have to face the wrath of Queen Cora.

"Oh come on Gina it's an adventure." The excited blonde bounces next to the princess pretending to fight off imaginary enemies.

"Mother would not approve of this."

"Well, your mom got a stick up her butt."

"Emma!" Regina's eyes almost budges out of her head at her friend's statement.

"What it's not like she can hear me."

Emma did have a point there.

"Still." Regina comes to a stop in front of a large portrait hanging against the wall of her great grandfather. "Alright I found a painting."

"Awesome, now you just have to move it out of the way and then there should be a big button behind it that will open a hidden door."

Reaching up as high as she can on her tiptoes her fingertips just barely brushes the underside of the painting's frame. If only she was a little taller.

"I see my little princess has developed a love for art."

Regina spins around at the sudden voice to see a smiling face looking back at her.

"Daddy!" The princess runs across the hall into the waiting arms of the king.

"Are we exploring the castle again?"

"I want to see what is behind the painting."

"Well let's have a look then shall we."

The king moves over to the painting with his daughter's hand in his large one. Taking a hold of the frame he pushes it to the side to reveal a empty stone wall. Henry watches as Regina frowns as the painting slides back into place.

"There is nothing."

"Not what you expected?"

"No." Spinning her head around she looks up and down the hallway. "Maybe it's behind a different painting." Regina says to the blonde on the other side of her father looking beyond disappointed.

"Alright little one, what are we looking for?" King Henry asks as he starts to walk down the hall looking for the next painting.

"Emma said it would be behind a painting."

"Ah I should have known Miss Emma was behind this little adventure." He smiles affectionately down at Regina, he has known that his daughter's imaginary friend had the tendency to get Regina's mischievous side out. "So what did Emma say was behind the paintings?"

"She said that sometimes in moving pictures there are secret passages in castles hidden behind paintings." Regina explains.

"Movies, it's called movies." Emma mumbles annoyed at the lack of her friend's knowledge of modern technology.

"A hidden passage how mysterious." Henry moves another painting to the side to find another stone wall.

"It could lead anywhere. Maybe even to hidden treasure!" She says excited and Henry lets out a chuckle looking at the diamond hair pin in the princess hair, yes hidden treasure is what they need.

"Gallivanting around the halls again I see." They both freeze when they see Queen Cora standing at the end of the hall with her hands on her hips with an angry glare.

"Cora we are only-"

"Regina you're late for you for your ridding lesson." Cora says ignoring her husband.

"Yes, mother."

The king releases the small hand in his and she quickly scurries down the hallway happy to get away from her upset mother.

"Seriously Henry I expected more from you." Cora says stepping closer to the king.

"She is just a child what is wrong with playing-"

"She is the future Queen, and she needs to start acting as such."

The king flenses when the painting next to him shifts in warning but he continues anyway.

"And playing with Emma is beneath her?"

"Not this Emma thing again, I will not have you encouraging this crazy fantasy of hers. What will the people think if they see their princess talking to herself?"

"Maybe if she was allowed to actually go out and make some real friend she wouldn't need to make up one."

"Friends are only an obstacle she can't afford."

"Cora do you honestly-"

The king is flung against the stone wall being pinned to it by a magical force.

"Enough, I will not have you tell me how to raise my daughter."

"She is my daughter to, that you seem all too happy to forget." He gets ready to yell but Cora waves her hand and his voice disappears.

"I am her mother." She steps closer to him stroking his cheek. "And mother always knows best." With that Cora spins around her dress floating behind her as she quickly walks away.

Later that afternoon Regina skips down the hall, smiling down at the beautiful bouquet of flowers in her hands. During her riding lesson she came across a patch of wildflowers in a clearing near the river. After admiring the flowers she decided to pick a few as a surprise for mother hoping to apologise for her bad behaviour earlier.

Now making her way to her mother's office feeling giddy about her gift.

Pushing open the large wooden door to the office.

"Mother look wha-" Stopping in her tracks when she spots a strange man standing in the middle of the room his skin glittered in the candle light.

"Well who do we have here?"

Regina just stands frozen looking at the creepy little man as he stalks closer to her.

"What's your name dearie?"

"I'm princess Regina."

She says flinching as her runs his disgusting nail across her cheek, his lizard eyes feels like it is staring right into her soul.

"My my, you have no idea of the power you hold do you?"

"Regina!" The girl jumps around to see her mother standing at the door with her hands on her hips. "Regina what are you doing here, you know you are not allowed in here."

"Mother I-" Regina starts holding up the flowers but is silenced by Cora lifting up her hand.

"Regina go to your room we will talk about your disobedience later."

"Now Cora we were only getting... acquainted." He says plucking a flower from the bouquet the little girl is holding.

"Regina now."

"Yes mother." She lowers her head and dropping the flowers on the cold floor as she leaves the room knowing her mother will be giving her her punishment later as she hears the little man talking to her mother.

"Cora you have been hiding that little gem from me, all that untapped power. Maybe I have been investing my time in the wrong Mills woman."

"Regina is weak, we both know it's me you want Rumple. Now are we done wasting time can we begin?"

-x-x-

Emma is lying in her new bed, the new home has taken some time to get use to. The family is a lot nicer than most families even if they are rather strict. Each one of the kids have a list of chores they need to finish each day and posters with rules printed in bold all caps plastered around the house. Following rules have always been a struggle for Emma, having had to fight for herself since no one else bothered to ever do, she has come to be a strong willed and bad behaved labelled kid.

The sound of quiet sniffles makes her snap her eyes open. Looking around the dark room she sees the other girls already fast asleep. As quiet as possible she carefully slips down from her mattress before she crawls under the bed.

"Gina?" She whispers, her only answer being a little whimper.

Regina is possibly the most perfect little girl Emma has ever met, always on her best manners, always smiling and willing to help, in fact Regina is basically the exact opposite of the young blonde. Not much can get her down, that is except for one person - Queen Cora aka mother dearest. Emma can never understand how Cora can be so awful to her daughter especially someone as sweet as Regina. Knowing that no matter how many times she asks Regina will not want to talk about what happened unless she wants to, Emma does what she can and starts telling her silly little stories to take her mind off of whatever it is that are making her friend cry.

"Today at school Michael brought a frog he found, and during lunch it jumped out of his hand and onto a table where all these girls were sitting, the screamed so loudly and that scared the frog so it started to jump all over their plates sending food flying all over them."

As Emma continue to tell her story with great enthusiasm Regina's sniffles dies down and soon she has a small smile on her lips. Emma keeps talking until the princess is fast asleep, and not for the first time and far from the last time Emma wishes she could reach out and touch her friend.

#once upon a time #emma swan #regina mills #swan queen #swan queen fanfic #real to me #fanfic #fanfiction #fantasy #adventure #frienship #romance #chapter 1 #swanqueen

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makeitwithmike · 7 years ago

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How to Use Reddit for Fast (and Accurate) Market Research

By James Mulvey

With 50,000 niche communities and 250 million unique monthly visitors, Reddit is packed with potential customers talking about brands and products.

In this post, you’ll learn a simple process for using Reddit to conduct market research. As you’ll see, Reddit can help you observe what people really think about your industry and products, reveal what frustrates customers, and help you create marketing campaigns and content that kill those pains.

With 50,000 niche communities and 250 million unique monthly visitors, Reddit is packed with potential customers talking about brands and products.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.

Reddit 101 (skip this section if you already use Reddit)

Like Snapchat, Reddit is confusing to people who don’t use it. Here’s a quick intro to Reddit.

Most people use Reddit to waste time. By subscribing to popular communities (called subreddits), you’ll get an endless firehose of viral content. These communities are divided by themes such as science topics, news, hobbies, and Reddit inventions such as the “Ask Reddit” format, where the community answers questions.

Casual Reddit users will often join a specific subreddit related to their passion or profession. For example, a music lover might subscribe to a subreddit about learning guitar. Here, the content is less frequent and not viral. It’s simply people talking to each other and sharing things. Vendors who try to post here will often be mocked or kicked out.

Dedicated Reddit users will join communities that appear confusing to an outsider. These users are more interested in conversations rather than content. For example, someone might post a funny link but the main attraction will be the funny and witty dialogue between different users. These conversations will often be self-referential to moments in Reddit’s history or obscure memes. This makes it hard to follow and understand why certain things are popular on Reddit until you regularly read these threads.

Subreddits = niche communities often related to specific interests. Some subreddits attract millions of monthly views; others attract a tiny group of dedicated people.

Reddit gold = Users will “gift” each other a premium subscription to Reddit if they think a comment is particularly funny or valuable to the community.

Karma = This is a Reddit point system that rewards users who contribute to the community. If you submit a link that other users appreciate, you’ll gain points.

Downvote/upvote = This is the golden economy that keeps Reddit valuable. In most social media sites, a lot of garbage content floats to the top of the feed. In Reddit, users quickly downvote or upvote content. For example, let’s say Reddit users are having a discussion about Pepsi. If a brand manager comes in and posts a link to a new Pepsi contest, users will likely downvote that post, pushing it to the bottom. If a user says something smart or funny, it will gain upvotes.

This system ensures that interesting content stays at the top and spam sinks to the bottom. Your post score is balanced by downvotes and upvotes. For example, if 10 people downvote my post and 11 people upvote my post, I’d have a score of 1. This ensures that every post has a fair chance of rising or falling based on the community’s votes.

Throwaway account = This is a popular phrase you’ll hear on Reddit. Reddit users are talented internet sleuths. If you post something and it attracts attention, Reddit users will look at your comment history and expose your personal information. That’s why most Reddit users will create a temporary ‘throwaway’ account they’ll use to post a comment and then never use again.

Using Reddit to conduct market research: A step-by-step guide

Step #1: Find where your customers are hiding

Find the right subreddit

To start, find a subreddit filled with your target customers. There’s no magic solution here. It can take a bit of work to find the right communities. Begin by searching for subreddits. You can also use the following search operators to get started: title:keyword (example, title:Honda), subreddit:keyword (example, subreddit:Honda); and URL:keyword (example, URL:Hondafans.com).

Install the free Reddit Enhancement suite

This free tool adds advanced searching and filtering options to Reddit. With this tool, you can filter irrelevant subreddits, keywords, and old posts. This done by using custom filters. It’s a helpful tool.

Do some sleuthing

Now, spend an hour or so doing some keyword searches. Make a list of the popular subreddits for your topic and common questions that people ask. For example, let’s say I’m a brand manager at Honda. With a little searching, I’ll bump into these subreddits: r/PreludeOwners, r/Honda_XR_and_XL, and r/Honda. These have valuable conversations about Honda’s brand and products, offering an authentic glimpse into the lives of Honda customers.

Step #2: Ask these questions

During your research, focus on answering the four questions below.

How do people feel about your product category? It’s easy to forget that the public has much different experiences than we do inside the walls of a marketing department. Reddit is amazing for revealing unfiltered opinions about brands, products, industries, and categories.

How do people feel about advertising in your category? On the top of Reddit, you’ll see eight tabs. Use the ‘‘promoted” tab to see advertising campaigns run by your competitors. Did any of your competitors promote their products to this community? Look at the comments to see how consumers responded—and what they feel about advertising campaigns in your category. Do competitors brag too much? Are certain features considered table stakes now?

How sophisticated are consumers of your products? Consumers get good at buying products—what differentiates you today is expected tomorrow. For example, at Hootsuite we’ve been helping companies track and prove the ROI of social media for many years. But each year, the topic morphs as our industry becomes more sophisticated.

Reddit can help you stay ahead of your customer’s demand—whether that be the features that bore them, the promises they’re tired of hearing, or the things they wish brands would get right.

Go to the top of the subreddit you want to analyze and select the tab called “gilded.” This will sort by comments that received Reddit gold. As mentioned, Reddit users will gift each other “gold” (which means they pay for the user’s upgrade to Reddit premium) for comments that are exceptionally valuable, funny, or insightful. These are comments that have resonated with Reddit’s most discerning users. Use these “gilded” comments to better understand the sophistication level of your audience as these comments are the smartest or funniest perspectives in the community.

Who is the HXC customer? Unlike most social networks, Reddit pushes the smartest comments and most discerning consumer opinions to the top. It’s a social network filled with smart and opinionated consumers. This is exactly the consumer you want to aim your marketing strategy at.

Most marketing makes the mistake of talking to the lowest common denominator (“meet Joe, your typical male person, looking for a simple way to file taxes online so that he can get back to what he really loves: watching sports with the guys”). But when you’re searching for a new Honda, you ask your friend, the car lover who knows everything about Hondas. Or when you’re looking for a mutual fund to buy, you ask your investment friend who lives on a yacht. These people have specific opinions and expectations for products—and other consumers idealize them.

This is the concept of the HXC customer developed by Julie Supan. According to Supan, if you aim your products and marketing at the most discerning customer, the masses will follow. Reddit can help you better understand these discerning customers.

The best subreddits for marketers

You’ll find subreddits for most industries and products. A relevant subreddit for this post is http://bit.ly/2ra8Ktg, a community of market researchers.

Another good one that I follow is http://bit.ly/2ra38zd, a subreddit where marketing professionals ask for answers to hard questions like Facebook ad optimization techniques, tracking the ROI of event marketing, and asking advice about new business ventures.

Step #3: Analyze and monitor

By now, you should have a good idea of the subreddits and typical questions customers ask on Reddit. In this last section, I’ll show you how to monitor these communities for new conversations.

Combine subreddits together

With Reddit, you can create a multireddit. This allows you to group individual subreddits on a page, making it easy to scan and read new content.

The easiest way to create a multireddit is by logging into Reddit and then pressing Create, located on the left side of the page, under multireddits. You can also combine subreddits into a URL like so: http://bit.ly/2ra6eDn. For example, I created the following multireddit that combines three of the best marketing subreddits into one: http://bit.ly/2ra4hqP. Bookmark that URL and you’ll always have new marketing tips from the Reddit community.

Monitor for keywords with this app

I’ve tried a few different ways to automatically pull posts from Reddit including web scraping scripts. These often break, though. One of the tools I love to use is the Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app for Hootsuite. You can monitor brand terms or keywords for any topic, pulling all these hyper-targeted conversations right into your Hootsuite dashboard.

I’m not only recommending this app because I work at Hootsuite. I actually use the app. I even use it to monitor conversations about music recording gear (a hobby of mine) as it pulls interesting bits from all around Reddit.

Add the Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app to your Hootsuite dashboard

Install the Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app. Next, go to your Hootsuite dashboard (if you don’t have one, you can start with a free account). Click Add a New Stream. In the window, select Apps and then select the Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app.

Start listening! Go to the Hootsuite stream you just created

Click on the tiny gear icon in the corner of the Reddit Keyword Monitor Pro app. Enter a few keywords you’d like to monitor. For example, I’m interested in what customers think about Hootsuite. So I monitor: “love Hootsuite,” “Hootsuite,” and “buy Hootsuite?” These conversations appear right inside my Hootsuite dashboard, so I don’t have to check Reddit for new posts.

I use these insights for market research but this type of listening is critical for brand managers as well. Reddit can be an early warning system for an impending brand PR crisis and monitoring conversations saves you from having to check for new mentions of your company or products.

Use RSS to bring the conversation to you

You can use RSS feeds to monitor different subreddits as well. RSS doesn’t seem to work on all subreddits. But you can try your luck with Hootsuite’s RSS tool (same process as step 3) or learn more about RSS in this guide to Reddit RSS subscriptions. Written by a Reddit user of course.

That’s how I use Reddit for market research.

If you’re looking for other ways to use social data in your marketing plans, check out our free guide, The Social Media Data Cookbook. You’ll learn 11 simple recipes to help you put social data to work including a simple test you can run to see the exact ROI of social messages.

Read it for Free

The post How to Use Reddit for Fast (and Accurate) Market Research appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

The post How to Use Reddit for Fast (and Accurate) Market Research appeared first on Make It With Michael.

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