#a lot among them at least to me. i love hearing him talk sooo much lmfao.

[prettyboykatsuki]

i have deep desire to write for demon slayer (and by write for it im specifically talking about zenitsu currently.) but the story is so deeply impacted by it's setting that its gonna take at least two weeks of research to do it any justice so the plans r Delayed

[fizzingwizard]

couple life things

went to Jamaica Fes on the weekend. Bob Marley everywhere. Had my first ever jerk chicken and festival bread. Sooo good. Also ate taco rice and a warm, gooey churro caked in cinnamon which was easily the best churro I've ever had in Japan.

People were all dressed up in bright colors, especially Jamaican flag colors. It was interested for me to see so much of Osaka's night life out in broad daylight haha. During the work week, most people are dressed modestly, in muted colors. Of course if you go to America-mura or hit up clubs you'll always find lots of stylish young people, but yeah, they're not so visible just out and about. Lots of skin-showing and bright hair colors. It was really fun. And so many tattoos! Japan is really opening up to tattoos it seems. Still not work appropriate most of the time (let alone school), but I don't think people's minds automatically go to "yakuza" when they see a tattoo anymore hehe. At least not in cities. Rural areas are a little different.

Work stuff: One of the toughest, though inevitable, things about my job is when a student leaves the school. They'll all leave my class at the end of the year, and eventually they'll graduate the school itself and I probably won't hear from them again. But although the end of the year makes me emotional, it's even harder when kids leave during the school year.

Last hear I had a particular challenging student, A, who was uncontrollale. If we'd had a smaller class, or fewer students with difficult behaviors, we could maybe have spent more time with him and worked out some things that we weren't able to. A lot of young kids who have trouble at school would do so much better, imo, if they could just have more personal time with the teacher. They really want and need those bonds to feel valued and supported, but when the teacher has to divide her attention among a large class, it's impossible. And "large" is not as large as you'd think when kids are only two or three years old. But schools will pay for only as many teachers as they need legally, so.

Still, we did see a LOT of progress in this student anyway. Once he got comfortable with us, he was so sweet and charming. He acted out when he got overstimulated or when he was lonely. By the end of the year, he'd grown so much. It's impossible to know how much we helped and how much was just his own understanding getting better as he got older. But we loved him a lot and we tried everything we could think of.

He also has a very supportive mom who told us she was like him when she was that age, and that she didn't expect miracles, and that she preferred if we followed his lead and went at his pace. Which was SUCH a relief to hear. Because I very much believe that's what's best with young kids. Not that you shouldn't challenge them, but there's a difference between presenting a challenge and letting them decide when to attempt it, and forcing them to attempt the challenge whether they like it or not "to build character."

A lot of parents are so worried that their kids are not "on level" with other kids of the same age and it's like. Every kid hits milestones at different points. Every kid is different. I have a mom right now who told us she's worried her kid wasn't talking much even though her older sister did at the same age. And I heard from her teacher last year that the mom was saying the same thing back then. This kid, back then, was barely two years old! It is completely, COMPLETELY normal for 2s to do a lot more observing than speaking - it doesn't mean they can't speak or don't understand. It's just normal. Some kid are chatty, some aren't. Something I've seen happen many many times as a preschool teacher is a kid turns 3, and suddenly they're a chatterbox. It is that sudden. They have their birthday and it's like a flip is switched. So I told my coworkers that of course we had to respect and help the mom with her concerns, but that personally I thought her kid was fine and would start talking when she turned 3. Well, the kid turned 3 last week, and guess what - even the week before that, she'd suddenly found her voice. She speaks in sentences and mostly clearly. I called it! haha. We are continuing our support plan for mom's sake, but I'm hoping to hear she's feeling better now that her daughter is talking.

But back to A - so the thing about kids like A is, they take so much time that you get really invested in them. Parents often worry that if their kid is a handful, the teachers will like them less and pay them less attention. Absolutely do be your kid's advocate - but as a teacher, I gotta say it's often the opposite! Much harder to pay as much attention to the kids who don't need much support. Because you're all taken up with the others! And we don't dislike kids just because they don't follow directions perfectly. If they did, they'd be freaky, like what are these robot children?? Challenging kids are a lot of work and you go home exhausted every day. But when they make progress, it's like the sun coming out after weeks of rain. It's amazing. You really feel so happy for them. And even if they don't make progress, you went through so much with them and got to know them so well that you just won't forget them.

I found out last week that after fighting hard to get A into our upper level school, his mom is withdrawing him. The reason isn't anything to do with his support or issues with the school or teachers, but an understandable family reason. I'm so sad though. I really wanted to watch A grow up. I was so, so worried about how the transition from my class to the new school would be for him. I heard from his teachers that he had a hard time at first. But now he trusts his new teachers. I went to help out at that school when they were understaffed and I got to see my students from last year including A. He was so happy to see me and I could see that he loved school.

So it's just a shame. I think he's the type of kid who would have continued to remember his former teachers as the years go by. He's a very affectionate type. It would have been amazing to see him three years from now at his graduation. I miss and wonder about all the students of mine that have left the school. A is just very recent so I'm feeling it the worst atm. I gave him too many hugs all year long to forget him so fast ;_;

[astaroth1357]

Brothers React to the MC Looking at Them Lovingly

This is a personal experiment. This is the very first time I've written one of these with a goal in mind, "Make them fall in love all over again." It's a tall order. I hope I succeeded. 🙏 Special thanks to @a-chaotic-dumbass for picking the mood for this one!

Intro:

We all know that look. The one where one person stares at another like they just realized they're the only thing in the universe and they're in fucking awe of it. The kind of look that tells you they're utterly enthralled by that other person and just can't get enough of their presence. That look. Yeah, the brothers just got that look out of the MC.

Let's warm some cold hearts, everybody.

Lucifer

Lucifer was always beautiful. Always has been, as an angel or a demon.

A morning star is one that outshines all the rest. It stands out when the other stars have dimmed, holding onto its luster in defiance of the sun. 

There couldn't be a truer title for Lucifer to have. Not the horrors of war nor the fires of Hell could tarnish his radiance in any way…

But there were moments, like right then, where the MC caught a glimpse of a different sort of Lucifer.

His brothers would often only see the uptight Lucifer, the practiced visage of perfection that he tried so hard to keep up… 

But after a long day, when he thinks he's alone, he retires to his room to listen to his music and the difference is astonishing.

There's something so entrancingly calm about him… How the light of the fireplace flickers and dances across his alabaster skin to the subtle slouch of his posture. His face no longer marred by creases of stress and frustration… 

And his expression is so pure… So tranquil and at peace… Beauty without effort. A shine that can't be ignored. A morning star, in the truest sense of the word…

It took awhile for Lucifer to see the MC leaning against his doorframe.

They were staring at him with the oddest look… Smiling like they were enraptured by something, but he didn't have a clue why. He was just sitting there…

So, naturally, he turned to suspicion.

"Am I really that amusing…?"

Frankly, he wasn’t prepared for the little laugh they let out in response.

"Mm? No, no... I'm just always so amazed by you, is all. I'll leave you to your music..."

Having thoroughly ruined the mood, the MC then turned to leave. But Lucifer was already upon them before they could step away, wrapping his arms around their waist and letting contented hum escape his chest.

"Going so soon…?"

Apparently he appreciated the compliment.

Mammon

He didn't have to do it.

When Belphie bumped into one of the House's vases, shattering it against the tile, he didn’t have to take the fall for it.

It wasn’t connected to him at all. He could have stayed quiet and no one would have pointed a finger at him for once.

But he did.

When Mammon set his phone down on the table, MC knew instantly that he had lied in the chat.

He was with them the entire day, he didn't have the time to accidentally break a vase. He hadn't even gone down that hallway all day...

But he said something anyway.

And he didn't even look fazed. He didn't turn towards them seeking approval nor did he look irritated that Belphie didn't speak up. He didn't curse at himself for doing something so self-sacrificing either...

When Mammon leaned back into the cushion of his couch, the MC saw something truly remarkable on his face… A smile. A small one, sure, but relaxed… 

Assured in his own actions. Confident in his choice and accepting the consequences… undeserved, and likely thankless, they may be.

A genuine, serene smile…

Mammon wasn't sure what he expected to see when he turned to the MC. Probably confusion or disbelief that he, the Great Mammon, could be so selfless.

Definitely not the awed, lovestruck look he got...

"G-gah!" He panicked slightly and pressed himself back against the armrest of the couch in shock. "Wh-... What'cha lookin at me like that for??"

When the MC didn't answer after a few seconds and just kept staring, he honestly didn't know what to do. Were they broken or something??

"Oi, MC! I asked ya wh-Hey wait a minute!!"

He made a noise between a yelp and a shout when the MC leapt forward and latched their arms onto him. What had gotten into them??

"U-uh… MC? MC?? Damnit MC, answer me already!! Or at least stop squeezin so tight!!... MC!!!"

Leviathan 

To anyone else, it was just Levi being Levi.

He had finished a new episode of his latest animated obsession and he had to share it with someone. Anyone would do, but the MC was always willing to lend an ear.

Something about Levi really changes when he talks about his passions… It's like he comes alive in a whole new way.

He speaks at a mile-a-minute, but that's because he's so excited the words fly from his mouth. 

Some part of him is always bouncing, be it his leg or body. Sometimes even his tail will swish and curl behind him like an ecstatic puppy. And his eyes… 

Citrine pools that glimmer and dilate from the exhilaration of it all. It's his little world and anyone can see he's thrilled to be sharing it. 

You'd never know he was shy. You'd never think he'd look down himself. You'd never guess that he hid himself away… Why would someone so full of passion and life ever want to? Some things are just too beautiful to keep hidden...

Levi had only gotten six minutes into his latest rant before he finally registered how the MC was staring at him…

This man has seen enough shoujo to know what that look means and it shut him up sooo quick. If anyone else were in the room they would have seen a beet-red Levi desperately trying to hide his face.

"M-MC…! S-top staring at me like that…!!"

"Like what~?" 

He didn't have to look at them to hear the teasing lilt in their voice.

"MC…" He peeked out from behind his fingers to see them still staring and covered himself up more vigorously. "Stoooop…!!!"

But secretly? He wished they'd never stop. His cheeks may have been red from embarrassment, but his heart was trying to hammer its way out of his chest to hug them itself. Hell, he'd have happily given it over to them if they'd asked…

Please just let those loving eyes be for him and him alone...

Satan

Soft isn't exactly a word anybody would use to describe Satan, least of all himself.

His anger was quick to spark, his strength was nothing to scoff at, and even his smiles were nothing but plastic for nearly all of his existence…

Nearly.

The MC learned surprisingly quick that there was one thing that could bypass all of the hidden ferocity to Satan's personality. Something that could make him melt like butter in the summer sun…

Satan had always looked a little cute when he was reading. He was easily at his most expressive when engrossed in a thrilling story or deeply intrigued by something he found between the pages of a book…

But watching Satan read about cats, as he was right then, was really something else entirely.

Maybe it was the way his emerald eyes would sparkle or the lopsided grin he just couldn't hide as he would scan the pages about the playful habits of Bengals or the relaxed nature of Ragdolls…

Maybe it was the sheer impassioned dedication he took the subject, pouring countless hours into collecting and memorizing every fact he could from their diets to coat maintenance.

Or maybe it was the sheer fact that anytime he saw a picture of kitty in-print he looked like a besotted schoolgirl drawing hearts around her crush in a teen magazine.

Really, who's to say? But to the MC, it was proof that under all that anger, there was a tender, loving center even for the smallest, softest creatures…

Satan automatically snapped his book closed when he saw MC watching him from behind a bookshelves. Caught red-handed…

He knows exactly how he looks when he's doing his research internally squealing over cat pictures so he tries to do so in private...

He was about to sputter out a defensive explanation but then he registered their face…

He'd seen that look described in stories, romance novels mostly, but he'd rarely seen it in action… and never once leveled at him with such intensity…

Not to be cliche, but frankly his heart skipped a beat.

Satan forgot about his book briefly and got up to close the distance between them, tilting their chin up to keep their eyes on him.

"Like something that you see, Kitten?"

"You could say that…"

He laughed at their attempt to play coy, but let it slide just this once… Easy to do with them looking at him so amorously.

Asmodeus 

Asmo is a very popular demon. Someone so free ought to know quite a lot of people, after all.

And, of course, he had plenty of fans. He made DevilTube videos, hosted radio shows, fashion designed, and even modeled.

So it wasn't very surprising when a young demoness stopped him while he and the MC were out shopping. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked to sign autographs, but this meeting… it was different.

It was clear to them both that this girl was shy. Though she held out the paper, her eyes stayed firmly on the ground and she stumbled on her question… She likely a fan from afar, but everything about her seemed meek… unassuming.

Most people would have just gave the autograph then went on with their day. The interaction could have taken five seconds at most… but not Asmo.

He asked her name… where she was from, how she was feeling, her favorite foods, outfits, makeup, you name it. All with investment.

It was amazing to watch the shy young woman slowly open up, getting more bright and cheerful with each passing question until it evolved into a healthy conversation.

When their little meeting finally wrapped up, he gave her back the paper (now signed) but also fished out a bottle of perfume from among the mountains of bags he was carrying. He gave it to her and wouldn't hear anything to the contrary, he could always buy another.

None of his brothers ever gave Asmo enough credit for his giving nature… even if he had his own way of going about it. Though he cared so much about image and his ability to shine, he never hesitated to make sure that the people around him shined too...

Asmo waved to the fan as she scampered away and was about to  apologize to the MC when he saw their face…

The man knows this look well. He's seen it a billion times, though it was particularly cute coming from them.

"Awww MC! Taken by my beauty are you~?"

He was about ready to kiss their cheek when they responded.

"No, not your looks, Asmo… with you."

… Oh.

It was very rare to see Asmo speechless, but for a few seconds his mind seemed to take in their words… letting them fully sink in before his heart utterly melting.

Oh MC… His sweet MC!!

Asmo ended up dropping the rest of his bags just so he could properly litter his human in nuzzles and kisses, the both of them humming and giggling in delight despite their shameless PDA.

Of course it would be his MC to see that part in himself… Who else would take the time?

Beelzebub 

Food is a precious resource to Beel. For him, it's a lifeline. A good meal could save him from the brink of starvation…

But that still doesn't make him incapable of sharing from time to time.

He and the MC were walking back to the House after getting takeout from Hell's Kitchen. Beel hadn't even waited until they left the restaurant to start eating his share, spilling the smell of fresh food into the air around them…

Things were going fine on their route back until they heard whimpering behind them…

A hellhound puppy, not quite old enough to bear its fangs, seemingly followed them as they were walking… It looked like it had been out for some time and eyed their food with hungry eyes, but weak posture. Who knows when it last had a meal?

The MC was about to tug at Beel's sleeve and say something, but their demon was ahead of them this time.

A casual observer might have gawked at the sight of Gluttony kneeling down to offer such a lowly creature a sandwich. But the MC knew better. When you spend your whole life hungry, nobody more than you understands that kind of pain in someone else. 

This reaction wasn't out of character for Beel, it was elementary.

And when the puppy finished its meal and covered Beel's cheeks with appreciative licks, he just laughed and scratched behind its ears. Amethyst eyes looking more relieved at its health than disappointed he lost some of his lunch...

Food was Beel's lifeline, but kindness is what made him who he was…

When the pup finally scampered off, Beel looked over at the MC to tell them it'd be alright and saw their face…

He wasn't really sure what they were staring at… Did he have something between his teeth again?

"MC? Are you okay...?"

They laughed at him for some reason but pulled him in for a hug so they must have meant well.

"You're so sweet, Beel…"

Beel's never one to refuse a compliment so he just hugged them back, beaming.

"Thank you, MC…"

Belphegor 

To say that Belphegor tended to be on the melancholic side would be an understatement… It wasn’t that he was incapable of expressing joy, it was just harder for him to do than most. Not helped, of course, by his tendency to keep his true feelings vague and hard to pinpoint.

But on those rare occasions where he was overjoyed… Belphie could really be something special…

The MC and Belphie were attending one of Beel's games and it was a tight one… Both teams had spent most of it tied and Beel's team was running out of time to overtake that slim margin.

Belphie had always been a supporter of his twin's athletics, but this time it was tense even for him. He kept on the edge of his seat and didn't even nod off during the breaks like he normally would… The MC could just tell how nervous he was for Beel…

But right as the time was about to run out, Beel made a last minute score and sure, the whole field erupted, but Belphie? Belphie hollered.

The normally sleepy and mellow demon was on his feet in an instant and practically shredding his vocal chords in excitement. If his tail had been out, it would have been beating against the bleachers like a war-drum. And his expression?

Belphie's smile is said to stop hearts for a reason. When he puts his all into a grin it's almost like he ascends to Heaven once more, as pure as an angel's choir and as warm as a summer's breeze… Nothing in his eyes but pride and adoration for his beloved twin brother.

Truly, a heartwarming sight to behold…

Belphie didn't calm down until the rest of the crowd settled and was about to point out Beel's skill to the MC when he noticed their face.

… oh no… Why do they look so sappy…?

"You really love your brother, don't you?"

Belphie quickly hid his thoughts behind an irritated frown and plopped back down in his seat… but that didn't shield them from seeing his pink cheeks.

"Of course I do. What kind of question is that?"

He debated just joining Beel on the field to hide his embarrassment when he heard them snicker back.

"Yeah, you're right… Don't mind me."

Oh he minded. He minded a lot that he let his carefully veiled image slip like that. But thinking back to that smile on their face…?

Maybe being a little open wasn't so bad after all...

[nexyra]

James Ironwood, for character ask? 👀

Aaaa thank you so much for the ask ♡ More rambling incoming !! Sorry for the wait btw, I've been both pretty busy and tired ;;

If you hate James Ironwood and don't wanna hear one good thing about him tap out now please ღ

My fav ship(s) for the character

I am not a super big shipper when it comes to James, but there are still some I like more than others soo here goes :

I think Ironwitch is a pretty good one. It's not necessarily a ship I'd search content for but I think these two would work well together ! Glynda is stern and honest and a no-nonsense kind of woman. She has the strenght to stand up to James when he slips or gets too stubborn when faced with the high stakes. At the same time, we've been shown that she cares for him and she knows he's only trying to do what's best for people. She has faith in him but also the ability to stand at his side as an equal. She seems to be the more steadfast of Ozpin's circle : loyal, you know you can trust her, and she will not crumble. This is the kind of personnality that I think James both admire and feel safe with. And the other way around, I think James is a good match for Glynda too. On a day to day basis, he's serious enough to not annoy here, but he's also a softie in some aspects and that's a nice combination to smooth out Glynda's edges.

Ironqrow is a completely different dynamic. The "we're annoying each other" dynamic is not one I'm particularly interested in usually xD But these two certainly had strong & interesting moments so it's a pretty valid ship !! Despite how they might butt heads because of the difference in their upbringing they (prior to V8) clearly trusted each other with their life. Even if Qrow jokes about shooting himself if he had to be one of James' man, when everything goes to shit there is no doubt in his mind that James wasn't responsible. Similarly, while James talks of shooting Qrow for his misbehaviour, when push comes to shove and we meet a tired Ironwood, run ragged by the pressure he's under... the only thing he does is hug him and reiterates how glad he is to see him. So again, they clearly have a lot of faith and trust in the other, and that's solid ground for a relationship.

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

Same spiel as always, shipping kids and adults is a big no from me; so any ships between Ironwood and RWBYJNOR can qualify here. That said, among the less uncomfortable ones, here are those I don't really like

This one is again because I love their relationship but platonically only, I'm talking of Winter Soldier. The reading I like best is not that Ironwood is Winter's Jacques 2.0, nor that he groomed her; but that he was an important father figure in her life. Protective and caring, who tried to help her escape with what he knew. I don't see James recruiting Winter as a way to gain a strong ally. But rather that Winter wanted to detach herself from her family name, and make something worthwhile of herself all on her own. And that the military is what Ironwood knows and understand, so naturally it's a career he'd see as a good path. Just like Winter then proposed it to Weiss. I like to think they care about each other a LOT and they're their own tight family in between the lines, even if professionalism might throw a wrench into it. For short I love them together but not romantically please =)

I don't know if there's a ship name for this, but Salem x James Ironwood would be a big nope from me too... In general, let's just assume I ship Salem with nobody because abuse.

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

Fav platonic relationship would be (have been because we dont talk about V8?) with Winter. Fooor the reasons I've explained above I suppose x) I (again) love the trust they had in one another and the quiet support.

There was also his relationship with Oscar that I really liked during V7, although it has been soured a bit by the (valid) reading from some people that Ironwood sought out Ozpin a lot through Oscar, and given his identity issues it is not ground for a greatly healthy relationship. Their interactions were still very intersting though ♡ I consider Oscar to be the kid who went at trying to appease James' fear or make him reconsider his decisions the best way. There was true understanding and hope for a working relationship here. I do feel that Oscar put in more work than James however (emotionally) and I wish there had been pay-back instead of a gunshot.

For my least fav relationship ? Probably Robyn or Watts ? Robyn was always very antagonistic toward Ironwood since their priorities are so different. And I overall just don't really like her after V7 so there are very few relationships with her I'm interested in (the exception is her ship with Fiona I think it's cute). Meanwhile, Watts is just a petty asshole hell bent on ruining Ironwood because he didn't pick his project. I'm not very interested in hate relationships, and since theirs wasn't deeply explored anyway, it's even more the case here. Their fight was great though, one of my favorite RWBY fights !

My favorite thing about the character

Well this was completely proven wrong by V8 buuut as of V7 I liked that he was a deconstruction of the military general (dictator) trope. Sooo you can guess how i feel about V8 X) In general among RWBY, several of my fav are fav BECAUSE they look like one trope but also have key differences that from the get go make the character stray away from said trope. For example I'm not a fan of the princess tsundere archetype at all, but I loooved Weiss in V1 BECAUSE she was extra-willing to listen and change her mind, and you could very easily tell that it was her upbringing speaking more than herself in most occasions.

Similarly, I wasn't a big fan of Ironwood before V7. I didn't hate him you know and he wasn't lower than most characters in my Tier list but I also didn't particularly care. But you know what ? I've aaaalways had a really soft spot for the "angsty angry traumatized teen". And RWBY made the mistake of extending that soft spot to "tired adults trying their best" (only to repeatedly beat them up/make them villains after making me care about them but what can you do uh)

Soo in general, I loved that Ironwood was trying so hard. I loved that he was tired and in over his head but learning and listening and trying to do good and be better despite his fears. I liked that he told his entourage about Salem and was loyal. I liked that he cared about helping the people above his own image and the way people perceived him. I liked that you could tell this was a terrible situation all around, and his decisions WERE questionnable but we could SEE that he meant WELL and was genuinely trying so hard despite how scared and tired he was.

My biggest criticism for the character

Well this won't be a surprise but in general I just wished he had stayed a morally grey character we were allowed to feel for instead of a cartoon black villain. I didn't need James to be THE Hero or anything like this despite some accusations levelled at those who like him. Him becoming one of RWBY's antagonist is honestly fine by me ! It is interesting. But I'd have preferred they kept him ambiguous and trying in his own way. (And smart because V8 Ironwood was dumb af)

I can be a tad overprotective of his character since he's just... so despised, so I think that I have inadvertently distanced myself from any of his flaws... somehow like "people are already yelling all of them so I don't need to add to this shit show" you know ? skjfkd But I KNOW he has them and it would still have been good to develop his flaws, just... not like that

But yea I'd have liked it if V8 Ironwood DID diverge from RWBYJNORQ and became an antagonist but not an iredeemable villain. LIKE,, we redeemed Hazel and Emerald and IRONWOOD is where the writers draw the line by saying "nope this one is rotten" ?? What ?

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

V7 definitely ! Ironwood carried V7 so hard haha. His character was fleshed out and given nuance and made to struggle and evolve and I loved him in that volume.

A song I think fits them & why

Hunger • Monsters & Men Human • Rag'n'Bone Man Way down we go • Kaleo Beekeeper • Keaton Henson Thistle and weeds • Mumford and Sons Castle of Glass • Linkin Park It's all so incredibly loud • Glass Animals

A headcanon to make up about them

His metal parts impact his metabolism so Ironwood is terrible at holding his alcohool and very little manages to knock him out. He's a workaholic. His low tolerence for alcohool is a great tool whn friends need to put him to sleep.

His joints crack and hurt in the cold, his metal parts as well and they are an hassle in the sand. James like to keep his room temperature warmer than the average atlasian because of this, otherwise he has to spend 30 min every morning simply unwiding muscles to move around efficiently.

He's not a good singer but has a nice low voice for telling stories. If he had kids, he'd probably avoid lullabies but compensate with bedtimes stories.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

As always, I'm kind of reflecting along the way as I write this, and one thing I'm thinking right now is... Doesn't it take away from the atlas arc message ITSELF to just pile up so many "standard bad guy" stuff on Ironwood ? Like, I wanna ask... why do we hate him ? Is he an antagonist because he lets fear get the best of him ? Because he's a classist who doesn't care about Mantle like some fans argue ? Because he's too stubborn and wants to be THE hero ? Because he doesn't listen to others ? Because he abandonned Mantle ? Because he kills peopke left and right ? Because he wanted to bomb a city ? I think you might see where I'm going with this : his status as villain is kind of messy. V8 just kept piling-up flaws and villainous actions onto Ironwood with no concern for whether this was a lenght he would go to (using the certainty that he would go to any lenghts to enact his plans), ,or whether these were one of the initial flaws/failings that led to his "fall" as an antagonist. What lesson is Ironwood supposed to learn ? Personally the very first time I yelled at my screen "No ! Why would the writers choose that ?" is when Ironwood shot Oscar. When answering criticism against medias, many people tend to look at it only through the lense of "well it makes sense in universe" or as if there were no other ways for the story to devolve. But at the end of the way, everything in a story is a choice from the writer even if it is influenced by the characters' personnalities. If I took the scene where Ironwood shoots Oscar, someone might tell me "he's crippled by his PTSD, he COULD do this." Maybe, that's a reading I can somewhat understand at least. But the writers have the power to NOT put his character in such a position. When I saw the wreck that was V7 finale, I ranted to my bestfriend about it and at no point did i say "why did Ironwood do that", I said "why did the writers make him shoot Oscar, the only point narratively would be to make irredeemable" Aaaand that's what they went for and I obviously didn't care for it. So if I had to rewrite it; I would have kept Ironwood's "mistakes" more focused. If he's wrong because he wants to abandon Mantle, because he's (understandably) scared and doesn't want to take risks; then stay focused on that. It's what makes RWBY leave, and out of all his V8 actions that's really the only thing RWBY needed to tell the whole world he wasn't an ally anymore apparently. - Don't make him shoot Oscar point blank, instead Oscar can simply fall because he flinches away from Ironwood's outburst; and a distraught/guilty Ironwood can decide that he doesn't have the time or capacity to help because of the tense situation. (Killing and not saving someone don't hold the same moral weight at all). - Don't make him kill people left and right or bomb cities, maintain the flaw of Ironwood struggling with his PTSD and his fear and not being able to take risks. - Don't paint him as a black villain, and eventually write V8 in such a way that RWBYJNORQ show taking risks might lead to a bigger victory, which was the volume's theme anyway. For example, following Oscar's destruction of the whale, a growth can occur that would bring back together the two anti-Salem factions : Oscar's risk put Atlas out of harm's way, which leads to Ironwood seeing that maybe there WAS a way to save Mantle as well as Atlas despite Salem's presence and he might have jumped the gun too quickly because of his fears. I'm not sure, I haven't thought about this extensively honestly but I hope you see what I mean. I think it would have been more focused & more in-character to focus Ironwood's failings on his fear; and the fact that he cares for the people and the greater good sometimes at the cost of the individuals. The idea that by sacrificing individuals too much you forget the people you're fighting for in the first place, could have been interesting to dig deeper into. Keep to the idea that Ironwood is somewhat disensitized to the individuals suffering for the sake of the greater good, instead of making him just

callous & uncaring.

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

I think pre-V8 Ironwood was an unconventionnal ENFJ. Aka, the type of character no one would type ENFJ because they go by stereotypes and Fe stereotypes are just enneagram 2 everywhere (aka nice, kind, helpful) whereas Ironwood has an enneagram tritype very common among xxTJs so that's what he looks/behaves like, but the way he thinks (what's best for the people, ethical values derived from an Atlasian upbringing) align more with Fe cognitively I think I'm going with ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4

Starting from V8 though, Ironwood veered clearly into ENTJ territory (types aren't supposed to change but I wouldn't say RWBY is the most consistent media when it comes to characters' personnalities)

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ?

I understand why they didn't care to, but it'd have been interesting to get a few backstory hints for Ironwood. How did he lose half his body ? How did Oz recruit him ? Or some pieces about his upbringing ?

[wolfish-trickster]

Lost traveler

5/?

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 1 573

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @hard-to-be-the-bard @birdgirl90 @laramoonworld

Summary: A mysterious traveler visits Asgard and thanks to an accident has to stay for longer than she expected. Bonds are created but also shattered along the way.

A/N: reader has elemental powers, something like avatar the last airbender.

Sun was finally setting. Chirping of birds was replaced by owls howling. A cold breeze ruffled your hair. The entire forest became calmer. You loved it.

You wanted to be alone for a few while and enjoy the tranquility of the night time. So you volunteered to gather wood for bonfire.

Unfortunately Thor and Fandral went with you, more to show off their muscles than help you. Both of them were....odd. They wanted to be around you all the time, telling you of their strength and abilities (Thor wanted to show you some of his lightnings but got quickly turned down by Loki) and generaly tried to impress you.

You soon found out that Thor is a god of thunder, not a lightning thrower like you previously thought. Loki was god of mischief and chaos.

Sif told you she was to be the goddess of fertility but thretened you to keep it a secret

The rest were also gods, but they didn't have a certain domains like princes. They were just warrior gods.

When you returned with arms full of twigs and branches Loki, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif were already sitting around a circle made from stones. Loki jumped to help you and all of you started to place one branch after another inside the stone circle.

"I will lit it," Thor annoumced after you finished.

"Thor, I already told you, your powers are unstable. You can't use them otherwise you will hurt everybody around you!" Loki scolded him.

"Relax, it will be alright. Everybody, stay back," Thor pushed you behind him as his fingers started to sparkle. Suddenly a loud noise teared through the air as a giant lightning striked from the sky. But to a nearby tree, not the fire place.

"Perfect Thor, just perfect," Loki took out the fire from the burning tree with his magic. He played around with flames a little while longer. You watched him transform them into a bird and make it fly around you. You giggled at his tricks.

"Show off," Thor spat

"Look who's talking. I'm not the one who took off his shirt whenever she was watching," Loki grinned.

You ignored them and their argument. Your fingers were itching. You desperately wanted to firebend, but you couldn't. Not yet.

Sif nudged you. "They are like giant kids, aren't they?"

"Siblings argue. It's like their specialty," you shrugged.

"You seem like a sibling professional. Do you have one?"

You watched as Loki made the bonfire inbetween arguments. "No, but I met a lot of them on my travels," you both sat down as did the others.

"Speaking of travels, can I ask you something?" Hogun sat to your other side.

"Sure."

Loki plopped down directly opposite of you. "If you want to know where she is from, she won't tell. I tried," he smirked at you.

"I can't reveal everything the first day! Gotta keep some of my secrets," you laughed.

"That was not what I wanted to know. I meant to ask you if you've been to Midgard?" Hogun brought your attention back to him.

"Depends on what it looks like."

"Well," he began, "it's full of forests, animals, small stone villages,-"

"Don't forget mortals," Thor interrupted.

"Mortals?"

Thor nodded. "Aye. They are small, weak, quite dumb."

"From what I've read," Loki slipped in, "they aren't dumb. They are just slow learners."

Thor rolled his eyes. "Where's the difference?"

"The difference is, dear brother mine, that you only have to tell them once to not use their powers."

Thor showed him what you suspect to be a lewd gesture. In response Loki blew him a kiss.

You giggled. "No, I don't think I've been there. Why are you asking? Have you visited it?"

All of them shooktheir heads. "The Allfather forbade us to travel across the nine realms. He says we aren't old enough."

"Oh," you sighed.

"May I ask Astrid?" Volstagg broke the silence. "What is the most interesting place you've visited," Volstagg took his chance

You thought for a while. All of the planets are interesting in their own way. "Hmmm, I don't know. One of the more exciting planets has to be Pandora I guess. I have stayed there with a Na'vi clan and they showed me how to hunt and survive in woods. There are giant mountains hovering in the air with beautiful waterfals and the whole planet glows at night and there are dragons and giant wolves and spiritual trees," you counted down from memmory.

"Sounds exciting indeed. I must visit it someday," Loki mused.

"You must! It's really easy to find it. It's a blue planet rotating around a gas giant."

"So it is techicaly a moon, correct?"

"Yeah, it is," you said excitedly. You finaly had someone to talk to. Frigga was right, you will find a friwnd among them.

"Booo, nerds," Sif made fun of you two. "Now tell me, are at least these Na'vi guys handsome and strong? You can hardly find any good material among this," she gestured to boys sitting around fire.

"I will preted I haven't heard that," Fandral brushed his fingers through his hair.

"If you are into blue giants," you shrugged.

The atmosphere changed suddenly. It was no longer lighthearted and playful. All of them had a stone hard cold stare. You shifted in your seat. Did you say something wrong?

Thor coughed. "We don't really get along with blue giant folk," he fisted chunks of grass by his sides.

"What you just described wasn't Jotunheim, was it?" Hogun asked.

"It can't be. Jotunheim is a frozen piece of a rock. She said Pandora has floating mountains and rivers," Loki burried his dagger into earth at his feet.

"Are there also blue giants on Jotunheim?" you chose your words carefully.

"Yes, it's the land of Frost Giants. Monsters we talk about at night."

Hogun cleared his throat. "I have seen the injury they cause. On one soldier a long time ago. His whole arm was frozen and black as coal. I heard aome healers in halls talking abouthis whoel arm falling off when they touched it."

"They say," Thor said in a dark tone, "they know a secret passage through realms. And one day, they will invade Asgard and freeze everyone in their path. When they comw here, I swear to all my ancestors I will-"

His telling interrupted a distant screech from mountain which startled everyone. It sounded familiar, you just didn't know where from.

"I think that's a cue to shift to another story," Sif said.

"Agreed," everyone said simultaniously.

~~~

Cracking wood lulled everybody to sleep. After hours and hours of war stories and forgotten legends one by one young warriors and a traveler laid to get rest.

Loki had a light sleep. His mind was still wrapped around Frost Giants. How theymight enter Asgard any second and slaughter them all in their sleep. If what Thor told was true.

A sound of someone standing up and walking away woke him completely. He knew how each person's step sounded, this was unfamiliar one. 'Where are you going little traveler?'

He stood up and followed you, hidden in shadows.

You stopped near a river deep in the forest. Asgardian moon shone bright in its water.

He watched you sit down next to it and stare at the night sky through oak leaves.

Just as he wanted to walk towards you, you started to play with little droplets of water in the air.

"What a turn of events," you dropped them upon hearing his voice.

"Loki, you- why are you up? Did I wake you?"

"No," he sat down next to you, "you didn't."

You started to fidget with your fingers. "How much did you see?"

"Enough. Why didn't you tell me you were a sorcorer as well?"

"A what?"

Loki chuckled. "You called me a warlock, remember? We call those who deal with magic sorcorers. One of their ability is aquakinesis."

"Huh?" you looked so cute when you were confused. Loki made note to confuse youmore often.

"Water control."

"Oh, sorry. I call it waterbending."

Loki hummed. "Makes sense."

"Sooo," you looked at him, "are you going to tell them?" you pointed towards where the group was sleeping.

"Why would I? It's your power. Your secret. You tell them when you are ready. But," he pulled a ball of water from the river and held it above his palm, "I can teach you more of that waterbending than just control few droplets. If you'd like me to, that is."

You smiled. "I'd like that. Oh and by the way," you looked to side and scratched your head, "Astrid isn't my real name."

"I know."

"What?" you looked at him startled.

"I can tell when people are lying, and you," he placed his palm on your shoulder, "are a terrible liar," he chuckled.

Your giggle joined his. "Sounds fair. Anyways, I'm Y/N," you axtended your hand.

Loki took it in his own and bowed his head. "Pleasure to meet you Y/N. I am Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief," and hopefully he can add 'your friend' to the list of titles.

[lucarioisinthevoid]

AHHHHHHH I HAVE IDEA!!

How about Henry interacting with Helpy and the “annoying” Ultimate Custom Night characters! Maybe throw in Funtime Freddy!! Helpy could be his son or maybe Bon Bon reincarnated! Just sheer silliness and stupidity :p

Animatronics: Bonnie, BB, JJ, Phantom BB, Phantom Mangle, Phantom Freddy, Old Man Consequences, Trash and the Gang, Helpy, El Chip, Funtime Chica and Phone Guy! (Sorry, no Funtime Freddy here, wasn’t an option- though I don’t mind adding characters that aren’t an option, I would just had to write around that a little more, so I didn’t want to go all in. Events and surroundings all randomly generated like this in-game! Just with slight adjustments for a bit of writing flow). (Special note: This is an experiment. This is a whole ass chapter. Tumblr might not be the right place for it, but I have no better place to put it. If you have an idea on what would work better, I’d love to hear it, but for now this is just it. If you don’t want to read a long chapter, you should probably not press “read more” Honestly, this might not be as much fun as I imagined it to be, I’m terrible at making fun events, heh. If it is, take solace in the fact that it might be the only chapter of this kind on this blog.)

Henry groaned, his bones sending agony through his nerves. It felt like his insides had splintered and were now stuck in his flesh. His throat was burning, but he managed to open his eyes. He was- somewhere. At least it was a place. That was actually news, good news, last time he hadn’t been that lucky after all. Having a couch below him and a room surrounding him was actually a deep relief- it was a room he didn’t have to create himself. Sitting up, he looked around. It seemed to be some sort of employee lounge, a coffee machine, a tv and a couch, with lockers against the walls. A few posters painted the walls. -CELEBRATE!- They said, over and over again. Henry showed his teeth, a grin with no hint of amusement. “… that is what you would like to do, huh?” Standing up he stumbled a little, but the pain only served to keep him awake and grow his confidence. It HURT. And it was GOOD. It hurt, his body hurt, HIS BODY was REAL and in PAIN. When he left to the outside, he was surprised to see that he was inside of one of the oldest locations- at least in form. He was standing beside where the stage was supposed to be, coming from where the saferoom used to be, but to his surprise instead of a stage it was a giant price corner, filled with all sort of plushies and other goodies. Sweets and candies, candles, little gadgets… … and a silver coin among them. It shined and felt oddly… powerful. Ten Faztokens. The other things didn’t even have a price tag, so he decided that he would check back on that later. All items were hidden behind a thin glass wall and he wasn’t sure if he could break through it. Maybe he should try later. Moving further down, he realized a few more things were different- There were TWO pirate coves in the main area and- ‘Pssssst… hey… I have something to tell you…’ Abruptly Henry turned around. Where had that voice come from?! ‘Hey… hey, down here…’ It seemed to come from one of the hallways, leading down to the office. As quick as he possible could, he followed the source of the noise, the mysterious whispers slowly growing louder. ‘It is really… really… important…!’ Finally, he was near the supply closet, looking around. “Hello? Where are you? Who are you? What is this place?” The questions broke out of him more erratically than he wanted them too, the desperation and quiet panic bubbling under the thin veil of cold control- it was almost cracking out of him. ‘Pssssst…’ He spotted a little crate with eyes, and leaned down to investigate- Suddenly a loud noise! The thing was all up in his face, making a low noise, pure bass, causing his head to HURT, but not enough that he would have to hold his ears- Just enough that it shook his skin uncomfortably, from the inside out. Stumbling backwards, he shook his head, the crate had disappeared, leaving him with a headache and burning aggression, so potent that his throat felt sore, as though he had screamed from the top of his lungs… despite not a single noise having come out of him. Moving inside of the office, he was somewhat stunned. It looked like a bedroom. With closet and everything. The wallpaper and whole atmosphere felt… old. A child’s bedroom… except there was an office desk, with a fan, a microphone and a weird little action figure of Bonnie on top of it. Some air ducts were hanging into the room and there were- multiple vents, two doors- A flashlight. Quickly he grabbed it. Great- now all he needed was a taser and maybe he would feel like- “… Henry Miller…” A raspy voice sounded to the side of him, causing him to make a few steps back. In front of him, a creature was forming, a Freddy, burned and see through- It grinned. “… long time… no see…” “I have never met you.” “… your memory is failing you, Mr. Miller…” At this point it seemed to become more and more corporeal, reaching out to the table, its paws scraping over and only slightly moving through the material. Turning to the Pink Guy, he opened his maw a little, nothing visible inside. It was getting ready… “… that’s on you however-“ A squeaky voice sounded. “Maybe you should shine your light at him, Mr. Miller!” Instantly, the flash of his light ripped through the ghostly Freddy, who was quite disgruntled to say the least. “… Helpy… you are supposed to help US.” With that he vanished, giving Henry the chance to turn to around and see who’s mysterious helper was. His eyes fell on a little walking bear standing on the blue shelf, trying to hide between the purple fan. “Whoops…” “… who are you? Can you EXPLAIN this place to me?!” “I’m Helpy! Don’t you remember me, Henry?” Fully irritated the Pink Guy stepped back. “No. No, I did not make you. I THOUGHT about making you, but I never did!” “Oh my, Henry, you must have fallen on your head!” Helpy laughed. “But- I can’t help you actually. Everyone else will be mad! So I won’t tell you how the other people here work!” “Can you at least tell me who exactly these ‘others’ are?!” “Uhm… no. I don’t think so.” Slowly he was reaching behind him for something- But Henry couldn’t worry about it, as a phone suddenly started ringing. Shoving off the bear off the shelf (resulting in a little squeak), he tried to find the source of the noise, his head throbbing. He thought he shortly saw a “mute call” button pop up, but as soon as he saw it, it was already gone. Instead a receiver just- fell from the ceiling, randomly. How? Who KNEW- “Uh- hello? Hello, hello?” “… Phone Guy?” “Scott. Uh- anyways- uh, anyways, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first-“ “This is not a recording. You just interrupted me. And why would there be a phone RINGING if you were to play a recording!?” For a moment it was quiet, then Scott started laughing. “You never changed, did you?” Irritated Henry skipped past that question, having more urgent matters to talk about. “Scott. Good old Scott. Listen, I think I am in some level of hell.” Dumbfounded there was silence on the other end, while the ghostly Freddy tried to reform, being instantly shooed away by the light. Until finally- “… yes of course. Of COURSE you’re in hell, Henry. Uh. What did you expect?” “I-“ “No, no, no, let’s uh- let’s talk about this. Where did you THINK you are? Because, uhm- not sure how to say this, but- uh- I DIED and I’m in HEAVEN right now and you DIED, sooo… uh- yeah.” “I am glad we talked about this. I cannot recall how I GOT here, however. And everyone seems to know me.” Displeased he shined the light at the grinning grimace of the phantom, before he could even fully form. “Yeah… uh… can’t help you. Actually, I have to go. You don’t have a noise activated animatronic around, do you?” “A- what?” “Hm. Too bad. Talk to you later!” “Wait-“ But before he could say anything else, the connection was cut, and his camera system was blinking up red. ‘Catch a fish!’ the title said, his head becoming dizzy as he watched the little red thing move from one side to the other. Wait, that wasn’t just- the noise and the flashing, the air was getting harder and harder to breathe! … smells like brimstone. He managed to catch the fish, albeit just barely, then opened the camera feed, where a warning sign was blinking. The camera itself was completely covered by another phantomlike animatronic, the Mangle this time. Shortly he blinked at it, shaking his head, then clicking the button that said ‘RESET VENTILATION’. A gust of fresh air instantly blew through the location, allowing him to finally breathe again properly. The fan itself seemed useless- he deactivated it. Having climbed back up, Helpy was back on the shelf, looking at him happily. “Are you having fun?” For a moment Henry looked at him, shining away the Freddy once more. “… no.” Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Balloon Boy, staring at him with his terrible grin. Instantly he hit the button to shut the door, a dull thud coming from it right away. At least that one gave him a hint of satisfaction, pleased with the mental image that the obnoxious plastic abomination ran face-first into the metal wall. “But you look like you have fun!” Helpy reached behind him, before Henry shoved him over again, still not interested in what he was hiding. “You are TERRIBLE at reading emotions then. A useless AI.” Pouting Helpy sat beside the shelf, not answering this time around. Looking around, Henry got comfortable in his chair, slowly growing… a little bit hot. Huh. Seemed like the fan wasn’t entirely useless after all. Maybe it kept the heat from the hell around them away. … what an image… a Freddy’s in the middle of a fire-y pit. He hoped it wasn’t the case. That would make getting out a lot more complicated. “Is this all I have to deal with?” Henry asked Phantom Freddy, who chose not to answer, but only smile grimly. “… I can live with that.” Leaning back, he quickly flipped up the screen once more resetting the ventilation and shutting the vent to the side one more time for good measure. Again, a bonk. Hopefully Balloon Boy. He relaxed. A routine would form easily. Shine your light, reset the vent, keep the generator going, close the side vent for a while. At least for now the place seemed empty- Suddenly something DROPPED from the ceiling. Lights flashed a heap of shadow-y humanoid figures entered with what sounded like cameras, flashing and shining, making Henry’s head spin. On the top of his table stood Funtime Chica posing elegantly. “Don’t get distracted~!” She spun around showing herself off, then blew a kiss down at him. Then she turned to Helpy. “Helpy!!! Why didn’t you tell me our guest was already here!!!” She whined, upset. Her paparazzi had vanished again, she however stuck around. “My first impression was TERRIBLE! Because of YOU!” “I’m sorry Miss Funtime Chica!” Helpy didn’t seem bothered by the accusation. “He was just suddenly here!” “Aw- well- at least he’s a total cutie!” “Why thank you.” Henry rose an eyebrow, but tried to continue focusing on the plastic children trying to enter the office, as well as the Phantom trying to materialize behind her. “I appreciate the compliments, especially from someone who seems to have an eye for it.” “Oooooh, look at him~ so adorable~ I wanna pinch his cheeks!” Sitting down on the desk, the bird smiled widely, watching him. “How’s the night going~?” “Rather fast. I think I have a grip on it though.” “Hm? Are you sure~?” Before Henry could answer his tablet acted up. For a few seconds he saw the little 8-bit fishing game- but before he could catch it, the screen changed showing an add. “COME TO EL CHIP’S FIESTA BUFFET, WE HAVE-“ Instantly clicking on skip, Henry managed to get another glimpse at the game- And then it was gone, a red GAME OVER stuck on his screen. His breath was getting shorter as the smell of brimstone slowly started filling the room again, the red alarms blinking, but the screen constantly flashing error when he tried to access it. More and more his head hurt, the room seemed to become darker and darker- was this smoke?! Was smoke entering the room? Would he be poisoned by the gasses!? Desperately he rattled the screen, while Chica only giggled and left, Helpy watching intensely from the shelf. “You know, if you just wait a few minutes, it’s gonna-“ Frustrated Henry shoved him down once more, his mouth filling with a disgusting taste as the room began spinning- It all come together, once Freddy formed, the Balloon Boy loomed in the vent, a second after, the telephone was ringing- Suddenly the screen flashed back up and he instantly grabbed it, trying to get his bearing as he hit the button to reset, being stuck for a second too long on the grinning grimaces of both a phantom Balloon Boy and Mangle- the latter of which suddenly crawled out of the screen and while he managed to hit the button, his office had descended into chaos. Helpy was holding a horn, the phantom Freddy had almost formed, the phantom Mangle was slowly extending its neck towards him, screaming and gargling in insane glee and to top if all off, the screen flashed red AGAIN, forcing him to focus on that instead of the other two things- Balloon Boy was snickering as he tried to make his way inside, Henry barely being able to shut the vent on him before discovering the stupid crate from the start looking at him from under the table. “Uh- hello? Hello, Hello?” “Scott. Bad timing.” “That is my job!” Cheerfully the Phone Guy said. “To be as much of a nuisance to you as possible. Uh- glad to hear the high praise. How are you? Bad? Good. Uh- anyways, I will now read to you the company greeting, but only the imperfect, first draft so you feel bad about what bullshit you wrote!” “I can crush this phone.” “No, uh- you actually can’t! The afterlife is neat, huh?” “I can mute you.” “If you are fast enough. Which you obviously weren’t. You really grew old, uh- up there…” “MY REFLEXES ARE GREAT AS EVER.” “If it were the case you wouldn’t, uh- y’know. Fighting with me over this.” “I am not fighting with you, I am merely correcting you. As I always did while we were alive.” Stopping the petty crap, seeing as he wasn’t even sure if this WAS actually the real Scott, he turned his attention to more important things. “What is this place? Who made it?!” “Uh- Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza! A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person-“ Instantly Henry tuned out. “Good riddance, Scotty.” He mumbled to himself, taking solace in the memory that no matter what, this obnoxious Phone-head had been dead for much longer than he himself. While the words kept going in the background, he kept working, pausing as a bright green mechanical parrot flew through his office. But- it didn’t really do anything, so he decided to ignore it for now. A good amount of time passed with his voice in the background, until it was abruptly cut off- seemingly by the ad for El Chip’s. Once that was skipped, the office was quiet, aside from the fan. Finally! The silence lingered. For a second Henry felt a bit lonely. Not even the little bear was there anymore. There was enough to do though, as the air kept needing to be reseted, Freddy kept popping up, the parrot came through once more, the minigame, the annoying balloon children wanted in- At last… … it was five AM. One last time the call sounded. Henry allowed it to come through, despite eyeing the ‘mute call’ button. “Hello? Hello, hello!?” It sounded on the other side. “Hey! You’re doing GREAT. I, uh- didn’t expect you to last this long! I mean-“ He broke off. “Y’know. Usually I expected you to move on to other things by now… disappearing into the void like you should, seeing as there’s no out.” “I will not disappear.” “Huh. Guess I owe the person who made this place an apology. I was wrong-“ “Who?! Who was it?! Who are you TALKING about?!” But before anything could be said, the bell chimed. Six AM His screen changed once more, a high-score board showing, then loud music started blasting from the speakers, hyper and fast paced, the numbers blinking and colorful, rapidly climbing higher and higher as fireworks were set up on the screen and around Henry, raining down confetti as they exploded- GREAT JOB! FANTASTIC! The fireworks stopped and the jingle ended with a congratulatory little up and down. Then the office was dark. Slowly he stood up, leaving to the outside, checking for danger- “Hey! You won. Here, take this for your trouble.” Suddenly ANOTHER Freddy was there, a golden star on his chest- he dropped a battery into Henry’s hands that he had grabbed, then he walked off. “Wait- wait a moment! I need an explanation! I need-“ The bear was gone. After a while of searching around the place and not finding an exit, Henry finally sighed and made his way back into the saferoom- or employees only lounge, or- whatever. Inside it was just like before. Safe. Except this time the TV was on. And there was a Fredbear suit on the sofa. How? Who knew. Why? Hopefully not to kill him. Slowly he moved next to it, inspecting it. At this moment it seemed completely lifeless, yet somehow he felt watched. “Am I… interrupting…?” No reaction. Walking past the suit, he put away the battery. Still no reaction, but he could swear the creature was looking at him. Unsure he approached it once more, sitting down besides him. “… looking at… fuzzystatic. I see. I think I will… join.” Suddenly, a loud noise of came from the tv, then it flashed. INTERMISSION. A little bit later, Henry was done watching a samurai Freddy fighting an ULTRA edgy Foxy, he put his face into his hands. “… send me back out. Please. I actually prefer it.”

[urlneverheardofit]

The Black Prince and the White Lion

I’m realizing I’ve never actually posted any of my work to this website and figured I should, so here’s a little excerpt from my latest piece. Note the most intense this portion gets is sex jokes,’the talk”(tm) Dragon edition, and a make-out session sooo yeah.

Chapter 1: The Black Prince

The Black Prince. Such an honorable title for such a hated position.

Dragon,

Son of a mad king,

Last of his kind.

The Black Prince had a lot stacked against him when it came to his reputation, even more so because of the madness and corruption that ran in his blood.

Still, Wrathion did his best to alleviate the concerns of his other draconic kin. After all, Neltharion was not the only dragon aspect to go mad. Malygos too followed in that path, the madness manifested differently but the Nexus War was plenty of evidence to be a testament to Malygos' fall. As well as the Aspect of Time, who had gone mad in an alternate timeline. The Earth Warder, The Spell Weaver, and The Infinite all fallen to the insanity of one kind or another.

Yet all the other dragon aspects. Hell, the entirety of Azeroth, looked at him with disdain, anger, and even fear in some cases. When Wrathion had been younger, many citizens in the major cities of Stormwind and Orgrimmar had approached him, demanding compensation for the loss of their loved ones or personal effects lost in the attack on both major cities. The attacks carried out by Deathwing. Not Wrathion.

It was a relief for him that after the death of his father, the world moved on. The mystical lands of Pandaria had been rediscovered and Wrathion had swiftly moved from his makeshift lair in Onyxia’s former lair. He hadn’t hated that place as much as he had hated Nefarian’s lair.

Nefarian’s Lair had been a place where dragons had been experimented on to create abominations to further Nefarian’s plans.

The worst part was Nefarian was Wrathion’s half-brother. United by the blood of their father, who was worse than the horrible experimenter that was Nefarian. Onyxia, the brood mother, had been bad too, helping hatch the armies that later became Deathwing’s servants. His half-siblings had chosen their lairs well. The Black Dragonflight had once been noble protectors of Azeroth and their choices in lair reflected such. Neltharion had a cave deep underground somewhere on a lost island that had served as his lair for many thousands of years. Nefarian had chosen a castle fortress carved into the side of a mountain. Onyxia had chosen a cave that spiraled down for miles and miles and whose mouth was shaped like a dragon’s toothy maw.

Wrathion, on the other hand, had not yet chosen a lair, partially because he was unsure if he would grow to be the size of his father, whose wingspan had reached more than 1,000 feet long, or if he would stop about the size Onyxia and Netharion had. That would end up helping determine Wrathion’s lair, along with the fact Wrathion had not found a good lair yet. He was still traveling and learning what he could from his sibling's lairs. Many of Nefarian’s notes and discoveries could help turn the tides against any coming threats to Azeroth, but the execution was questionable at best. Some of his studies were more interested in the differences between the dragon flights. What gave them power and such, which were much more readily useful.

Onyxia’s lair served as a place for him to learn to transform back and forth from humanoid to dragon form. It was a long and painful process at first but eventually, he learned to make his humanoid form look a little more grown than his whelp form.

Though perhaps he could see why people could be a bit intimidated, he wasn't them! It wasn't fair to judge him for the crimes of his crazed kin.

His dragon form was just a whelp still, he couldn’t lie in his true form the way he could in his humanoid. His humanoid form looked like a young male human with glowing red eyes, long curly black hair, and olive skin.

“Wrathion?” A voice said from the entrance of the tavern in Pandaria that Wrathion had taken up residence in. Wrathion jolted up from where he had been reclining before, lost in thought. An orcish woman stood in the entryway, blocking out the sunlight and whoever was behind her. He could sense their movement hear their hushed voices.

“What is it Left?” He asked calmly, Left was one of his devoted bodyguards. Left was her spy name, only Wrathion knew her identity due to security concerns. Right was his other, a human woman who was gifted in the finer manipulation of tactics and war. A true spy compared to Left’s more being an obvious bodyguard.

The tavern he had taken up residence in was a small two-story building tucked away in a nearly untravelable mountain pass, keeping it hidden and mostly safe. Part of the reason why Wrathion had chosen this place to begin with.

“Someone of high importance wishes to speak with you,” Left answered.

“Me?” Wrathion cocked his head innocently. “Send them in.”

Wrathion’s confidence fell away instantly when Left stood aside revealing the King of Stormwind standing at his door.

Chapter 2: The White Lion

This was all that was left of the horrific Deathwing? Anduin peered past the shadow of his father to look at the alleged "Black Prince" and found himself quite surprised at what he found; a boy just barely younger than him staring back at him.

"The infamous Black Prince." Anduin's father began, crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy looked up at the King, his red eyes betraying none of the his thoughts. "Black Emperor now. Thanks only to the Champions of the Alliance who were responsible for the death of my father." The boy spoke plainly, eloquently and as though he was raised among royalty, not by dragons or wolves or whatever else Anduin had imagined him growing up with.

"Are you saying you'd rather that monster was still alive today?" Varian snarled.

"Of course not." The boy looked at his long black claw-like nails, brushing them off idly. "But think of it this way, I am the Emperor of my kind and I'm not any older than the little lion cowering behind you."

Anduin flinched from being called out like that. He spoke much the way that Onyxia had many years before. Nearly the same tone of voice and mannerisms but not quite intimidating enough to pull it off entirely.

"He's what I've come to speak to you about." Varian sighed glancing at Genn Greymane, king of the Worgen, who had once been humans but now were more akin to the werewolves of legend. Graymane shrugged.

"Then speak." The boy ordered.

"Anduin here has been badly injured and is being hunted by members of the Horde. I wish to leave him in the safety of a dragon's lair." The Horde and the Allliance had been at war for generations. The Horde consisted of Orcs and Trolls and other races considered to be more ‘savage’. The Alliance was majorly humans, elves and the worgen.

The boy scoffed. "This is not my lair. My lair is far from here." Anduin thought that this was a lie but didn’t quite know why.

"Well, I need him to be somewhere safe, where he won't be found unless I come back for him."

"Yet a simple human King has found me without trouble." The boy replied evenly.

"I have..." another glance was swapped between Genn and Varian. "Very good help."

"Clearly." The dragon huffed, sending smoke curling from under his lips. "And what would I get for doing you this favor?"

Varian straightened at that. Anduin knew Varian thought he was gaining some ground. "You would earn the favor of the Alliance. Or perhaps if you'd rather. We have up to a million gold we'd be willing to part with in exchange for his guaranteed health and safety."

The dragon's red eyes glinted greedily as he considered. "I want the Favor of the Alliance and a half of that gold." He replied after a moment's thought.

"Very well." Varian nodded.

"Are you crazy?" Genn barked beside Varian. "You're basically selling your son to a dragon!"

"I cannot risk him being killed by Garrosh. You'd do the same if it was Tess."

Genn snarled but backed away, allowing his king to do as he wished. Anduin couldn't help but look up at his father concerned. He had talked with Varian about this before and had agreed to it but now that it was actually happening, anxiety twitched in the pit of his stomach. "I agree to your terms dragon. The gold will be delivered to you in payments of 5,000 a week in exchange for a letter from Anduin, and I will check, with details about how he is holding up."

"and if this stay extends longer than that allotted time?"

"We can compensate for your time."

The dragon regarded Varian carefully. "Deal." The dragon said and his eyes gleamed almost as bright as the sun and Varian hissed and stumbled away from the threshold to the quaint tavern. Despite seeming like he was in pain Varian grinned.

"Dad?" Anduin asked from behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Varian smiled down at his son. "That's exactly what I hoped would happen."

"What are you on about?" Genn asked.

"A black dragon cannot go back on a promise made that way." Varian turned to Anduin, "you will be safe here."

"Promise?"

Varian set a hand on Anduin's shoulder, "I promise."

Chapter 3: Introductions

What the hells did I just agree to?? Wrathion scolded himself. Dragons were well known for their desire for large hoards and he had not realized how quickly it would come over him at the mention of a million gold. Thankfully, he had been at least coherent enough to take the favor of one of the world's major factions... but stupid enough to make it a pact. By the titans he wanted that gold. Not because he needed it but bec ause a dragon, especially a little one, would age faster in the presence of vast amounts of wealth, so it would fix a lot of his issues.

But what is done is done, and Wrathion now had to figure out what he was going to do with the lion's cub. He watched silently as the High King and his werewolf companion said goodbye to the lion cub, wishing him safety and so on. Eventually the High King urged his son to meet his host but wanted to stay behind just long enough to watch, make sure he had made the right choice.

The lion cub stood in the threshold of the inn where his father had been previously, yet he was much smaller than his father. Both in character and in body, he lacked the confidence and skill to be able to back himself up. He took one last nervous glance at Varian before he took a deep breath and faced Wrathion. "Son of Neltharion, I am honored you have agreed to help us in these trying times." The cub went to kneel before the dragon but he winced in pain and couldn't quite get one of his legs to work with him.

"Son of Neltharion..." Wrathion gave the boy a strange look, "did you know that or did you rehearse it?"

"I knew Deathwing's original name." The boy said proudly. "Many have forgotten it, but the Light has not forgotten what he once was."

"You're a priest."

"Yes." The boy winced again.

"Stop hurting yourself. Stand and tell me your name." Wrathion ordered, lounging his elbows back on the table which he had been sitting by and had turned around from to listen to Left.

The boy swallowed and stood shakily, another wince but once he got there, he was okay it seemed. "My name is Anduin Llane Wrynn." The boy said "May I ask yours?"

Wrathion tilted his head, no one had really asked him to introduce himself, many had just learned his name because of him addressing himself or whatnot. "Why do you wish to know, Anduin?"

Anduin swallowed and looked back to see what his father was thinking but the King and his werewolf, were gone. With a steadying breath, he answered, "I suspect you do not wish to live in your father's shadow. It is only polite to respect this wish as I do not wish to have my father's influence overshadow my own choices."

No wonder the kid had been hesitant to say that. Clearly the King loved his cub but then he was royalty. Anduin's path was paved largely by his father.

"My name is Wrathion, thank you, for taking into account what I wish to forget about my history." Wrathion was stunned almost out of feeling, this was a first, someone else asking him to be who he was without judgment of his father's actions. But he was grateful for this.

"Of course, Wrathion." The boy replied, he had a shaggy mane of blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wore gold and blue clothing that looked almost like armor without being armor. "What brings a mighty dragon to Pandaria?"

"I could ask you the same question," Wrathion replied.

"My father, he wishes to protect Pandaria from the savage influence of the Horde, from my understanding." Anduin explained, "your turn."

Wrathion smirked at that, "My turn? I am here to learn the secrets it has to offer. I am still young and I wish to expand my knowledge." It was not a lie per say, just part of the truth, much like Anduin’s had been.

"A noble pursuit." Anduin nodded. "If I may I would like to accompany you to some of these exploits it is my duty as the future king to know as much as I can before assuming the throne."

"Very well." Wrathion agreed. It would give him something to do with the kid. "Come and sit, let us play a game of Jihui. We have much to learn of each other."

Chapter 4: Cow Tipping and Stargazing

Anduin was nearly sixteen when the bell hit him. Everyone had thought he would never live to see through his first whole year of adulthood. Anduin, thank the Light, pulled through, and now all that there was to remind him of the incident was a birthday and bad leg that worked, to some extent, but sometimes if he tried to do more than walk with it, it wouldn't work or would be painful to work with. So taking a knee in front of the dragon as his father had instructed, had been difficult and the dragon had caught on.

"Are you alright?" Wrathion had asked when Anduin hesitantly took a seat across from him, relieved when no pain came.

"Yes, I am alright now," Anduin replied "it was an accident-" Anduin really meant attack but no need to stress the dragon out this quickly into their arrangement. "I am fully healed now, this leg just doesn't work with me sometimes."

"Your father knows about it?"

"Yes."

Wrathion nodded, his ears perked back up from where they were subtly flattened to his head, "Very well, if you need assistance with anything, let me or my guards know."

"What are their names?" Anduin asked looking at the women flanking the dragon, they were beautiful, no doubt, but they didn't really strike Anduin the way some people did.

"This is Left." Warthion signaled to the woman on his left, she was an Orcish woman with long tusks and a huge crossbow and what looked like a scimitar attached to her belt. "And this is Right." Wrathion jerked a thumb at the woman on his right, a human woman with similar gear.

"Simple enough."

"Indeed." Wrathion gave him a toothy, almost unnerving grin and thus the game of Jihui began.

Several hours of this game passed, it was quite the learning curve, and more so to try and match Wrathion move for move, but eventually, Anduin figured out some tricks to get Wrathion to feel a little too overconfident and overstep himself.

After a game, Wrathion pushed away from the table (or rather, pushed the table away from him), stretched and said: "let's go do something."

"Like...what?" Anduin replied shuffling out from under the table as well and working some cramps out of his back. He had been having fun but it was time for a break, for his... well everything's sake.

Wrathion gave him an evil smile. "We're going to go do something you've never done before." He announced proudly.

"The... future? Aren't you a Black dragon, not a Bronze?" Anduin replied sarcastically, that wasn't that specific.

Wrathion rolled his eyes, "No, somewhere in present-day I think." Wrathion looked him over a long second, "Your outfit is terrible and horribly recognizable, let's get you something... proper."

Anduin thought about being offended but then, he never much liked this outfit either and he was talking to a dragon, who were known for their fashion sense. Well, Black Dragons maybe not so much but he'd seen portraits of Ysera and Alexstraza.

Wrathion nearly seemed to fly up the stairs located in the northern corner with how fast he moved. Anduin followed at a much slower hobble, stairs had always been hard on the injury. By the time he got up to the top, he found several rooms separated by what looked like paper walls, but Anduin knew to be much stronger and more soundproof than any parchment or paper he knew of.

At the end of a hallway of about six rooms per side of the hall, a large wooden double door was open and the light was pouring out of it. Anduin approached cautiously and heard the sounds of digging, clattering and "no-no, well maybe... no actually that's horrid," from inside. Anduin poked his head through the threshold of the door and found some of the most elegant quarters he had ever seen inside. The room was bathed in light from what looked like refined lamps, but no smell of oil so Anduin didn't know what fueled the lamp. In the back middle of the room was a massive king-sized bed with a trunk in front of it, kneeling in front of it was Wrathion and a puddle of discarded clothing.

"Everything okay?" Anduin called from the door.

"Yes yes, just... come here." Anduin approached him cautiously, once he got within sight of the dragon he held up a tunic and looked between Anduin and the clothing. "Try this one." He ordered tossing the black fabric in Anduin's general direction.

"Right here?" Anduin asked, stumbling to catch the misguided tunic.

"Unless you want to pick out your chamber." Wrathion said, "but I'll likely be coming in and out anyways, I want to see how they look before I set out with you." Wrathion met his eyes for a long second unblinking. "I won't look while you change if you don't want me to."

Anduin scooted so he was solidly behind Wrathion, so the dragon would have to turn all the way around to see him before he carefully set the shirt down on a conspicuously empty table and began to pull his decorations off, golden bordered stole came first and blue shawl followed shortly thereafter. Finally, after another few moments, his shirt came off, with a final glance to make sure Wrathion wasn't looking before he did so. Tattered across Anduin’s skin was horrid scars from where the bell had smashed him, a few from where his ribs had jutted out of his chest after the initial blow and scratches from his skirmishes with the Horde as of late.

As he pulled the black fabric of the tunic over his head, he noticed that the tunic was incredibly well made and very soft, allowing Anduin to breathe and flex but not be too loose or revealing. He even suspected there was a bit of padding to serve as a small amount of amour in it. I need to find out who this guy's tailor is! He thought absently "Oh and try these!" Wrathion called tossing a heap of clothing over at him. Anduin jumped away from them as they clattered to the floor. Lifting them up he found it also had a black bead necklace, which he put on. The other cloth object was a set of linen pants but also finely made from first brush of his fingers against it.

Another look was cast at Wrathion before Anduin dared begin the process to change into these. Seeing that the dragon was still rummaging through his trunk Anduin breathed a sigh of relief, "let me know when you're ready!" Wrathion said distantly.

Anduin's suspicions about the quality of these linen pants were correct. Just like the tunic, they fit well without crushing him and still allowed him movement.

"Are we the same size?" Anduin asked, he definitely had a similar build to Wrathion but surely not a perfect match, right?

"I don’t know, these are all enchanted to fit whoever wears them." Wrathion replied, "Can I look now?"

Anduin took a second to adjust the leather belt tossed with the rest of the clothing, "yeah you're good now."

Wrathion made a show of turning around and coming up to examine Anduin. He made several hums and noncommittal sounds that worried Anduin. "Turn around," Wrathion ordered. Anduin followed instructions and waited only a minute or so more before he had his answer. "You look good in this, well no, the belt needs to change to be black and the beads...the beads can go."

Wrathion turned and went back to the trunk and began to load all the clothing back into it, but not before pulling out the belt he was thinking of and extending a hand to indicate he wanted Anduin to hand over the items he requested. Anduin obliged and took the new belt choice. Wrathion slammed the trunk closed, flicked his wrist at it and then turned to the other prince. His red eyes glinting curiously at Anduin as he examined. "Yes, that will work." He nearly purred.

Anduin noticed he had selected another outfit as well, along with some elaborate jewelry. "You don't want me wearing that, do you?"

"You aren't nearly pretty enough to pull that off." Wrathion replied flatly, "no, I'm going to be wearing that."

"Hey!" Anduin hissed.

"I said pretty, you're plenty handsome, but it requires a certain...grace," Wrathion explained, the backhanded compliment still made Anduin's cheeks flush.

"Thanks, I think," Anduin replied and then realized a much bigger issue, "you're not going to change in here... are you?"

"This is... my chambers. So yes... I am going to change in here."

"But I'm standing right here!"

"So? You can watch if you'd like," There was a strange glint in his eyes when he said it. "Or you can walk out the door to my room."

"Oh." Anduin felt sort of stupid because of the simple solution. Hobbling out as quick as he could, jumping when he saw Left and Right standing on their respective sides of the door. Anduin had not noticed them come up the stairs, hadn't even heard them when they flanked the door. "Do you guys sleep?" He asked.

"We take shifts during the night." Right answered Left looked straight ahead.

"Which one doesn't get to sleep before Wrathion wakes up?"

"The one who isn't chatty." Left replied.

"The one whose breakfast consists entirely of coffee." Right said.

"We ready to go?" Wrathion's voice said from behind Anduin, making him jump.

"Yes." Both girls said at once.

"Where are we going?" Anduin asked again.

"You'll see," Wrathion said with a small smirk.

"Better question," Anduin continued his thought as though Wrathion hadn't said anything. "We're on a mountainside surrounded in mist, how are we getting down?"

"How did you get up?" Wrathion asked a question to reply. Nudging Anduin aside so he could squeeze past.

"Horses."

"Then you will be using horses to get down."

"Don't you mean 'we'?"

"I eat horses, not ride them." The dragon said pointedly. Descending the staircase with ease and Anduin noticed his new outfit nearly sparkled, he had golden bands looped around his ears in at least three places and his outfit was indeed sleek and elegant. His hair, curly and black, was released from the white turban it had been in all day and he smelled faintly of an expensive cologne that Anduin could not quite name. "Meet me at the docks."

***

The sun had set by the time Left, Right and Anduin made it down to the docks Wrathion had mentioned (Left and Right knew it better than he) and found Wrathion sitting on a stack of crates, "you finally made it!" He flipped his hair back behind his shoulder and slipped off the crates, landing neatly beside the group. "Leave the horses here." Left and Right slid off the horses instantly. Anduin took a second longer, wondering what they were doing here of all places he had seen a pier before.

"That's our boat," Wrathion said as a ship sailed into the harbor.

It proudly bore the Alliance flag and when it docked the caller yelled "All aboard for Stormwind City!"

Anduin shot a look at Wrathion. "I've been to my capital and my home city before!"

"I understand that," Wrathion replied. "Just... trust me." The group boarded and Anduin went to tip the deckhands a couple of silver but they all diligently refused to say that their boss paid them more than enough to help them along.

"Who's your boss?" Anduin asked a man.

"Behind you." The human replied. He seemed well educated, well-fed, ring on his finger suggested married.

Anduin turned around to see Wrathion looming behind him, not overly close, just watching Anduin interact with the crewman. "How long have you been there?" Anduin hissed.

"We are both standing on the center deck. It's not exactly a good place for private conversations." Wrathion replied.

"You own these boats?"

"Yes."

"How much do you pay them?"

"A gold piece a day," Wrathion replied. "For the deckhands. The better ones get two and promotion, my captain and first mates get five."

"Wow." Anduin was a little awed. "No wonder you need that half million."

"Oh no, I have plenty of 'inheritance' from my father to afford this and my stay at the tavern for more than a hundred thousand years. I am in no hurry for that. Most of your father's gold will go to my personal hoard."

Anduin took a seat in a nearby chair. "There's a difference?"

"Savings versus Spending money," Wrathion said taking a seat across from Anduin.

"Ah." Anduin looked up and saw his home city sprawled out before him. "Woah... that was fast!"

"We don't exactly have all night now do we?" Wrathion said standing again and gesturing Anduin and the guards to follow. As Anduin passed, he saw on the bow a person in light clothing, arcane power sparkling around their finger and then fading out. A portal?

"I'm beginning to realize I've never seen a proper harbor." Wrathion mused as he gazed around the harbor, "well, not one that's not fully owned by me anyways."

Anduin was surprised by that for a moment, before realizing Wrathion probably had not.

"Well, there's quite a large one here in Stormwind, I don't know if you noticed already."

Wrathion snorted to himself, the individual snort became something more of a laugh, "I'm sorry, maybe I just don't understand human speech very well but that just sounds like a really bad innuendo. Like 'hey baby, want to see my Harbor?"

Anduin choked on a laugh, giving Wrathion an amused glare. "Please never say that again."

Wrathion waggled his eyebrows playfully in response. "What, don't you want to park your boat in my harbor?" Wrathion teased.

Anduin whacked him on the shoulder, making the dragon laugh. "Shut up before I throw you into the actual harbor." Anduin threatened, getting an amused eye-roll in response.

"Yes, fine, your majesty." Anduin huffed in annoyance, and several moments of silence passed as they walked through the bustling streets of the city, the cathedral bell tolling in the distance.

"I do have to ask," Anduin began, "What's it like to be a dragon? Is changing into a human form like a druid shapeshift?" He could not help his curiosity. It was not very often one got to speak to a dragon, let alone one that didn't seem to mind a bit of prodding.

Wrathion shrugged. "In dragon form, you feel... powerful. Even when you're extraordinarily little."

"And changing into a human?"

Wrathion let out a long, tired groan. "Fuck that."

Anduin burst into a fit of surprised laughter. "Is it really that bad?"

Wrathion had a very tired, annoyed look on his face. "It's awful. I constantly feel like I need to stretch. I keep trying to use limbs I no longer have. Do you know how awful it is to suddenly be grounded when you've been able to fly on your own your whole life?"

Anduin laughed again at the exhausted sincerity in his voice. "I don't, but that sounds pretty annoying."

"It is!"

Anduin was giggling uncontrollably under his breath. He couldn't help it, the sheer exasperation the dragon was radiating was incredibly amusing for some reason.

"Do you want to go somewhere to stretch your wings?"

Wrathion grimaced. "I'd love to, but turning into a dragon, no matter how small, is a little, awkward in populated places."

Anduin raised an eyebrow. "That's why we do it somewhere that's not the city."

Wrathion mimicked his expression, but he had a slight smirk on his face. "You trying to take me somewhere more private, Prince?"

Anduin huffed and shoved him lightly, choosing to ignore the heat that rose to his face. "Shut up! You know that's not what I mean!"

Wrathion just laughed. After that, they engaged in idle banter until Anduin had followed Wrathion through the city to the main section of the city and down the main street, which was fairly quiet now, out into Elwyn Forest past the walls of the city onto a well-used dirt road that could lead to Northshire Abbey or Goldshire depending on which turn one took during a fork in the road.

There was a soft flutter beside Anduin and when the young priest turned to look Wrathion was gone and in his place was an itty bitty little baby black and red dragon. "Aww! You're so little!" Anduin exclaimed without thinking.

The dragon rolled his bright red eyes. "That's not what your dad said last night." Wrathion huffed. Flapping his little wings with surprising power, he plopped down atop Anduin's head, "onwards noble steed! To Goldshire!' Anduin rolled his eyes but even the dragon's voice had shrunk down with him so he had an adorable scaly kitten, who without a good comeback had no issue resorting to a 'your mom' joke. Well 'your dad' in this case but still. Anduin put on a show of sighing before he obliged the tiny dragon and began to wander towards the town, said dragon delighted that his plan had been a success.

He walked in silence for a while and as the signs pointing to Goldshire became more urgent Wrathion spoke again, "alright when we get there, don't say hi or introduce yourself to anyone. You're rather recognizable as it is!" Wrathion instructed as he flapped off, transforming back into a human. "Titans, this form is restraining." He grunted, his voice a normal pitch again as he stretched his shoulders. "If anyone asks, your name is Tress and you're passing through on your way to Redridge."

"Will anybody still be out?" Anduin ran a hand through his hair to put it back in place from where the dragon had ruffled it.

"Probably not but just in case."

"Okay then, what about you?"

"I'm Derrek and I'm an old friend of yours taking you out to my farmstead in Redridge," Wrathion replied without missing a beat.

"You think about this a lot?" Anduin quieted as the village came into sight.

"I had some time while I waited for the rest of you."

"Hey, were are Left and Right anyways?" Anduin inquired, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen either of the girls since they docked in Stormwind Harbor.

"Staying out of sight. Orcs aren't particularly welcome in Stormwind."

"Touché." Anduin nodded, scanning the tree line but saw no movement.

Thankfully, when they reached the square of the tiny town that was Goldshire it was empty, all the residents or travelers having gone to sleep for the evening. "This way!" Wrathion whispered, taking off on a side road that led to a loggers camp some miles down.

"How much farther?" Anduin asked, his leg was starting to hurt.

"Not much," Wrathion promised, straying off the path and hopping over a wooden fence.

"I... can't do that." Anduin reminded Wrathion gently.

"Sure you can. I'll help." Wrathion scoffed, "give me the bad one." Anduin did so with some hesitation, but thankfully Wrathion was gentle in his hold and helped Anduin situate so he simply slid over the fence like on would slide off a horse. "There we go! See? Nothing to worry about!" He purred. Anduin nodded, he was grateful for Wrathion at least to have planned for or worked around Anduin's injury. Together they crept into a field with easily a hundred cows scattered about, deep in sleep.

Wrathion beckoned Anduin closer as he stood beside one of the massive animals. With a suppressed grin the dragon gently pushed the cow so it rolled onto its side. The animal blinked lazily at him and accepted this new change in position, curling up and resuming its rest. "Are you serious?" Anduin hissed under his breath. "You dragged me out here to bother farm animals? What's next? Pulling cat's tails?"

"We're not hurting them!" Wrathion retorted, "just try it it'll be fun!"

"I am not going cow tipping with you!" Anduin snapped and stalked off, going around the fence and finding a grassy hill and finding a place to sit. "By the Light, this is my babysitter?" He groaned into his hands, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Okay, okay." Wrathion's voice said as something sat next to him on the grass. "This is good too." Anduin peeked out between his fingers and saw Wrathion gazing up into the star-speckled sky. "To think, my father's wings once darkened this beautiful sky, this lush world, and tried to crush all the beauty out of it... it’s a shame. He should have been the one to most appreciate all the things there are to see in this life."

Anduin lay back into the grass, following his gaze up with Wrathion's. "I hate to ask this, but are you glad he's gone?"

"Yes," Wrathion said after a moment. "But for all the horrid things he did, he was still my father."

"I understand." Anduin nodded even though Wrathion wasn't looking at him, "I mean, I hate living in my dad's shadow, but I still love him to death and well I know he loves me. I'd be devastated if he died, even if we don't always agree on a lot of things."

Wrathion's eyes slowly drifted to Anduin, "was this bargain your father struck his idea?"

"No." Anduin replied, "It was mine."

"Why sell yourself to a total stranger?"

"I..." Anduin thought for a long time, "I hated having to look over my shoulder, having my life be on the line because of Garrosh. After my injury, I knew I could not fight off Garrosh, even if there had been any chance at all it was taken from me, I can't even run from him now. My family has had a few run-ins with the Black Dragonflight, and none of them good, but I knew you weren't like them and I wanted to try again."

"Did he fight your choice?"

"Yes, for a while." Anduin toyed with the soft fabric of his new clothing, "but he came to see that it was the best option we had."

"I see," Wrathion said and the conversation fell to silence. After a while, Wrathion stood up, "Come on. Let's go home."

Chapter 5: Fire!

Wrathion helped Anduin up with no trouble before they set off for Stormwind Harbor again.

The walk was quiet for the most part until Anduin's head perked up. "Hey, do you smell smoke?"

"It's probably-" Wrathion took a big sniff of air, it did smell like smoke and he wasn't breathing smoke or fire at all. "Me..." Wrathion trailed off and with some relief shifted into his dragon form and flapped above the treeline. Stormwind slept soundly but behind him, Goldshire had a bright light of orange around it. Wrathion landed again, transforming back into a human. "Goldshire has a fire going... a big one."

Anduin's eyes went wide, "shit, Goldshire might be on fire!" He realized and took off in the way the boys had just come from, limping because of his leg.

"What if it's not on fire? Then you've strained yourself for no reason!" Wrathion growled catching up in a single bound.

"That is a sacrifice I am willing to make to ensure the safety of my people." Anduin spat back. "If you're not with me I'll meet you at the boat if you are with me shut up and do something!"

Wrathion stared blankly at Anduin for what felt like an hour but was only a few seconds. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"You're a dragon, you should know how best to combat fire!"

"But I don't!" Wrathion complained.

"Than go get people out! You're faster than me!" Anduin's blue eyes shimmered harshly. Wrathion nodded numbly and took off in the direction of Goldshire. Left, Right I need someone to watch Anduin! He thought, touching an emerald on one of his rings.

Understood. Left replied.

Wrathion arrived in a horrible scene. The entire village of Goldshire was engulfed in flame, people were running everywhere, screaming, crying and among the chaos was...orcs

Left stay hidden, they won't differentiate between you and the enemy.

"Come out come out little prince..." One snarled in the guttural language that was Orcish. With a growl, Wrathion lept into the inn, hoping he had avoided detection. He touched the emerald again, They're after Anduin! Watch out for an ambush! Wrathion pushed off the crumbling wall and raced out of the inn, now that he had sent his message. It wasn't these people's fault the orcs were after Anduin and the attack pissed Wrathion off. They were hardly better than Wrathion’s father!

With a roar, Wrathion leaped on one of the Orcs and tore at him with sharp claws and teeth. Despite blood springing to the wounds it wasn't as effective as any of his draconic abilities might be, but his dragon form was just a bit too small to be useful in combat yet. He inhaled deeply as he saw a second orc approaching. With a snarl, he pushed off the first and as the orc stumbled to its feet in front of its friend, Wrathion unleashed his fire breath on both opponents.

While still recovering his breath Wrathion looked around. There were more orcs, no surprise but then he realized he had backed himself against the forge and two more were much too close for any of the athletic trickery he had been using. Wrathion snarled bravely at the swords that were pointed at him, he would breathe again but that wasn't something he could do twice in a row and remain standing. Plus it didn't help the burning village situation. A flash of light blinded the dragon for a second but then it faded and in its wake, Wrathion saw Anduin, light flaring in his palm and snarl bared.

"You alright?" Anduin asked keeping an eye out for more threats.

"Yes, thanks to you." Wrathion replied.

"Go get people out of these buildings! I'll deal with the orcs!" A crossbow bolt shot dangerously close to both of the boys but flew past and slammed into the skull of another orc. Both turning to see the source of this shot. Left appeared out of the shadows just long enough to take the shot before vanishing among them again. With a slight nod in her direction, Wrathion darted over to the inn once more. Wrathion didn't mind the smoke and fire that had begun to devour the building if anything he was rather comfortable in it, but he knew humans were rather... flammable. He finally caught his breath searched the basement first, the chef and innkeeper huddled behind a barrel of mead.

"Let's get you out of here friends!" Wrathion said as soon as he got far enough down the stairs to see the pair.

"The guests!" The Innkeep choked out, he had inhaled a lot of the smoke it seemed. "Some are still up there!"

Wrathion narrowed his eyes. "You," He turned to the chef, "get you both out." He gazed back at the Innkeep, "I'll get them if I can alright?" The Innkeep nodded slowly as the chef helped him to his feet. "Find the man with blonde hair outside, he'll help you."

With that, the dragon zipped back up the basement stairs and rounded the corner and leaped over the banister to get to the upstairs. A part of the roof collapsed in front of the dragon, who flung himself backward to get out of the way and nearly stumbled back down a step or two. A fire couldn't hurt the dragon but a falling log sure could.

With a huge inhale the dragon breathed in the flame, held it for a second and then let it out as a small breath before he surged over the log and finished his ascent to the upper level. One of the two rooms was blocked off by smoldering wood pieces. The other was still mostly intact. A glance over the easily accessible room revealed nothing but he felt a tugging at his pant leg. A little girl gripped him desperately. "It's okay. I'll help you out." Wrathion promised the tiny human. She nodded and carefully came out of hiding. "Where are your parents?"

"I..I don't know." The little girl whimpered.

"Alright, I'll keep looking, but let's get you out." Wrathion slowed his pace painfully to guide the little girl to the door and directing her to Anduin before he flew up the stairs again. Inhaling the flames again he began to claw at the rubble blocking the other door. He loosened the rocks as best as he could, soon he felt another set of hands working the wood. A glance over revealed Anduin kneeling beside him helping Wrathion clear some of the smaller rubble pieces so the stronger dragon could dislodge the bigger pieces. Around Anduin was a light glow of a protective bubble that Wrathion assumed was to protect the boy from the smoke. Soon the pair broke through and in the room was a small family. Father, mother, and a little boy. "Are you alright?" Both boys asked.

The little boy coughed and the parents looked frightened, having been carefully navigating the crumbling floor. "Where's Heather?" The father asked

"Outside." Anduin replied, "we'll help you out."

The family carefully gathered themselves and lead the way out with Anduin and Wrathion in tow. "How'd it go with the orcs?" Wrathion asked quietly.

"We were able to drive them off."

"We?"

"Well besides Left and Right and anything you may think about humans, many humans do not like seeing their homes invaded and will fight to defend it."

"Understood."

"Any casualties on this side?" Anduin asked, glancing into the other room hesitantly. Looking relieved when he saw nothing.

"Lots of inhaled smoke but nothing a priest can't reverse I don't think."

"Thank the Light." Anduin's shoulders drooped. He suddenly looked exhausted. "Let's go home."

Wrathion couldn't agree more.

Chapter 6: Brave Face

Anduin and Wrathion had come to the agreement on the way home that Wrathion's room was only about half full and could hold another person if they were comfortable with one another, and they had decided they were, so Anduin had moved all the stuff the pack mule he had been left with to the large room at the end of the upstairs hall. The furnishings would not change, as Anduin hadn't brought any save a chest of personal belongings, so Anduin got the wardrobe against the eastern wall of the suddenly giant room.

The north wall was where the beds rested. Wrathions was about a nightstand's length away from the western wall and Anduin tucked his bed, which he had borrowed from an unoccupied room, all the way in the Northeastern corner. Against the foot of Wrathion's bed was his trunk of clothing and on the southern wall was the conspicuously empty table which had two chairs sitting at it. At the foot on Anduin's bed was a similar chest but it contained all manner of study materials and things to do, books to read and wooden weapons to spar with. After moving in Anduin had decided to take a bath in the hot pool just under the back balcony of the inn. The same back balcony that was connected to Wrathion and Anduin's room, it had a rocking chair on it and it was a well-loved rocking chair at that. Aside from that, he was ecstatic to be able to bathe after a long day of smoke and fire.

Anduin hadn't seen much of Wrathion since he had started moving in his stuff, save Wrathion taking long enough to clean out the wardrobe so Anduin could use it. Anduin hadn't really been worried about it until he got out to the hot pool, set his towel on a rock, stripped out of the odd clothes and slithered into the water and leaned back on the staircase leading down into the water. The warmth felt nice on his leg, well it felt nice, everywhere to be quite frank. Relaxed, Anduin began to sing a little tune,

"It's not fair to be alo--ah!" He nearly jumped out of the water when he realized the bright red light he had passed over without noticing were eyes, not lights. "How long have you been watching me?" He demanded from the dragon, who looked a little bit too smug that he had caught Anduin singing. Anduin's cheeks flushed a little, and then a lot when he realized that he was equally as exposed as Wrathion was, nothing but water obscuring visions of things Anduin did not want to see and did not want to be seen. Don't be stupid he probably doesn't even have anything because this human form is just a disguise. Wrathion purred softly, "Not long." he said, "though you haven't been here very long either so I suppose my point is invalid." His black curls even longer as he brushed them out with a wooden comb. "Don't worry I was just getting out when you walked out here so I decided to wait."

"To watch me?" Anduin narrowed his eyes.

"No so I wouldn't be streaking in front of you." Wrathion rolled his bright red eyes. well maybe he does have- Anduin shook his head to clear that thought before he finished it.

"Just go, I'll close my eyes."

"No need," Wrathion said shifting into a dragon and fluttering away behind a rock opposite Anduin's, which was a little more than hip height so Wrathion changed back, dried himself off, grabbed his discarded clothing and fluttered away to the balcony.

Anduin sighed and finished bathing quickly, he heard howls up in the mountains and it reminded him too much of the orcs who had attacked Goldshire. Where they part of the Horde?

Anduin didn't know but didn't think his father would be pleased either way. He heaved himself out of the warm water, tying his towel around his waist and grabbed his clothes before heading upstairs. Right stood from the table Wrathion had been sitting at when Varian had approached and followed the boy up but stopped at the door threshold while Anduin continued past the threshold. Anduin did not see Wrathion and took the opportunity to dress in his nightclothes and then took a step out onto the cool balcony. Wrathion gently rocked in his chair and seemed to be reading. Wrathion was in fuzzy night clothes and seemed to be at peace with his surroundings, his book open in his lap and him focusing intently on it instead of glancing around like he was being watched like he normally did. "Wrathion?" Anduin whispered gently. The dragon looked up at him sleepily. "Let's come in for the night. It's cold out here."

"Alright." Wrathion agreed without the reluctance Anduin had expected. He stood and followed Anduin back into the tavern. Anduin plopped down on his bed, happy to feel something soft underneath him for the first time all day. While Wrathion slipped under his covers more methodically.

Anduin had expected them to go to sleep not long after that, but they ended up talking for many many hours despite the madness of the day.

"Did you see that Night Elf girl?" Anduin asked excitedly.

"No." Wrathion replied calmly.

"Oh come on you can't tell me she wasn't the prettiest thing you've ever seen!"

"She wasn't."

"So you admit you saw her?!"

"Yes, but I didn't notice her. It takes a lot to get a dragon to notice someone in that way."

"Well I noticed her!" Anduin retorted.

"I think you noticed the curves of a tree you lonely priest." Wrathion teased, his voice held no malice and honestly Anduin had seen him eyeing up some people too, though he'd deny it Anduin was sure.

"Would you two shut up and go to sleep?" Right snapped poking her head in the room.

"Sorry!" Anduin squeaked. Shifting so he lay down and closed his eyes to sleep.

Something was making one side of his pillow heavier than the other. Anduin tried to shove it off but to no avail. Blinking open his eyes he saw... a dragon whelp. He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Light! What are you doing over here?" He hissed.

"I..." the dragon looked embarrassed. "I don't know. You just seemed... cold. You were shivering." Wrathion explained in the softest voice he could.

The dragon was admittedly warm. Anduin was about to send the dragon away anyways when he realized something. He has no friends or family... he must be so lonely. Poor guy, being so brave around everyone and just taking everyone's doubts and expectations to become his father but... he has nothing for himself. I think we have more common ground than either of us assumed. "No, it's okay," Anduin said catching the dragon and settling him on the sheets. Looks like we both need each other. Thank you Light, for bringing me to a place I can finally help someone else.

Chapter 7: Accord

Wrathion woke up later than Anduin, he knew it the second he regained consciousness. The bed next to him was cold, save the heat emanating from his breath. He shifted into his human form and stretching before sliding off the bed.

Something about him felt... off, not wrong per se just, strange. A quick reworking of his disguise revealed nothing, save maybe his facial hair becoming a slight bit more prominent than before. Then there must be something wrong with me instead he noted. With a small sigh of anxiety, he shifted back into his true form.

Suddenly the space between him, the bed, the trunk, and the dresser was much too small and getting smaller. With a startled snarl Wrathion shifted back and scooted away from anything nearby. Proportions were normal again. What is happening to me? He hissed to himself and tried again. This time the world got smaller but he didn't hit anything right off. He examined himself after taking a second to realize he wasn't hovering in the air like he normally did. Instead his front paws and back were both strong enough and long enough to touch the ground at the same time and balance him. He wondered briefly if dragons had a puberty stage of their adolescence but pushed the thought aside as curiosity overtook anything else. He reached up a forepaw and went to touch his head and promptly prodded himself with sharp horns. Setting the paw down, not minding the sting of being jabbed, he stretched his wings. As he did so he got a satisfactory little woosh of air beneath their power and size. Though he did quickly realize as he spread his wings to their capacity that he was knocking books off their shelves and pushing aside furniture.

One last thing he could test here in the tavern. He took a deep breath in and roared with all his strength. The noise echoed through the nearby mountains and shook the building with its power. He felt rather smug and then quickly realized that the fact the tavern floor was holding up a dragon, albeit the size of a Polar Bear, up without complaint. He did admire how large he had gotten, from the size of a kitten to the size of a bear was a massive change to happen overnight. Much less all the other stuff.

Wrathion was finally a drake!

A head popped around the corner, blue eyes peered into the bedroom, "Wrathion?" Anduin asked, "the staff are worried about you."

"Yeah, it's me." He purred taking a seat, his head nearly touching the roof. Even his voice held exponentially more power than it had before. "Everything's fine."

"Wow!" Anduin smiled at him, "You're way bigger now than when I got up this morning!"

Wrathion cocked his head at him, "How big was I?"

"Maybe the size of a komodo dragon, " Anduin replied, measuring with his hands as he made his way over to his friend. He reached out to touch the obsidian colored scales but quickly restrained himself. "Sorry-uh may I? I've never actually felt a dragon's scale before."

Wrathion did the dragon equivalent of a shrug. "Sure." Anduin made a pleased noise and very gently reached out and set a hand of the dragon's flank. The contact surprised Wrathion, it was warm and soft and incredibly... exciting for lack of a better word. Anduin stroked Wrathion's side like one would pet a cat and to some degree, Wrathion was annoyed at the gentleness Anduin showed him but a much larger part of him wanted him to keep doing so forever, each touch sending more and more shocks to the excitement pooling in his chest. Wrathion felt something twitch in his belly and shook Anduin off, "That's enough." He tried to say gently despite the rising panic. Anduin, clearly without thinking glanced down to the dragon's underbelly and, seeming to regret his decision quickly looked back up at Wrathion's face instead. Before he could process what Anduin had seen a cold thought washed over him. "Shit. I'm late for the Accord." He snarled.

"The what?" Anduin asked seeming relieved at the change in subjects.

"The Accord, listen we have to go but basically it's an annual meeting between all the Dragon Aspects." Wrathion considered for a moment, "and I don't have time to horse you all the way down to the pier."

Anduin flushed a deep red color suddenly. "Well, maybe you're big enough now that I can... ride on your back?"

Wrathion caught the possible innuendo but had no time to respond to it. "Yes yes fine." He growled and crouched down so Anduin could carefully wriggle himself up onto the curve of Wrathion's back. He seemed almost giddy with getting to ride a dragon. This slightly annoyed Wrathion, he was not some mount to be collected in some adventure's journal. He didn't think that's what Anduin planned to do and again had no time to consider it.

"Are you two okay?" Right asked poking her head into the doorframe.

"Yeah, we're going to the Accord," Wrathion replied.

"We'll meet you there."

"Thanks!" Wrathion nodded approval and began to plod out onto the balcony. Anduin ducked to avoid hitting the doorframe as Wrathion squeezed through it with only some amount of trouble. With a sharp breath, Wrathion leaped off the banister, spread his wings and flew he soared into the sky with a few powerful beats of his wings. Anduin squeaked as Wrathion leaped and tried to do a little trick, but was still trying to figure out his body first. After his liftoff, Wrathion did his best to simply glide down the mountainside but would keep some distance between his underbelly and the treeline below.

"Woo!" Anduin cheered from atop him, Wrathion roared in agreement and together they went soaring down the mountain shouting and roaring all the way.

The landing was the hardest part. Wrathion tried his best to be gentle as he touched down, so as not to jostle Anduin off over his head if he could manage.

Unfortunately Anduin did get knocked off and was sent flying. Fortunately grabbing onto something as he went. Unfortunately, it was Wrathion's neck. Wrathion stumbled but was able to right himself before falling over completely. "Sorry!" He called back at the boy clinging onto him for dear life.

"Scared the Light out of me dude!" Anduin growled as he regained his balance. Wrathion shifted back into a human, which suddenly felt oddly comfortable. There was an awkward pause before Anduin let go of Wrathion and went over to take a seat on the grass. "Next time. We're going to need a saddle."

"Next time?" Wrathion replied. "Is there going to be a next time?"

Anduin smiled broadly at him then, which caught Wrathion by surprise, "that was the most fun I've had since like forever ago!" Anduin looked... very small then, like an 8-year-old child rather than a grown man to become king one day. It tugged at something inside Wrathion that he couldn't quite name.

It was probably nothing. Wrathion decided, he was just hormonal.

"Wrathion?" Anduin's voice brought Wrathion back to the now.

"Sorry what were you saying?" Wrathion asked meeting gentle blue eyes.

"I was asking if it would be okay if we did some more practice with the flight." Anduin said patiently.

"Yes that'd be fine." Wrathion said, voice cracking as he fought off a surge of emotion that swelled up inside him. He offered a hand to Anduin to help him up. Anduin took it and heaved himself up, their fingers staying within brushing distance for a few seconds too long and even when they separated they walked much closer together than they had previously. Anduin following Wrathion closely as the latter stepped onto the boat to Northrend.

The temperature dropped significantly after that. Wrathion looked up and knew he was in Dragonblight. The graveyard of dragons including the father of dragons, Galakrond.

Chapter 8: Wrymrest

Anduin had visited Northrend on a number of occasions. He had never liked it much. Not for any reason other than he hated the cold, especially since he was more used to more temperate conditions. Wrathion seemed to have no such reservations as he stepped off the boat and on to the dock, easing his way to actual land before he transformed into a dragon again, crouching so again Anduin could clamor up onto the dragon.

Anduin squawked as Wrathion took off. He wasn't so concerned with the idea of flying, he had ridden griffins before, it was the fact that Wrathion had a greater than human intelligence and as a result was not as conscientious of his flight posture and might not fully understand that dropping Anduin from this heigh, while maybe an entertaining prank among dragons would be a death sentence to Anduin.

Despite his concerns, the pair arrived without incident. Though Anduin did come out of his thoughts as the ground got closer. "Try landing on all four feet when you land," Anduin suggested, might as well try it, see if it worked.

Wrathion didn't reply and Anduin began to worry the dragon hadn't heard or was offended at the comment but Wrathion did as he was asked and they landed with a gentle thump. Anduin still got knocked into the air a few inches because of gravity's effect on him.

Sliding down off the back of Wrathion, Anduin looked up and found that he was the closest to Wyrmrest Temple than he had ever been.

The tower loomed over him into the icy sky. The building, from Anduin's understanding, had four levels. The topmost level served as the roof and was where the battle with Deathwing and Ultraxion, Deathwing's experiment that had gone right, had taken place. Above the bones of Galakrond, Deathwing had taken a mighty blow thanks to the orc shaman Thrall, who had wielded the artifact/weapon the Dragon Soul. The Dragon Soul had been a powerful artifact created by the Dragon Aspects and had, ironically, been the idea of Neltharion. The weapon later disassembled Deathwing into nothing but atoms.

That battle had stretched as far as the Malestrom in the middle of the sea separating Kalimdor and The Eastern Kingdoms but it had begun here at Wrymrest Temple.

The next floor down was where the commander of the Wyrmrest defenders, Lord Afrasastrasz, resided, it also served as a war room if the need arose.

The level under that was the common sector, generally, this was as much of Wyrmrest Temple that mortals got to lay eyes on. Though that was no to downplay its beauty in and of itself.

The bottom floor, half-buried beneath the ice, was the room that severed as the portal room for the dragons. All five Dragonflights had a Portal to their respective realms. And the realms, as far as Anduin knew never having been through any of the portals, were as follows: The Black Dragonflight's realm was in the heart of an active volcano, though it lay abandoned now that the Black Dragonflight had all but been wiped out, with its last remaining member staying in Pandaria for the time being.

The Red Dragonflight got a cherry tree grove that had once been ransacked by Deathwing's forces but had since recovered splendidly.

The Green Dragonflight got the Emerald Dream. The realm where all dreams, wishes, and hopes, were real, but also so were all the nightmares and fear, the Green Dragons spent their time trying to control the balance between the two. It is said that once one falls asleep the mind wanders the Emerald Dream until one wakes.

The Blue Dragonflight resided in the Realm known as the Eye of Eternity, which was the home of magic in its purest form. After the Nexus War most if the Blue Dragonflight went extinct, but those that remained studied there.

Last but not least was the Bronze Dragonflight's home in the Caverns of Time, which were located on the continent of Kalimdor. The Caverns of Time were where the Bronze Dragonflight guarded the time ways dutifully and protected all that had happened, no matter how bad, for it all served a greater purpose.

This chamber also apparently served as the council room for the Aspects since Wrathion plodded off down the icy chasm floor into the room. The room was circular in shape and on the edges of the room were the portals. More to the center of the room were five large circular platforms surrounding a collum if starlight, not harsh enough to be blinding but enough to illuminate the dragons placed on all the platforms but one. The second the boys entered, all eyes fell onto Wrathion. Anduin just happened to be in the perfect spot to notice the nervous tail-flick Wrathion gave before stepping up onto the vacant platform that was part of the circle of other Dragonflights.

Across from Wrathion, was Kalecgos, the Spell Weaver, Anduin had met him before but only in his human form. As a half-elf, Kalec had blue hair and eyes and spoke elegantly but now as a dragon at least ten times larger than Wrathion, he looked much more imposing. His horns alone were the size of three Anduin's, the latter feeling rather small in comparison suddenly, at only five and a half feet tall.

Next to Kalecgos was the Green Dragon Ysera, the Dreamer, she was about a head taller than Kalcegos and floating between her horns was upside down golden crescent with divets gave it a glaive like appearance.

Next to her was a crimson dragon about a Ysera and a half tall, her horns and claws heavily adorned in jewels and other decorations. Alexstraza the Life-Binder in the flesh.

Closest to Wrathion was a Ysera sized Bronze Dragon, Nozdormu the Infinite, sometimes called Nozdormu the Timeless stood proud beside his decorated companions.

Besides each Aspect were two smaller dragons, one on either side of the same color of their respective Aspect. Except Wrathion. Wrathion's only companion was a human.

"What doesss a mortal want with the affairssss of dragonss?" Nozdormu asked, golden eyes glinting as he recognized the human taking a spot besides Wrathion's flank.

"Wrathion!" Alexstraza thundered, "You show up late and you bring a mortal with you?" She hissed.

"Mighty Dragon Aspects," Anduin bowed as deep as he could without aggravating his leg, and to hide his body trembling, "I meant no disrespect by my presence." He explained smoothly.

"This one's father and I arranged an agreement that requires him to remain by my side at all times." Wrathion explained, "I am to protect the Prince of Humans."

Alexstraza blinked at him a few times. "But you still brought a mortal-"

"Let the mortal thing go." Kalecgos snarled, "he already explained why the mortal is here."

Alexstraza glared at Kalecgos. "Very well." She hissed reluctantly. "Nozdormu, who is to speak first today?"

Nozdormu tilted his head. "Wrathion speaksss firssst. Kalecgossss next year."

Wrathion with a small intake of breath looked up at the other dragons in attendance. "Now that the rest of the Corrupted Black Dragonflight has been eradicated, I wish to take my place as the Black Aspect." He said his voice strained but not out of anxiety like his tail swishes were.

Alexstraza laughed, "You will not hold that title if I have any say in it." She snarled. Wrathion Wrathion away violently. Even his cool expression could not hide the hurt from the verbal blow.

"Sister," Ysera snapped from besides Alexstraza. "This is not Deathwing."

"So what? His child is nearly as bad!"

"Alexstraza," Kalecgos began, "You have to let this go, Wrathion is not to be blamed for his father's sins."

"You want me to let go of the rape, torture and murder of my children?" Alexstraza howled in rage and fury, eyes lighting on fire and turned of the Spell Weaver.

Kalecgos was unfazed. "Of course not." As he said that, something occurred to Anduin, the first being they were speaking Common instead of Draconic, why include the human in on the conversation? The second thing Anduin noticed was that while Alexstraza may be the Queen of Dragons her Aspect companions had no problem voicing their opinions around her.

"If I may," Anduin couldn't help but pipe up, standing as tall as he could, hiding his shaking hands behind his back. He had just interrupted borderline gods. All eyes turned to him. As much as Kalecgos was sticking up for Wrathion, Anduin hated to see the dragons fight. "Yesterday, a fire broke out in a town we were visiting. While Wrathion could not be hurt by the fire he went to great lengths to ensure the safety of everyone affected. I believe that given the proper guidance and mentorships from great beings such as yourself and being taught that he is better than his father, he will shape up the way you wish him to, rather than the way you fear he will."

Alexstraza leaned so she met Anduin at eye level. All the malice and fear in her gaze was gone. "Will you vouch for the drake in question?" She asked gently.

Anduin reached up and set a hand on her snout. "Absolutely, we all can help guide him. Azeroth needs a Earth Warder and Wrathion is a solid choice."

"Prove that Rheastrasza's sacrifices were not in vain." Kalecgos spoke.

Alexstraza looked between her friends. She turned to Nozdormu, "what about you?"

"I had to forgive myssself for a future of my fall to the madness that will never come to be. Thisss one deserves the sssame forgivenesssss."

Alexstraza nodded. "Very well, Wrathion, step forward."

Wrathion, clearly hiding his excitement behind cool red eyes, stepped onto a central ring filled with sparkling stars. "Although we may not be the Titans, we have the power to proclaim a new Aspect in the event that one falls. I, Alexstraza will see to it that this Drake becomes everything that his father chose not to be. Kalecgos, present your gifts."

Anduin had the cold realization that he was about to witness the ascension of a God yet something kept him from moving at all so as to give the gods some privacy. Yet it felt like he glued to the floor

Kalecgos stepped into the circle with Wrathion. "We have no ability to grant you the power we were disrupted by the titans, not alone but together we all may impart our wisdom and wishes onto you, granting you the power you will need to lead what is left of your kin," Kalecgos said. "My gift, as the youngest Aspect prior to you, is perseverance, strength, and wisdom. May it guide you during the seasons ahead." The dragons, with Kalecgos having to crouch almost to reach butted heads affectionately. Both muttering small words inaudible and in Draconic before Kalecgos stepped away.

Ysera came next; "before we became the Aspects, Alexstraza, Nozdormu, Neltharion, Malygos and myself all had to face trials. But never did we face them alone. My gifts to you are friendship, love, and hope. May you surround yourself in friends and family who care about you as deeply as you care about them." Again soft words and a headbutt was exchanged before Ysera stepped back.

Anduin suddenly noticed Ysera didn't need to crouch as much to reach Wrathion's level. He had about doubled in size since his exchange with Kalecgos.

Anduin watched as he grew in size again before Nozdormu stepped forward. "In my own time, I have sssseen timelines where the world was destroyed and rebuilt many times. With my gift I give you patience, judgment and justice. Sssome times it takes patience to see the correct course of action. Yet sssome ssssituations require immediate action. It is up to you to decide what to do and when to do it."

Nozdormu had to crouch down the least so far. They were also close enough now that Anduin could make out what they were saying. He understood some basic Draconic as part of the princely work he had studied many languages, Draconic being one. "May the future bring you fortune." Nozdormu purred.

"And you, brother." Wrathion replied. Anduin suspected the other exchanges had been similar.

Alexstraza stepped forward. "I'll admit I have my concerns, and yet, so did the titans when appointing us as Aspects. With my gift, I bestow to you Clarity, Loyalty, and the love of a mother. May you always think of the struggles of another before yourself and feel the wrath of a mother directed at those who threaten the ones you hold close." Alexstraza had to lean down more than the others only because of her size compared to Wrathion, not because he stopped growing.

Alexstraza, to Anduin's shock and awe, turned to Anduin, "The one who vouches for new Aspect may provide a gift if you wish."

"If not, he isss a fully functional Assspect now. You will not harm him by refusing." Nozdormu added.

"I think I can do something." Anduin said taking Alexstraza's place. "With my gifts, I wish to bestow you with Curiosity, Mercy and Trust. May you forever know that your friends are true to you and share your excitement for life's new adventures." Wrathion smiled and bowed his head to meet Anduins outstretched hand.

"Thank you." Wrathion whispered in Common.

"I am just happy I can give something valuable."

"You have given more than enough."

"Wrathion!" Alexstraza announced from her pedestal, "henceforth you shall be known as Wrathion the Earth Warder. May you always respect Azeroth for all the beauties it has to offer." She smiled at him, "welcome to the Aspects."

Chapter 9: Ascension

"Welcome to the Aspects." Alexstraza purred. Before Wrathion could respond, Wrathion's vision went black.

"Anduin." The white-and-gray wolfman that had accompanied King Wrynn to the Tavern in the Mists addressed a slightly older Anduin, just a handful of years from his present form. "We need to talk."

"Sure Genn. What is it you need?" Anduin looked up from where he had been studying a map of an unknown region intently. The white brick walls decorated with blue implied the exchange was taking place in Stormwind Keep. "What happened at Broken Shore?" The prince continued.

"We were decimated." Genn snarled, "our losses were monstrous."

"That... is not what we anticipated. Heavy resistance I take it?" Anduin tilted his head in concern. "Where is my father?"

"I... that's what I needed to discuss with you." Genn swallowed and glanced around as if looking for someone else to take this responsibility from him. "King Varian Wrynn... is dead."

Anduin stared blankly at Greymane, his jaw tightening. "Excuse me?" His eyes narrowed and his voice was dangerously quiet.

"He died to protect what was left of the attack force. I only survived because of his sacrifice." Graymane continued.

Anduin looked at the floor. "There was only supposed to be limited casualties, that's what Wrathion promised us."

"Well, maybe Wrathion was wrong!" Genn snapped, deep blue eyes flaring in anger. He took a moment to collect himself, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, I know you deeply respect the Black dragon but he was wrong about this and our army was destroyed because of him."

Anduin hissed his face contorted as he tried to control his emotions. "This is the legion's fault, not Wrathion's!" He shouted back.

"He abandoned you Anduin, whatever thing you had with him is over now!" Genn was clearly not fond of Wrathion and Wrathion supposed that was fair, but he had no intention of leading Varian into a trap. He had no quarrel with the human king and even less so with Anduin.

Anduin sighed heavily and hid his face behind his hands. "Leave me now Graymane, we'll worry about coronation some other time."

Genn went quiet then. Setting a hand on Anduin's shoulder. "I am sorry." He murmured. "I lost someone close to me too today."

"This is hard for everyone but I need to process." Genn hesitated for a second too long, causing Anduin's patience to thin. "Leave!" He demanded. Genn's ears flattened and he backed away and closed to door.

Now alone Anduin let out a sob.

Wrathion was jerked back into reality nearly violently. He felt that he was in human form, and laying on the floor of Wyrmrest temple he supposed. He felt a gentle soft pulsing beside him and cracked open an eye to look around.

Anduin crouched beside him, light dancing around his palm, causing the warm pulsing through his body. He looked gravely concerned. Wrathion, remembering his vision flinched away. "I'm sorry." He mumbled even though nothing had happened since his vision had begun. The other Aspects watched him calmly. "He wakes mortal," Nozdormu said somewhere to Wrathion's side. Anduin, reluctantly, stood and backed away.

"The ascension to an Aspect triggers powerful visions for the new Aspect, it helps guide them where nothing else could," Alexstraza explained. "His vision was deeply emotional it seems."

"What makes you say that?" Wrathion hissed from the floor as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Wrathion! You're okay!" Anduin cheered and threw his arms around Wrathion's neck. "I was so worried I had hurt you by accident." He breathed so only Wrathion could hear his confession. Wrathion flushed a little, butterflies erupting in his belly from the simple act of being this close to Anduin. To feel his cold arms against the skin of Wrathion's neck. He nuzzled warmly into Anduin, grateful that his vision could still be prevented.

"I'm sorry," Wrathion said again. His gut-wrenching with the pain of knowing he had caused Anduin so much distress. Even if it was far in the future. "I'm so sorry."

Anduin chuckled, much to Wrathion's surprise, "So long as you're okay, no hard feelings!" He said with such a childlike excitement Wrathion couldn't help but smile back at the young human. He felt better the butterflies still gnawing at his stomach but the dread seemed to evaporate. Wrathion wanted to lean in and... he wasn't really sure what, he had no words for it. Dragons rarely expressed affections through words or small actions. Between dragons, such emotions were usually communicated through pheromones or large deeds and favors.

Anduin seemed to understand though, "Later." He promised, "when we don't have gods staring at us." Wrathion grinned at him, something about Anduin's acknowledgment of Wrathion's feelings and requited them was a pleasant comfort. One that warmed his whole chest and fuzzed away his thoughts, and the sting of the vision.

Once Wrathion took his place again, the meeting continued and while Wrathion stopped paying attention to the others at some point, he got a chance to plan what he would do now that he was and Aspect.

Well, for one thing, he was going to pick out a lair for himself and connect the Wyrmrest portal to it. That would be way better than living inside a volcano, he hated that place. After that, he wasn't really sure. He hadn't thought Alexstraza would say yes to his proposal in the first place so he hadn't gotten his hopes up. Maybe he would check in with Magni.

Magni was the literal champion of Azeroth, he had been a dwarf named Magni Bronzebeard before he had become made of diamond to protect all of the world for the rest of eternity. As Earth Warder Wrathion and Magni needed to get along at least well enough to get their jobs done.

The meeting ended before he could plot anything else. He went to walk out and let Anduin climb on outside but Kalecgos beat him and padded beside him. "Wrathion? May I have a moment?" The Spell Weaver asked.

"After everything you've done for me today, you may have as many as you need," Wrathion replied, stopping to speak with the Blue dragon. Anduin paused beside Wrathion and waited patiently.

"Forgive me for the intrusion," Kalecgos began. "I have been studying the growth cycles of dragons, more specifically, black dragons and I noticed you seemed... uncomfortable in your own scales. This leads me to believe that you have developed significantly since we last met in a very short amount of time."

"Okay..." Wrathion tilted his head at Kalecgos.

"I believe that because of how large Deathwing got, both physically and how far spread his name was, dragons grow based on what feelings they stir inside the hearts of others."

"What do you mean?" Wrathion blinked slowly at the older dragon.

"I mean, that because everyone ever feared Deathwing, he became massive as he fed off of that. However, the rest of us Aspects are not as widely known by the mortal population and a majority of our body size is because of our respect for each other. Recently, you came in contact with a group of humans that feel very strongly about you, and then you received the respect of the other Aspects making you multiply in size today."

Wrathion nodded, "Makes more sense than the gold theory anyways." Wrathion replied, "why are you telling me this?"

"Well, as with mortals going through adolescence, it helps to know why your body is reacting the way it is."

"Are you telling me I hit puberty?" Wrathion half-joked. Kalecgos seriously could not be implying that, right?

"Well you are grown it's more of a physical change than a psychological one," Kalecgos replied with a shrug of sorts. "But that's all I wanted to speak with you about. Congratulations on your accession!"

Wrathion stared after the Blue with a mix of shock and irritation. Weird thing to tell a new aspect. Especially since he was larger the Spell Weaver now, if only just. "Well... that's awkward." Anduin spoke from besides Wrathion.

"Seriously." Wrathion agreed. "Weird dude."

"I think he's trying to be nice but isn't sure what to do with you," Anduin replied, climbing on as Wrathion crouched. "Onwards, noble steed! To the Tavern!" Anduin echoed Wrathion's statement from before. Wrathion rolled his eyes but with a powerful beat of his wings he was airborne and taking off towards home.

Chapter 10: Confession

The rest of the evening for Anduin had gone by peacefully. He had spent most of it reading his tome of holy studies on Wrathion's fluffy reading chair on the balcony. A thick leather-bound book full of spells for Anduin to learn and to start practicing lay in his lap. Little did the instructor who assigned him the work know, Anduin had already mastered most of the techniques enclosed within. The art of using the Light had always come easily to the young human. Nonetheless, Anduin had dutifully spent a few hours studying.

Wrathion, on the other hand, looked borderline distressed all evening. Pacing between the same three rooms for at least an hour. Leaning on the banister and staring out into the sunset for less than thirty seconds before he was pacing again. At first, Anduin had taken it for residual excitement from the ceremony earlier that morning but the sun had long since set and Anduin had taken his studying into the room for the night, Wrathion was still wearing footprints into the wooden floor. Spending as much time as he could in human form Anduin had noticed.

Anduin tried to stay diligent in his study but now that he rested propped up on an elbow under the warm covers of his bed Wrathion was much more in view and Anduin couldn't help but watch how the dragon moved. His hair was all over the place thanks to how many times Wrathion had run his hand through the black curls. His red eyes were nearly dull with how much raw emotion he had endured during the day. Anduin understood. More than Wrathion could ever know. Anduin had always had a knack for understanding the struggles of others. Depending on how strong the emotions were Anduin could focus on that person's words or actions and feel as though he was walking beside them through their emotional journey. A bonus for his priestly duties but not required, and sometimes it bit him in the ass.

When Anduin's mother had died, Anduin had felt the pain twice over, once for his own grief and then again because of his father's pain.

Wrathion's struggle was so intense the emotional waves washed over Anduin without the priest having to focus at all, however, without Anduin's attention all he got was a jumbled mess so distorted that he couldn't even tell what was useful information and what wasn't. Though he suspected Wrathion was equally as incoherent. "Wrathion." Anduin said finally, setting his tome on the trunk at the foot of the bed, "come here."

"Can't. Sit. Still." Wrathion bit out like words were hard for him.

"I know, but I can help," Anduin assured him. Wrathion looked strangely at the priest but willed himself over to the side of Anduin's bed. "Sit down." Anduin gestured to a spot beside him, "and face me." Wrathion followed instructions and gazed at Anduin with an expression Anduin couldn't quite place. Something akin to hunger was the closest he could get to describing it.

"What makes you think you can help me?" Wrathion asked. "I don't mean to be like mean or anything I'm just curious."

"Priests are known to bring peace to those who have been through unimaginable strife. I am trained to help alleviate what ails you." Anduin replied, his voice soft. "Just relax, and tell me anything that comes to mind."

Wrathion grunted as though he was better than ranting but quickly fell to it. "I don't expect you to believe me but I have always wanted to take my father's place as Earth Warder but now that I have it... quite frankly, I'm scared out of my wits."

"What are you scared of?"

"Becoming my father. I literally have the weight of the whole world on my shoulders and I'm afraid I'm going to be what everyone thinks I will become."

Anduin smiled at his friend, "Not everyone believes that of you. I would not have vouched for you had I thought that to be your path." Wrathion gave Anduin a rather vulnerable expression in reply. One Anduin had not thought Wrathion capable of. He always seemed so calm and apathetic about everything.

Wrathion swallowed thickly, "no one ever has before." He whispered. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

"The fact you are worrying about not becoming Deathwing proves already that you are better than him."

"I suppose." Wrathion yawned and shook himself back into his standard poker face. "But I have more immediate problems I guess. The world is not in any immediate danger I'll know when it is. My other concern is more of a question than a problem."

"Shoot."

"Well you mortal types seem to be obsessed about choosing gay or straight but why do I have to pick? Why can't I like both?"

Anduin understood that one, more than just his empathy he understood. "I'm with you. My father and the Worgen king are trying to set me up with girls. They're perfectly nice mind you, they just don't strike my fancy. Genn and my dad keep telling me we just haven't found 'the one' but I'm beginning to doubt I will."

"See that's the problem with being royalty, you're parents not only control everything but their shadow hangs over you forever no matter what you do!"

"Unless your name is Arthas." Anduin chided.

Arthas Menethil used to be a human paladin, and heir to the Lordaeron throne. Until the young paladin began to take a dark path. Once beloved by his kingdom Arthas, upon discovering of a plague outbreak in a city known as Stratholme, decided that the best course of action would be to slay all the inhabitants of the city to prevent the spread of the plague. He had later gone on to become the Lich King. Leader of the undead armies collectively called the Scourge. His father had all but been forgotten in the horrific wake of death in his son's actions. Though Arthas had been put down when Anduin was still relatively young.

"He doesn't count!" Wrathion purred. "He only outmatched his father because of a mass genocide! Neither of us is going down that route I hope."

Anduin smiled and pawed at his friend's black jacket. "I think you'd better keep an eye on me!" Anduin announced.

"You aren't going to-"

"I'm a known heartbreaker!" Anduin interrupted Wrathion's thought. Trying to lighten the mood some.

"Don't lie! You cant even walk up to anybody without getting nervous!" Wrathion retorted catching Anduin's hand in his own paws, having transformed just enough to not be holding Anduin's hand, to which the latter was slightly disappointed, but not enough to be stabbing the human with talons or scales.

Anduin smirked, pouncing lightly on the lithe male. "Yeah well, you talk a big game for someone who can't get another in bed with him!"

"Not true!" Wrathion slipped out of Anduin's grip and wrestled the taller boy into the mattress with surprising strength. Especially given how deliberate he had been so as not to hurt his play mate's bad leg.

Anduin wondered if Wrathion had ever had someone to do something as childish as play fight or to spend all night talking about whatever came to mind.

The soft gaze from the dragon implied no. Though Anduin hadn't really either, he had his dad but it was different to have a friend or sibling to share passions with on a level adults had a hard time understanding. "Oh? Now I'm curious, who have you ever taken to bed?" Anduin said finally.

"You." Wrathion puffed his chest proudly.

Anduin flushed a bright red at that. "Not the same!" Anduin hissed avoiding the dragon's eyes.

"For now." Wrathion purred, Anduin rolled his eyes but internally scolded himself for being so transparent about how he felt about Wrathion. Despite Wrathion being another man, a black dragon, kin of Onyxia who had delighted in emotionally tormenting Anduin and Varian, and Wrathion being on par with a god, Anduin was beginning to foster something of a crush on the Black Prince.

Despite Wrathion's flirting Anduin couldn't gauge how the dragon actually felt about him in return. The pair stared at one another for a nearly awkwardly long time. "May I do something totally insane?"

Wrathion tilted his head in confusion. "Sure." He agreed. "I do believe you told me you had something for me when away from prying eyes. I think we're away from anyone else."

Anduin grinned from ear to ear than. "Yes, I do." He leaned forward, much the same way that Wrathion had earlier and pressed their lips together.

Wrathion took a second to process what was happening but quickly began to follow Anduin's lead. As Wrathion returned the kiss, Anduin, despite his concerns about how quickly he had developed such strong feelings in such a short amount of time, forgot all of the things that were going on outside of the room or all the things he had to worry about. In that long moment, everything felt right with the world. Wrathion quickly grew impatient with the gentle nature of the exchange and began to experiment with his limits. Pressing down on Anduin just enough to get the human to lay back and allow Wrathion to loom over him like a predator about to deal the killing blow to prey.

But no pain came, instead, only more kisses and hushed laughs as the pair tried to figure out what they were trying to do. Wrathion's breathing and adjusting causing their bodies to press together, not in any weird way yet but just enough to excite Anduin from how new and different everything was. Every nerve he had was on fire and they were still fully clothed and not even doing anything that Anduin could get in trouble for. Sure he wasn't encouraged to go around kissing boys but he had no strict rule forbidding it. Anything farther than that though, if he was found out, while not likely still very possible Anduin let something slip he wasn't supposed, to his dad would be furious.

Either way, the boys had no real idea of what they were doing and thus wouldn't get very far short of one having something in mind to try.

It mattered not though because the door creaked open, causing Wrathion to roll away from Anduin, attempting to catch his breath before the intruder could see anything. "Will you two go to sleep?!" Left hissed from the doorway, "settle your differences tomorrow!" The door closed surprisingly softly after that leaving Wrathion and Anduin in the dark again.

"Well, I suppose that means we should split up for the night." Wrathion mused darkly.

"Aw, we don't have to! You can stay over here if you want." Anduin complained, trying to be quiet so as not to incur Left's wrath.

"I'll bother you all night," Wrathion replied going to stand up.

"No, you won't. Trust me." Anduin pawed sleepily at the dragon who sighed and took a seat on Anduin's unoccupied side of the bed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." With that Wrathion settled down into the sheets, "and thanks, for vouching for me today. That means a lot more than you realize." and before Anduin could even react was snoring away. Anduin laughed to himself at how quickly Wrathion had dozed off, it had been a really long day for him it seemed. Anduin rolled over and closed his eyes allowing sleep to claim him.

Chapter 11: Nozdormu

Wrathion had no idea what to do now. Not only had Anduin confirmed that he shared Wrathion's affections for the other, but he had also taken the first move. As odd as he found the experience Wrathion had liked the intimacy and closeness with the human.

Which posed a number of problems because Wrathion was a dragon, not a mortal.

Not wanting to leave his questions unanswered and his wants swept under the rug he hefted himself up from Anduin's side before the sun rose the next morning and took off from the balcony, shifting into his true form during the jump and flapped powerful wings in an attempt to gain some height. He was still getting used to how large he had gotten. Before he got far from the tavern he noticed a small group of black shadows moving across the dry plains at the base of the mountains. Deciding to see if breakfast had come to him Wrathion swooped down to get a closer look.

To his surprise, he found an Alliance war party. Royal guards escorting the King himself to the base of the mountain. All of the human's eyes were on Wrathion as he descended to the ground in front of the party. "King Wrynn." Wrathion greeted, not feeling any need to bow before a mortal king.

Varian apparently felt the same about a dragon. "Greetings." Varian nodded politely at the dragon. "Forgive me for the intrusion, but I wished to do my first weekly report with Anduin in person."

It has not been a week.

Instead of commenting on this, Wrathion nodded, "Very well, though I request you forgive me for not being a very good host, I was just going to collect a meal before fetching Anduin and taking him with me to a meeting I must attend." Wrathion lied easily, he had been planning on going alone to this 'meeting' but this worked well as an excuse not to bring Anduin. "Though because of your visit I will entrust his safety with you and grant you some privacy." Wrathion continued. "Once you arrive at the tavern speak to the human woman with red hair, she will help you rouse the prince and ensure additional safety should you need it."

"Thank you." Varian nodded, listening intently. "When will you return?"

"No later than sundown." Wrathion estimated. Even if he wasn't finished with his mission by then he could make a pit stop for the night and continue his task in the morning.

"Very well. I will expect to see you then." Varian said Wrathion nodded and pushed off the earth again and floated above the human patrol who gazed up at him in awe, save Varian, as they passed under him. Many of the guards were young Wrathion noted, hardly older than Anduin so he supposed none had seen a true dragon before. Though he did notice wolfman and a man with short red hair beside Varian who only spared Wrathion the cautious glance. Once they had passed Wrathion beat his wings and went soaring across the land. He did manage to snatch a wild oxen herd for breakfast before he began his flight to Southern Kalimdor.

***

Wrathion, now that he was big enough to fly long distances in a timely and safe manner, found it silly to take the boats if he was going alone, despite the near-instant translocation the ships provided, it was infinitely more rewarding, and only a slight bit longer, to fly. Plus he got to fill up on fish as he went.

It was maybe an hour before he felt the heat of Kalimdor wash over his scales. It took only a moment more before he saw the small huddle of mountains the marked the home of the Bronze Dragonflight. He landed in the center of a ruined clearing. Clock towers lay scattered half-buried in the sand in the small mesa that was hidden in the center of the mountains. Which in no way gave away their depth.

"Halt!" A voice called from beside Wrathion. Begrudgingly, he followed instructions, he knew his flight had a reputation for destruction so to stop a black dragon was not totally uncalled for. That and most dragons of separate flights were questioned before being granted entry, for safety's sake. A smaller Bronze Drake glided over to the intruder calmly. She looked younger than Wrathion in body but her eyes revealed her age was well beyond that. "What brings you to the Caverns of Time?" The Drake asked.

"I am to speak with Nozdormu." Wrathion replied evenly.

"Is he expecting you?"

"I don't believe Aspects have to book appointments with one another." Wrathion retorted. He did like being able to fall back on that to help him appear more confident than he felt.

The Drake blinked at him a few times. "Very well. You'll find him in the heart of the mountain." With a single beat of her wings she was out of his way, returning to circle her route above the mesa.

"Thank you." Wrathion grunted and glided through the narrow archway into the Caverns. The descent went down for miles and was heavily decorated with stars and otherworldly things. Finally rounding the corner from one of the main twisting tunnels Wrathion flew into a clearing. This one had hallways branching off it at random intervals. In it's center was a huge circular platform with a massive working golden hourglass centered on it. Sitting in front of the hourglass was the huge bronze Aspect. He sat, making him nearly as tall as the hourglass which reached the roof of the cavern many miles up from the floor. Had he been standing on two paws the Aspect would be large enough to burst through the roof of this chamber and into the mountain itself. With Dragons generally about halfing their height when they moved from sitting to four paws and doubling their height moving from sitting to standing on two paws.

Golden eyes flicked up to the newcomer as soon as Wrathion entered. "Wrathion." Nozdormu tilted his head at the young Aspect. "What brings you to the Cavernsss of Time ssso sssoon?"

"I seek an auidence with you if you have some time."

"Time isss a mortal concept." Nozdormu replied. "Ssso long as I draw breath, I will have time."

Wrathion took a second to process his words. "I see." Wrathion eyed the other bronze dragons around the room. "Is there anywhere we can go that will be more private? It is not a conversation I wish to have in front of strangers."

The Bronze Aspect nodded, and the world went golden for a second before they were in a completely empty version of the Cavern. Nozdormu stretched his wings idely. "I do not sssense a dire disturbance with the mortals for another ssseveral ssseasons. What bothers you so?"

"I wanted to ask you to glimpse into the future for me."

"While I understand what you are asking of me, what isss it you ssseek?"

"I want to pursue a relationship with a mortal and I need you're advice on how to get the best probable outcome."

Nozdormu stared at Wrathion for a while. "Well, you know as well as I do what you will have to do to thisss 'mortal'. You will be responsible, at least in hisss mind, for the death of hisss father."

"Is there any way I can avoid that?"

"Not that I can sssee." Nozdormu replied gently, his voice dropping in volume. "I know thisss is going to be hard for you to accept but I advise you to leave the idea of a mortal consort behind."

"Why?"

"Mortalsss do not have the lifespan we do. They will die a thousand timesss over before we even begin to feel age. They cannot escape time."

"Time is a social construct made by mortals!" Wrathion echoed.

"But it isss one that will claim you're friend in what, to you, is a blink of an eye." Nozdormu growled, with no malice in his voice, he was just trying to get through to Wrathion. "He will die before you can truly begin to love him."

Chapter 12: Kalecgos

Wrathion left the Caverns of Time more uneasy than he had arrived. Nozdormu spoke sense of course but surely there had to be a way for it to work for everyone?

Who can I ask for such a specific question? He growled to himself flying in a random direction to try and get the wind to soothe him and cool his head.

It wasn't until Wrathion felt the stinging cold of Winterspring that the dragon realized exactly who he needed to speak to. Kalecgos was very much in a romantic relationship with a human named Jaina Proudmoore. Who in turn was also a powerful spell caster.

With newfound determination Wrathion flew to the continent of Northrend reaching the Nexus, entrance to The Eye of Eternity, within the hour. Again he was stopped at the entrance but this time by a huge male. One Wrathion recognized from the Accord the day before. This one had been one of Kalecgos' companions the day before. Senegos was his name Wrathion believed. "State your business." The dragon ordered sleepily.

"I wish to speak to the Spell-Weaver."

"He is expecting you in the Eye of Eternity." The dragon replied, wandering away.

Once Wrathion arrived at a tiny blue orb in the center of a floating circular platform he placed his paw on it and blinked. Opening his eyes into space void of anything but stars and a blue and white platform under him. Kalecgos stood before him as well. "Wrathion." The greeting was friendly. "I figured you'd have some questions."

"Not about what you'd expect." Wrathion replied.

"You would be surprised about what I expected you to come to me about." Kalecgos smiled toothily at him. The dragon beckoned him forward, pushing off the ledge and gliding off into space.

Wrathion followed, despite his uncertainty about Kalecgos, which was mostly due to their last conversation. It felt good to soar through space. It looked endless but the air was crisp and cool and he began to see that stars in the sky were networks of platforms and studios. Some proved to be lairs as the pair flew past and others still were full of tomes and ink and parchment. "I'll race you to the farthest platform over there." Wrathion challenged the older dragon. Among creatures so magnificent as Wyrms and even as primitive as Proto-Drakes, racing was a fun competition that the extremes of either species could take part in just as easily as anyone else.

"You challenge me in my own realm?" Kalecgos laughed. "Good luck!" Wrathion beat his wings with intent now that Kalecgos had accepted his challenge and set off towards the platform. He could hear Kalecgos catching up behind him and pushed harder.

Just as Wrathion made it to the platform the other blue dragon swept forward and touched down first. "That's cheating!" Wrathion growled, amused that Kalecgos would have lost had it not been for his familiarity with the area.

"No it's not!" The Blue replied, "it would have been cheating had I froze you!"

Wrathion smiled. "True enough I suppose."

The pair set off again and flew in silence for a long while. "You have questions regarding your mortal companion. What is it you wish to know?" Kalecgos broke the silence finally.

Wrathion was surprised at Kalecgos' foresight. He explained to the Blue the situation he had with Anduin and while he was sure Kalecgos knew most of it already judging by his knowledge of Wrathion's mission, Kalecgos listened to him. "Nozdormu told me that because mortals age much faster than dragons, that it wasn't worth investing time and effort into."

"Well, on some level, he's right. But because of how short-lived they are, mortals love much more fiercely than say another dragon." Kalecgos said, "and besides many mortals can live past their average amount of years thanks to advancements in magic and technology. Khadgar is thought to be, somewhere in Outland, over a thousand years old. So it is not to say they are doomed to die young. High prophet Velen was fully grown when the Burning Legion attacked Argus and still lives thousands of years later to tell about it.

"But Velen is a Draenei, they can live for a quarter of a millennium." Wrathion pointed out.

"But more importantly, he's a priest and he takes care of himself and those around him." Kalecgos said, "some Draenei waste away before they reach 100 because of the negligence of themselves much the way humans do."

"What does Anduin being a priest have to do with it?"

"Priests can bring even the old and sickly back into their stronger days, extremely powerful ones can undo the damage done by time if the need arises."

"You think Anduin is that powerful?"

"I think he has the potential to be." Kalecgos thought for a moment before he spoke again, "and if you are getting into it and are worried about it I do know of something that can help perhaps."

"What is it?"

"If a time comes when you are ready to be Anduin's mate then I shall tell you."

Wrathion shot a glance at Kalecgos. "Mate?"

"Humans, in particular, tend to be fond of monogamy. They do not like to share their prizes." Kalecgos explained, "Anduin if he is invested in this as well, is in it for a mate and partner, not someone he loves to sleep around as he pleases."

"We can't even reproduce together what do you mean mate?" Wrathion tried to keep the barb out of his voice but he wasn't sure what Kalec was getting at.

"Humans generally share their lives with their partner, unlike us who have a small harem of consorts, they tend to stay with their partners whether they can reproduce together or not." Wrathion turned this information over in his head a few times. "Besides humans and dragons both are incredibly sexual creatures, whether or not you can bear offspring is irrelevant that the act of mating is something that is likely to happen."

"Wait how...?" Wrathion was struggling to picture that. "We don't have... I'm a dragon and-"

"You would need to stay in human form but yes, it could work." Wrathion still must have looked as confused as he felt because Kalecgos continued, "do you know how humans reproduce?"

"They-" Wrathion scoured his brain. He had never really thought to care about information such as mortal mating rituals before. "The same thing we do, just on a smaller scale?"

Kalecgos shrugged. "Sort of. But they don't do eggs. Now think about how that happens and try and figure out how that would work between two males."

Wrathion had an image rush into his mind. One that shocked him nearly out of the air. Anduin was- "Sounds really painful." Wrathion grunted trying to hide the weird mesh of emotions the image stirred up in him.

"Humans are more clever than you give them credit for." Kalecgos replied lightly.

"But you just told me I'm barely getting to be an adult in size, what if, how does that work? I can't go telling people the prince is sleeping with a dragon whelp."

"No of course not." Kalecgos agreed. "But age in years is a mortal tracking device. Dragons age in maturity and size instead. You were an adult long before yesterday and now your size reflects that."

"I see." Wrathion hummed to himself. "So... you're with a human, right?"

"I've been with humans for a very long time, yes." Kalecgos replied.

"Do you think it's a waste of time?" Wrathion asked the question hounding at him since Nozdormu.

"Not at all." Kalecgos said firmly. "Being with a human forces you to live. Humans spend every day doing things that matter most to them because they don't have the time that we have to sleep for millennia. Every moment matters to them and that's important to remember when dealing with them, even non-romantically. But the important question to ask yourself is, do you think it's a waste of time?"

Chapter 13: Return of the King

A sharp jab to the side brought Anduin into consciousness. 

"Your father wishes to speak with you." Right said once Anduin lifted his head sleepily to acknowledge Right's prodding.

"Uh, okay." Anduin slurred, "I'll be down in a minute." what in the world is dad doing here?

Anduin realize, not only because of the emptiness in his bed but the fact that Right was waking him implied Wrathion had found better things to do.Which hurt Anduin's feelings he had to admit. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, Wrathion and Anduin could have been a thing, found hope and comfort and friendship and happiness with each other. He was wrong it seemed. He forced the thought aside and collected himself, changing into a more presentable clothing choice. Anduin staggered down the steps and, while he shouldn't have been, was surprised at Varian's presence at the table in the center of the ground floor. "Hey, Dad." Anduin greeted cheerfully, hiding his other concerns behind a smile.

"Anduin," Varian replied, his tone was friendly, he was not prone to showing his affections the way Anduin was, but he tried his best. "Come have a seat, tell me how the last days have been."

Anduin sat at the table across from his father. "I've had a lot of fun!" Anduin began without thinking. "We got to go to the Wyrmrest Accord and Wrathion became a full Aspect! It was amazing!"

Varian blinked a few times. "Wrathion is now the Earth Warder?" He sounded like he didn't believe it.

"Yes." Anduin nodded, choosing to leave out his own part of the meeting. He went on for a long time about all his recent adventures, save the ones he knew better than to tell until the sun set behind the mountains.

"I'm glad you've been having fun but listen, we have to go home now, I can't trust the kin of Onyxia with my only son. You know how much you mean to me."

Anduin grimaced at that, he shouldn't have been reluctant to leave the Tavern given Wrathion's seeming abandonment, but he was. "Dad you already agreed to this with him. I know you're worried but I'll be fine. I've cheered up a lot since I got out here. Velen was right."

"Yes but-"

"Dad I'm only going to get worse if I come home now. I love you I promise I do but I need some time to come into myself."

Varian sighed and looked at the ground. "I know things have been tough since your mom passed but-"

"It's gotten worse lately dad, you know how paranoid I was getting before we set this up and honestly I had good reason to be, if Garrosh finds me, I'm dead, there are no more chances, no more taking prisoners with him. He's going to kill me if he gets the chance. Let me stay up here until this calms down and Garrosh is dealt with, then I can come home with you."

"What are we talking about?" A thundering voice rattled the building and Wrathion, in human form, landed neatly on the doorstep. Without a word, or even really a glance at Anduin the dragon came and sat beside the prince at the table. Ignoring how Anduin’s eyes were immediately glued to the dragon, he seemed, different somehow, happier and more confident. Anduin wasn’t even sure if he could call it a facade because of how easily Wrathion carried it.

"So kind of you to join us." Varian deadpanned. "How did your meeting go?"

Meeting? What meeting?

"About the same as all meetings go," Wrathion replied, "has Anduin shown you Jihui? Great game, tells you a lot about your opponent."

"Really? Do you play poker?" Varian asked, a playful glint in his eye

"You don't want to challenge a dragon to poker, you can never read them." Anduin smiled.

"Well true, but yes. I play." Wrathion agreed. "Right would you get me my cards please?" Right handed him the deck of leather-bound cards with gems woven in that served as the number or pattern for the card. "Do either of your friends play?" Wrathion signaled to Genn Graymane outside the tavern.

"Genn does, yes." Varian answered good-natured, "Shaw cheats."

"Can I play?" Anduin asked sheepishly, he had of course seen the adults play the game but had never previously old enough, or driven enough, to play with them, but if Wrathion was going to, maybe the dragon would spare Anduin a glance then.

"Sure." Both men said. "Genn! Come play cards with us!" Varian called out to the Worgen who happily joined the others at the table. Anduin set his hands on either side of him on the bench while Wrathion shuffed and dealt.

Much to Anduin's surprise, just before the game started, Wrathion's unoccupied hand curled around Anduin's on the bench. They exchanged a look and a small smile before the game begun. Out of the corner of his eye Anduin noticed Varian’s eyes had softened and his smile was much more relaxed and genuine.

***

Some hours passed and the royal guard was planning to head out. Anduin with them Anduin assumed due to not having heard anything different from his father. "See you later?" Anduin asked Wrathion quietly at the top of the stairs, wanting to have Wrathion acknowledge him before he began to pack his stuff.

"Absolutely," Wrathion replied, a swift kiss was shared, much to Anduin's surprise before Wrathion vacated the space to allow his guests to move about.

Varian came up the stairs behind Anduin, startling him, he didn't think his father had seen anything but wasn't sure. "Anduin. I thought about what you said." Varian began, "and I will permit you to stay longer."

Anduin felt his eyes light up. "Really?!"

Varian smiled and nodded, "yes, you are the happiest I've seen you since your mother died and... I think we finally found someone you'd be interested in taking as a suitor. Albeit that will be a ways in the future and some negotiations to be had but you remind me of myself when I was young and first starting to fall in love with your mother." Varian lost himself to thought for a moment. "You will have to return home at some point, but I will allow you to stay until Garrosh is dealt with. If you need to come home sooner you need only say so."

Anduin was delighted, "thank you so much, dad!" He didn't even mind that Varian had implied Wrathion and Anduin might be married someday. For now all that mattered was that his father had agreed to let him stay. "You won't regret it!"

"I know I won't," Varian replied, smiling, before turning to Wrathion, who had faded into a dark corner save his glowing red eyes which gave him away. "Thank you, for your hospitality young Wrathion, we will be speaking again soon I should think."

With that, Varian and his troops were gone, leaving Wrathion and Anduin alone at the top of the stairs.

[eponinemylove]

les amis in high school!

okay so this idea came out of nowhere and bodyslammed me in the middle of lunch and it’s my civic duty to now share it with all of you!

Enjolras is... how you say... chaotic. He is either a teacher’s absolute favorite or the bane of their existence, and there is no in between

Despite his alarming number of detentions, referrals, and likewise complaints, principal JVJ never suspends him

superintendent Javert is trying to build a case against JVJ to have him removed from that position bc he suspects that he isn’t handling disciplinary actions appropraitely. It drives him fucking crazy that he can’t because there’s no teachers or staff who have anything bad to say about JVJ, and somehow people in high positions keep... vouching for him?

it shouldn’t be possible for JVJ to have that many convenient friends in just the right place to block the investigation, but he does and they all swear he’s a good honest man and is the only competent principal, ever. also he managed to save their ass one time or another and stopped them from getting fired sooo

ANYWAYS back to the amis

Enjolras is what Javert and the school APs like to call a problem child. He will rage at every injustice he sees, systematic or otherwise, which is to say, a fuckton. He starts protests, organizes walkouts, does sit-ins in the cafeteria, and has exactly 0 qualms about tearing a teacher/administrator a new one

He meets the other amis in detention

Joly is there because an AP saw jbm showing (minimal!! barely any) PDA and lost her fucking shit, screaming about how innapropriate they were being. Musichetta is in it for cussing out the AP right back and demanding that she apologize to her boyfriends. Bossuet is actually there for like 3 different things (one of which is just bc he got way too many tardies and got an automatic detention) but the AP didn’t check and sent him anyways, even though he was already going that day. He’s just always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Combeferre got detention bc he was a sarcastic little shit to a kid and the teacher overhead (the kid deserved it tho). Also he helps Enj organize/conduct the sit-ins and stuff, so he’s guilty by association

Same for Coufreyac, but he’s also too loud/talkative/hyperactive in class and ends up getting in trouble with the teachers

Bahorel and eponine both got in (different) fights that day. Eponine never actually gets detention though so that was pretty much her only interaction with the group

Jehan’s teacher thought he “wasn’t paying attention” in class and being “intentionally unresponsive”. Homeboy was really just overstimulated and couldn’t concentrate properly on the reading, but what can you do

Feuilly absolutely doesn’t deserve to be in detention as much as he is. He’s really tired from work and school and so he misses a couple of assignments and occasionally skips his last class so that he can go home and shower/rest before his shift. That’s literally the only reason he’s in detention. Other than that he’s a great student except for the part where he always joins Enjolras in his demonstrations. No one has caught him yet and connected it, otherwise he’d probably be in detention for that too

Also, Grantaire is just always in detention. He sits in the back and usually doesn’t say much, if anything, to anyone besides Joly, Musichetta, and Bousset. Enj thinks that he has it for the entire year, but he’s not even sure how that’s possible. Enjolras starts a new protest every week and even he hasn’t managed that. He doesn’t ask.

After that key first meeting of everyone in detention, the amis get along way too well and decide to start a “club”. Basically it’s just them meeting after school and complaining about everything the APs and teachers do wrong, strategizing, and organizing their protests. 

The APs refuse to accept their club. Enjolras gets shut down in like .5 seconds

BUT eponine suggests that they take it to JVJ, and so they do. JVJ approves it, and the club stays. They name it Les Amis d’lABC (obv)

Marius accidentally joints the club. Courfreyac has been begging him to come to a meeting and he honestly thinks that it’s SGA. He almost books it as soon as he meets Enjolras, but at this point he’s too embarrassed and so he just decides to join. Enjolras doesn’t like him very much but he’s Courf’s friend and also he’s dating JVJ’s niece, so.

Speaking of, Cosette comes one meeting because Marius does, and oh my god, they love her. Everyone is so confused as to how she’s dating someone like Marius (he’s not that bad!) but they don’t say anything

Seriously though, she’s great. She’s so funny and kind and she’s full of amazing ideas that help their plans. Even Enjolras adores her

Anyways the Amis fuck a bunch of shit up for administration bc they’re not doing their jobs and also the amis all have issues with authority (Javert is pissed)

So at this point y’all are thinking that Enjolras is pretty much a teacher’s worst nightmare, right?

WRONG

It’s Grantaire

Grantaire is infamous among teachers. They tremble at the sight of him. He will start shit just to start shit. It’s amusing to him. He’ll argue with the teachers over anything, the most random shit, and derail the entire class. God help you if he ever gets bored, because that’s when he makes the most mischief.

The thing is though... every time he’s being an asshole and arguing with the teacher about something... he always has a point. That’s the most infuriating part for them

Like, it’s not because he actually cares about the curriculum or policy or loophole that he noticed, because he doesn’t. But he’ll point it out and debate it because he’s antagonistic and this is fun, and he’ll always have valid reasoning and a legit point. Teachers start to think he’s planning this out, but he’s literally not. He just notices all these failings and he strings them together but doesn’t actually say anything about it until he has nothing better to do. And the teachers can’t even really argue because he’s right!! That shouldn’t be happening, or that doesn’t make any sense. Damn it, R, I don’t know why, don’t you talk to Principal ValJean?

When he’s not arguing with teachers, which is rare, he actually gets along pretty good with them. He knows at least 3 by name, and all his teachers call him R. He’s a good student (academically), too. He does amazing in all his classes, excluding math and science (which is basically just Math with explosions), even though he never seems to be paying any attention in class. Like, he’ll literally sleep through a lesson or just completely do his own thing, but he’ll get an A on the test and all his homework gets handed in on time and it’s actually well thought out and written

Most of his teachers hate him, but they can’t do anything about it because he’s right, he’s just really obnoxious. His math and English teacher love him though, and are always talking to him after class and in the halls

Enjolras hears about R a lot, mostly from disgruntled students and staff. He can’t figure out who this kid is but he sounds perfect. He overhead a senior complaining about him in her history class because R called the teacher out for sending a girl home for her ripped jeans. R stood up on the desk wearing the same ripped jeans and went on a rant about how sexist that policy was and how her outfit distracted no one and was not a problem, but the teacher was, and now he was disrupting her education, and he’s a sexist prick, etc etc. Apparently the entire class joined in and nothing got done all period and now they all have 10+ pages of homework and didn’t get the review for the test tomorrow. The teacher agreed to push it back for their period, but R got an automatic F and the senior girl is pissed because now she has 3 tests that day and no time to study and do all the extra homework

Enjolras swoons

He tells the Amis about it after school and Courf laughs so hard he’s wheezing. Everyone is in complete support of R and Enj says something about how they should recruit him for their club

Musichetta says she’ll ask him if he wants to come but Courf said he probably won’t

Enjolras loses his shit because “You guys know him?? Can I meet him???”

Everyone is so confused

“Enj, you’ve met Grantaire. Didn’t you take Spanish with him freshman year or something? And you’re always in detention with him??”

Enjolras feels like the biggest idiot ever because of course R is Grantaire. He’s a dumbass

Meanwhile Grantaire has been harboring the biggest crush on Enj for the last 2 years but Enjolras can’t (seemingly) stand him for the most part and he actually doesn’t get along with him that well so he’s resigned himself to Oh well, I guess I’ll just drool over him in detention

Enjolras just has a killer RBF, he doesn’t hate Grantaire at all and is mortified when he finds out what R had assumed

Anyway Grantaire joins their stupid club even though he doesn’t actually care that much. He argues a lot with Enjolras just to be a dick (poor Enj is so confused bc he knows Grantaire doesn’t agree with the side of the arguement he’s taking so why) but, again, he brings up a couple of good points as annoying as they are

Ok I’m going to stop here let me know if y’all want a part 2

[paprikadevil45]

Happily ever after..? (DD AU - chapter 1)

The sun shined bright down on beach city & little homeworld as four beings laid relaxed under it’s comforting heat, first was Garnet a permafusion of two completely different gems who together made a strong leader and good friend, than there was Amethyst a quartz soldier who unlike the others wasn’t as big or strong but still made up in her own way, after that was Pearl a strong independent gem who fought to be her own person instead of some fancy servant, and finally there was Steven Universe, a half gem half human hybrid who now after saving the galaxy is ready for some relaxation. “I want things to stay exactly like this and never change” Steven said “agreed” Pearl nodded “here here” Amethyst continued “how’s the future look Garnet? Do we all stay just like this forever?” The fusion shifted her visor in response, shortly after her smile quickly faltered and was replaced by a look of concern “No!” puzzled Steven asked why but before he could utter a word a gust of wind blew wildly causing a bit of surprise for him, he got up looking towards the object that was casting the large shadow over the hill looking up he saw a strange injector looking object looming over most of beach city and pointed straight at the hill. Suddenly a silhouette jumped up into his point of view “HEY!” the stranger demanded “are you by any chance Steven Universe?” Steven continued to stand there confused before finally responding “um....yes?” He answered “Excellent” the strange gem said as her fingers twisted among one another appearing to form some kind of horn which she proceeded to blow into loudly, suddenly a pointed drill and legs formed from the bottom of the ship “Move!” Garnet cried ushering the gems to get out of the way of the strange injector, the legs of the ship gripped the sides of the hill before thrusting down upon it the ground rumbling violently as it dug into the ground “Hey! Nice parking job, dingus!” Amethyst yelled out. The gem on top who had been watching the whole time came down landing on the bottom of the strange ship, it was here that Steven was able to get a good look at the stranger, the gem wore a strange dark maroon top which was accompanied by a pointy bow and pointy shoulder pad it was here he noticed that she wasn’t just a gem but a fusion too, she had two pairs of arms, the ones on top had folded up gloves while the ones on the bottom had much more longer gloves on, below that was a pair of poofy shorts and sharp pointed shoes on her back was a cape of sorts and her hair was shaped almost like that of a crescent, the two gems that had apparently made this fusion were a glossy oval shaped one which was located on her naval and the other was inverted heart shaped gem that had multiple facets, he knew the one on below was definitely a pearl but he wasn’t sure what the heart shaped one was. The gem looked up making eye contact with the four gems, her left eye was obscured by hair but the other had a look of utter hatred below it was a wide smile wicked in form so much so it sent a bit of a shiver down Steven’s spine, “well well well well well!” The gem snapped between sadistic giggling “lemme get a lot at this little menagerie, we have here!” Stretching one of her hands and eye into a creepy telescope “obviously your Amethyst” the stranger said looking at the purple gem “which I’m guessing would make you Garnet” saying the same for the fusion “and OOHH!! Would you just look at this” the gem said excitingly as it’s telescope of an eye circled around Pearl “you must be that pearl i’ve heard sooo much about” she said getting a close look at her before the fusion stretched her eye and hand back, “well it’s always good to know that it doesn’t take much to replace me“ the stranger snarled between her teeth “uh..um..d-do...do i know you....?” Pearl stutter out nervously “hmph! Of course she never told you about me” the gem angrily responded “all you need to know is that my name is Cuprite and I plan on an putting end to you, your friends, and this waste of a colony planet ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!” Cuprite yelled “Woah! woah! woah!” Steven stammered running up “there’s no need to do something this extreme” Steven went on “you said that your name was Cuprite right? Well Cuprite in case you haven’t heard I’ve established peace across the-“ “yeah yeah yeah i’ve heard” Cuprite stated loudly interrupting Steven “I saw your little message and i made sure to listen to every. little. DETAIL!!!” Cuprite shouted kicking Steven so hard in the face he fell backwards. The gems summoned their weapons. Amethyst’s pulled out her whip, Pearl her trident, and Garnet’s gauntlets as they braced themselves for battle “and i just love that part near the end” Cuprite said “where Pink diamond just leaves homeworld to spend the rest of her PATHETIC life on this nowhere hunk rock, with a bunch of NOBODIES” Cuprite shouted before hitting ground in semi graceful manner using her stretchy abilities she started singing a something electroswing-like song, but accurately and half-smoothely nonetheless, and just as she deftly followed the melody, she perfectly dodged from every attack from Crystal Gems, Pearl and Amethyst tried to double team her but the fusion dodged both of them as she pulled out a weapon from the gem on her naval it appear to have been a electrical whip of sorts which glowed a threatening pink color as she tangled up both Amethyst and Pearl in her weapon and proceeding to swing them around without fail, it was here that Garnet tried to sneak attack Cuprite but as soon as she got close WHAM! something clocked Garnet right in the jaw it was so sudden not even her future vision could see it in time after hitting the ground in a crumpled heap she looked up to see what hit her the twisted fusion holding another weapon, a large hammer that just like her whip was colored in that threatening pink. After a while of Amethyst and Pearl getting dizzy she released them from her whip in the same direction Garnet went as they landed onto her with full force, Steven tried to help his friends anyway he could but was thrown one curve ball after another, he didn’t understand what was happening “what was she singing about?” “why was she so angry?” “Who is that heart shaped gem and what is she doing with some pearl?” Steven was so confused in his thoughts he wasn’t paying attention to the situation “she’s running circles around us!” Garnet grumbled catching Steven’s attention “i’m rusty give me a break” Amethyst groaned, annoyed because of the situation they we’re in “They seem so familiar, yet I don’t remember where i’ve seen them” Pearl said shakily “You've known each other?” Steven asked “Can you at least tell us who she is?" Unfortunately, their strange guest had good some pretty good hearing because as soon as she herd what Steven said a furious look appeared on her face. Cuprite started screaming from the lighthouse’s roof, surprised by his total ignorance like if it hurt her badly, her voice cracking here and there as she continued to rant, like she was on edge of hysterics. After she was done ranting her mood changed back to her usual twisted personality, she pulled out both her whip and hammer from her two gems she twirled them around for bit until she finally slammed the two weapons together combining into something entirely different, the end result was a long scythe like weapon once her true weapon was out the gem began extending her body all around the Injector ship and the lighthouse stretching her body to a tremendous degree, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl charged towards her as the pink Gem begin unwinding her body. All Steven could do at that moment was watch in horror as his friends were swiftly cut in half by the weapon their forms dissipating as their gems hit the ground with a clinking noise. “That enough!” Steven getting out his shield “aw what’s the matter Steven?” The fusion cooed “miss your toys already, well don’t worry. YOUR RIGHT BEHIND EM!!!” she screamed jumping up and striking down on Steven with her weapon, the attack went right through his shield and slashing him as the pink glowing circuitry spread around his body briefly, until he successfully shaked it off. He looks at his body, seeing that nothing is happening to him, “hahahaha that was nothing” Steven said confidentially. “Hehehe, than i guess you won’t mind if i do it AGAIN!!!!” The fusion cried slashing Steven again, and again, and again, and again, and again with the scythe all the while laughing wickedly, finally Steven was able to catch the weapon stopping her in her tracks “CUT IT OUT!!!” Steven shouted now tussling with the deranged gem “you don't poof very often, do you? Hmm, figured as much JUST WAIT!” Cuprite threatened as her pupils jiggled like googly eyes in her sockets “your human half won't stand a chance against my Injector, not after what I just did to your gem~!” she concluded. Steven was getting confused by this “What are you talking about!?” Steven demanded “You weren't always a powerful hero, were you?” Cuprite answered before letting out one last maniacal laugh, as Steven wrestles control of the weapon and swings it at Cuprite slicing her form in half and poofing her instantly, tired Steven collapses on his knees and shakes off the pink circuitry going through his body, before setting down the weapon and reaching for one of the gems that were left “better bubble you before anything else happens” Steven said bubbling the heart shaped gem, suddenly the bubble popped leaving Steven confused “what?” Steven questioned, he tried to poof the pearl instead but was sadly meet with the same results “where’s my bubble?” Steven stated concern growing in his voice, Steven grabbed the heart shaped gem in his hands so he could better concentrate “come on” a bubble slowly began forming around the gem before popping, as Steven collapses panting heavily feeling more exhausted than anything, confused he lifted up his shirt to see if there was anything wrong with his gem, upon looking he saw a concerning light flickering like a lightbulb in his gem which was rather worrying “what’s going on?”

To be continued....

[galaxae]

3, 7 and 18 for as many as you can answer; btw do you still have an ocs page? like with introductions and all that

wow this took forever oops!

tysm for the ask!! i’ve been meaning to make a carrd or something with oc intros, but i have so goddamn many ocs and so little time now that i’m in college and all that. and i have the code saved from my old pages before i remade, but those are kind of outdated and incomplete

that being said i’m probably gonna end up making that carrd regardless of how busy i am cause special interest indulgence and all that, so i’ll post about it when i do

anyway! i’m putting the actual oc answers under a readmore because i’m gonna try to do all the ocs i listed and it’ll be kinda long lol

3. What does your oc’s voice sound like? (Or, if you have one, what’s their voiceclaim?) Can they sing, whistle, or roll their rs? Do they have any speech impediments or notable dialects/accents?

how does one even describe voices... ok here goes

avani: she’s my character for a ttrpg campaign, so her voice sounds basically like mine (which might not help much cause you don’t know how i talk lol), but when i’m talking as her i pitch my voice up a bit and make it a bit more nasally. she’s not much of a singer, nor can she whistle, but she can roll her r’s pretty well. also, since she’s autistic and hard of hearing, her tone of voice often comes off the "wrong” way

farhan: he’s another ttrpg character i play lol, or at least he will be next semester, so his voice is again kind of like mine. but when i talk as him i pitch my voice down and it’s a bit hoarse. ig his voice would also be more “masculine” than mine but whatever. he can sing and whistle but has a pretty small vocal range (since he’s, like, 13 right now and will be 16 when i rp him next semester)

carter: i imagine his voice as low and on the quiet and raspy end, with a tiny bit of a lisp. he’s way too insecure to try to sing or even whistle or anything like that, though if he practiced at it he’d probably get pretty good

calira: she’s mute so n/a i guess. but she talks pretty formally in her dialect of elvish sign language, which is definitely unusual

sam: they have kind of a low voice that’s also raspy, but with quite a bit of pep and variation in their tone. they can even sing pretty well and they like to whistle constantly while working. that creates some kind of whiplash cause sam comes off as a typical edgy teen a lot of the time

jizoriel: high-pitched with lots of voice cracks, peak pretentious preteen/early teen jerkass. he can’t really sing or do anything similar, nor does he want to very much

victoria: so quiet and raspy that you can barely make out that it’s low and has a soothing and pleasant tone to it. she can sing well, or at least she could once upon a time

rowan: just! the happiest and most cheerful voice you can imagine! so much love behind how she talks! her voice fills up her whole head and the whole room!! and she whistles sometimes while she walks

ace: defies any masculine or feminine labels, smooth and cool in theory but they stutter quite a bit

charity: gruff but with a hint of cheer and clarity behind it that comes out when she’s startled. she loves to sing but can’t whistle and can’t roll her r’s either

jamal: i actually have a voiceclaim for him! it’s this (the voice that sings from 1:51 to 1:58)

kimberly: her voice is a bit high and a bit... idk how to say it exactly... i guess shrill would be the word?

fabián: his voice seems higher-pitched than it actually is cause he talks higher when he’s anxious, and he’s always anxious. it’s a bit hard to describe his voice otherwise tbh. i can hear it in my head but i can’t quite put it to paper oops. oh yeah also he has a great singing voice but never uses it sooo

7. What song reminds you of this oc? Does this match up with the type of music your oc likes to listen to?

this question opens up a wormhole cause i have playlists for many of these guys but instead i’ll just provide one (1) song for each and vaguely describe their music taste, how does that sound

avani: honestly “mr. capgras encounters a secondhand vanity” by will wood is a “her” song to me. her music taste leans a lot more toward older music though (like some classics from the 70s and 80s and such)

farhan: he’s still very new so i haven’t really found a song for him yet. but i know he absolutely loves peppy and energetic pop music and also sappy gay love songs

carter: (slaps my hand away when i try to type another will wood song) “fantasy island” by the shins always launches me into daydreams about him. which kinda roughly aligns with his music taste, he listens to a lot of those “mainstream indie” artists. he’d also listen to will wood because he’s gay and mentally ill <3

calira: one of my favorite songs on her playlist is “maximillian von spee” by dirt poor robins. but the music she listens to is basically all invigorating church-loving stuff with medieval-era instruments lmao

sam: “sometimes” by nick lutsko is an absolute bop and very much a sam song. sam actually doesn’t go out of their way to listen to music though, but when they do they listen to either the most soothing and relaxing stuff or to the angriest metal emo music. no in between

jizoriel: i’ll go the less emo angle here and say a song that reminds me of him is “upside down” by jack johnson. jizoriel’s music taste is like. old choir music and shit plus incomprehensible magical music that doesn’t even sound like music. if he was from earth he’d like my chemical romance

victoria and rowan: i’m grouping these two together here because a song that reminds me very strongly of both of them/their relationship is “human” by dodie. which actually fits very well into both of their music tastes!

ace: again, going the less edgy angle here, “auntie earth” by walter mitty and his makeshift orchestra. but ace mostly listens to uh, classical flute music and flute covers

charity: absolutely “dance and cry” by mother mother, that’s pretty much her theme song. it’s among her favorite songs in canon too

jamal: “tire swing” by los elk, since his arc is about letting go of childhood and all that jazz. he’s more inclined to listen to fun. and other pop artists and rappers and such. he likes janelle monae

kimberly: “best tears” by the happy fits for sure. in terms of her music taste though, her taste is pretty similar to jamal’s. they bond over being janelle monae fans

fabián: by god does “heal” by so much light fit him. his taste is that he rotates through three (3) specific obscure indie artists lmao, so theoretically i guess that specific song is included in there

18. How does your oc see themself? How does this compare to the way other ocs see them?

i am gonna do my best to keep these short cause this is a loaded question for all of them hoo boy

avani: how she sees herself: honestly the worst person alive. unless she spends every moment of her time trying to make up for what she’s done, she’s worthless, and she doesn’t deserve to love herself in any capacity how others see her: her brother (farhan) really looks up to her! most of the time. the superhero team she’s on (other people’s ocs) all think she’s generally smart and capable enough, and her boyfriend in particular thinks she’s incredible

farhan: how he sees himself: as of right now? a misunderstood emo middle schooler who’s still kind of cool i guess how others see him: his sister (avani) thinks he’s quite an impressive and charismatic young man

carter:  how he sees himself: 1/10 awkward and annoying how others see him: carter reminds calira too much of her old self, so she love-hates him. sam thinks he’s weak and cowardly but admires his kindness. and jizoriel clings to him as a caring father figure and loves carter’s passion for natural studies

calira: how she sees herself: it goes back and forth between “i’m the greatest chosen one ever im such a strong warrior” and “wow i’m literal trash why did the gods pick me for this” how others see her: carter is a bit intimidated by her but appreciates her attempts to vibe with him, sam thinks she’s an annoying pretentious self-important bitch (but their opinion softens over time), and jizoriel sees right through her facade and feels comfortable around her because of it

sam:  how they see themself: evil and in need of redemption, kind of similar to avani ig but with 10x more confidence in their skills and also much more violent how others see them: carter knows theyre doing their best even if theyre kind of an asshole, calira is a fan of their strength and determination, and jizoriel Hates Their Guts (at first) because they baby him too much

jizoriel: how he sees himself: a fucking fraud of a prince. all he has going for him is his abilities as a mage, but even then those are shaky how others see him: carter knows he’s very insecure and wants to comfort him, calira admires his magical prowess and noble air, and sam thinks he’s a snarky little pretentious douchebag but also he reminds them of their late brother and they want to protect him at all costs

victoria: how she sees herself: basically dead. only good for interacting with ghosts. not worthy of the human world or of friendship how others see her: she reminds rowan of her old self. rowan sees a glimmer of love and hope in her and wants to bring it out

rowan: how she sees herself: a fucking mess but she’s trying her best and that’s what counts! how others see her: victoria very much appreciates her cheerful air even if she doesn’t act like it

ace: how they see themself: way too weird to be human, way too weak not to be. their self-image changes constantly. theyre very confused about everything please help how others see them: charity is literally dating them lol she thinks theyre the cutest person alive, jamal appreciates how hard they try as a friend, kimberly thinks theyre an alien invader whom she can study and use to get further in life, and fabián knows more about ace than anyone else and loves them for it

charity: how she sees herself: a Teenager who’s struggling. she desperately wants to be young without the burden of her trauma but whether she thinks of herself as emo and sad and angry or not depends a lot on her mood how others see her: ace adores everything about her, jamal loves how cool and fun and sociable she can be, kimberly is annoyed with her rebelliousness, and fabián worries very much for her well-being and can’t shake the image of her as helpless (oops that’s gonna cause some drama)

jamal: how he sees himself: just a chill guy trying to get by. unremarkable. how others see him: ace is grateful for how forgiving he can be but is still terrified of him being angry over [spoilers], charity loves how sociable and fun he is and how protective he can be of his friends, kimberly secretly envies his carefree nature, and fabián sees him as a solid acquaintance to whom he did not give a good first impression

kimberly: how she sees herself: not good! if she can’t grow up fast and do science well then she’s useless how others see her: ace wants to be friends with her but doesn’t know how to do that, charity is annoyed by her rule-bound-ness, jamal thinks she’s cool but should unwind a little, and fabián resents her at first but would still like to play chess with her sometime

fabián: how he sees himself: he has a moral responsibility to help people Or Else. way too anxious and stuck up but he doesn’t know how to change that how others see him: ace fuckin Loves this guy, charity loves him too but she gets pissed when he tries to help her with anything, jamal genuinely thinks he’s a great guy and wants to get to know him better, and kimberly is actually impressed by him and envies his apparent confidence and charisma

ok ok that’s it i promise. sorry this is so long and tysm for reading if you made it this far!! feel free to ask more oc questions literally whenever, that goes for anyone reading this <3

[lena-haloways]

Ranking of the Williams please?

1. Senne - I think there is no suprise for him being my favorite hahah, I just love my boy senne so much. I appreciate his development from s1 when I had no idea he would become my favorite. His development was just so good and he is now among the most liked characters in the wtfock fandom. He loves zoë so much and he is so loving and caring with her. He was so patient with her, he definitely turned out to be the most patient william since zoë is a noora that pushed him away the most times, but also clinged to him the most at the same time. He is so emotional and less afraid to show it than other williams. And he went with her to the police station and encouraged her to turn in his own brother because he knows that is the right thing to do and not even his brother can be excused for something like that. He knows it’s what zoë needs and it’s just one more time that he proved that zoë is his absolute priority and that he will always put her first, like he did everytime. Wtfock even managed to gave us his point of view on a lot of things and when the whole confrontation scene happened, it was probably the first time that the fandom understood his reaction and wasn’t mad. We were emotional for both of them and everyone were so protective of not just zoë, but him too and that was all because wtfock did an amazing job in giving us his perspective too. Also, “I fully support you” is probably the best thing any william has ever said. I stan one supportive boyfriend

2. Edoardo - edo was my favorite since the beginning, he is just SO soft and gentle in general and especially with ele. He always know exactly what she needs, he knows when to give her space and what amount of it, there was so many times in s3 when ele wasn’t in a mood for a kiss or anything physical like that, but just needed a comfort in words or a hug or even something gentle like a touch on the cheek and edo has recognized that everytime. He is so good with her, always know what to do or say. I liked him in the basta scene, when they have a fight, edo understands by himself that ele need space. I think edo also changed a lot in a way that he really recognized his mistakes from s1 and has learnt from them. He says that himself in the date scene when he says to ele “you’re talking about something that happened over a year ago” and admits he was wrong and that he knows that now. Skamit did a really good job in developing him and I’m so grateful for that. He is such a soft perfect boy

3. Alex - he was the first william that people were more liking that disliking. He is so different from s1 alex to me, but I love it. Druck also went deeper in developing him more and showing us more of him. The panic attack being his scene instead of mia’s was possibly the best idea ever. It was so raw and deep and important, and all the praise to chris veres for delivering it the way he did. Not walking away from mia, but listening to her and hearing her when she said she wants to deal with her assaulter by herself was so respectful of him, it’s actually one of the things I love about winterberg the most, just how respectful they are of each other. He didn’t get mad, he decided to trust and listen to her and I loved it. Also, he turned out to be such a goof hahah I just miss him so much  and hope he is having the best time rn. Love him

4. Alejandro - he is maybe higher than I would expect him to be, but that is because I have such high expectations from him and think he could be a very healthy and developed william. He really has so much potential and I have hope skamesp will deliver. They seem to have big plans for norandro, at least I hope that. I know we didn’t see a lot from him yet, but I think he is very soft and maybe he could turned out to be the most like edoardo in that aspect? Idk, but I saw somewhere that someone wrote norandro is like a mini incantava and I just can’t stop thinking about that hahah it made me more excited for them. Also the way he looks at nora is just wow, I watched one too many times the clip where he watches her sing and also “how beautiful you are” scene is sooo adorable, he will probably treat nora like a princess haha I love our pomeranian boy

5. Noah - ohhh noah, he used to be so much higher on my list, but s2 knocked him down a little because of how they handled everything, but I still love this boy, he loves our liv and is such a different and refreshing william that I have no other choice than to love him. Like he went so big to impress our girl liv, remember the confetti scene in s1? Hahahaha that was just so hillarious, but he looked so good omg. He is such a weirdo, I love it

6. William - I will always love the og willhelm, but to be honest, my love for them was so big because of my girl noora. William was such a good boyfriend to noora and the love he had for her was just so big, and I will always love him for that. I wish they went a step further in developing him and that is the only reason he is this low, not because I don’t love him, I do have a lot of love for him being the original one, but because the remakes took him and went further in developing their williams which is why I ended up caring for them more. But, william will always have a special place in my heart, just like the og noorhelm will, and his love for noora will always be so appreciated by me. He was sooo in love. One little smitten boy

7. Daniel - daniel you little softie. To be honest, I didn’t care about him at all in s1, but that is probably because I couldn’t even wacth it, it was sooooo cringey and all the characters were too and daniel was the biggest cliche, quite literally, but in s2 he really stepped out for grace, and he turned out to be SO SOFT. And he is so caring, like a little angel ahhah, he is so invested in grace’s interests and cares so much omg, I really like what they did with him in s2, he is such a cutie

8. Charles - I wish he could go even lower, he turned out to be an awful disaster, I honestly never had much interested or love for him, I always loved manon so that was why I shipped them before, but that will never be the case anymore, he was an asshole to her, didn’t learn anything from his previous mistakes and I will never support someone who said to their sexually assaulted girlfriend that she should sympathize with her assaulter because “he didn’t actually rape you”, that is so disgusting. He is not redeemable anymore, manon deserves so much better and now they are the only noorhelm I do not ship which is such a shame since their actors are acutally dating irl. Someone wrote that it is unbelievable that charles and senne/edo/alex are based on the same character and I agree sm on that, like charles can go and choke honestly

~ask me anything skam/remakes related~

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

Mom told me this morning, with a mix of annoyance and amusement at the absurdity of it, that my brother honestly believes that Mom and I sit around all day! He won’t be convinced out of it. “What do you do just sitting there?”

OMG!!!!

Neither Mom nor I sit around all day! I actually envy people that talk about being bored, just ‘cause in their place I might have time to ....um.... do more things. I constantly try to do three things at once because there just isn’t time. Mom even nags at me to stop because I’m wearing myself out. Just this morning, in the same call , Mom told me to not worry about all I don’t get done. She said  I’m going to be busy until the day I die, and will never get it all done anyway...

Yeah. We just sit around. Sure.

But I guess shouldn’t be suprised. To this day my brother dismisses the family business as not “real” work because Pop was his own boss. 

We worked seven days a week, on holidays, into the wee hours of the morning...but still he considered us doing nothing. Once he and my mother got to go on a trip to Alaska, but Pop and I (the two that planned the trip) had to stay to get a job done. We worked around the clock for a couple of week that hot summer, sleep and meals dictated by how long a layup would take to gel. (It was a fiberglassing business, to explain the terminology there). Years later  as Pop was in chemo he was still working in the shop whenever he could walk. As he lay dying I was finishing that last job alone. 

Yeah, we were sooo lazy. Gah!

Maybe if my brother would have helped out he would have understood better, but he never had patience with us. If you needed him you best wait until the last second, because if he had to wait five minutes while you adjusted something he would go into a rant. He’d screech about us taking too long and that we were wasting his time. He’d start in with “just” statements, because despite being clueless, he clearly knew better than us how to do thing. He also was quite vocal about anything dirty, messy, or smelly...which kinda sums up a lot ofour work. He made it so miserable to work with him that we tried to avoid needing to ever ask him. So to be generous, maybe he was too absorbed in his gaming to notice how hard we worked.

But to be honest, people generally tend not to see how hard others work. Mom’s neighbors notice after Mom’s stroke that the lawn was going  “too long” between being mowed, and call us lazy behind out back. The tree on the side of the house I’m trying to do something about, the ramp I had to deal with at my house, the ramp I need to put in at Mom’s, the floors I have to shore somehow, the hole that tree poked in Mom’s roof, the hand rails I have to install in a bathroom with rotten walls, the tons of stuff I have to move, the animals that need tending..... All that and dozens of other things I am trying to do single handedly don’t “count” because they don’t see me doing them. But the grass being a quarter inch longer than the lawn next door proves I do “nothing”.

I suppose the trick is to make a show of obvious things, to be seen right in front of them to be laboring past the line of sanity in this heat. It doesn’t matter if it is the least important task on your list or it’s the easiest of chores. If someone sees you doing it, then and only the. you have done something. Meanwhile you can work until your hands literally bleed and you are still thought of as lazy if no one is watching. 

People say “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well, obviously, hell yeah! Just because something is unobserved doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen! 

Right now though I totally relate to a fallen tree. I’m down. I know I’m never gonna get back up again (bit I keep trying). And folks are debating whether my fall is real because they weren’t around to hear me scream.

***sigh***

Bad enough to have people that don’t really know me at all assume I’m lazy. But my brother? Every time I think his opinion of me couldn’t be lower, it turns out it’s somuch worse. 

Oh well, my brother still thinks our father worthless and lazy for not finishing that house extension for him. The fact he failed to finish it because of pancreatic cancer and death doesn’t gain Pop any forgiveness from my brother. Apparently he constantly lists to Mom my father’s faults (which can be summed up as too much to do, too little time, and a tendency to seem “chaotic” to an order obsessive) as if they were slights against my brother. He grumbles that he “hated but loved” Pop for being a disappointment**. 

Pop and I were alike enough it’s hardly shocking he “hates” me too, just without the “love” part. He always made that clear. he’d say to Pop “I love and hate you” then turn to me and say “I just hate you.”

Still, I may be worthless but I work very hard damn it!!!!! I’d like at least a bit of credit for that.

Sorry. I’m just really, really tired today. Among other things I worked on, I spent two hours filing down pins for the door hinges only to find I’d gotten end of the ramp 1/4″ too high to put the door back on. I’m sore and frustrated amd dodn’t get “lunch” until 8:30pm. Being thought of as lazy and sitting around all day REALLY  ticked me off.....

**The disappointment thing seems tied to his expectations of us. If Pop had ever gotten to take the “Big Boat” on the round the world trip and I had gotten a PhD in astrophysics would that have been enough? Probably not. I expect whatever we achieved his expectations would have notched higher... 

[flandesuka]

Yo you should answer all of these scene questions👀👀

:OOO

you think so lad???? shit dawg i was thinkin just a few at a time but if that what u want my dear nonnie i will supply

1. wats ur scene name?

i was thinkin maybe ‘gods mistake’ would be a good one but then. i found a way to make it both danganronpa related, and, even better, a fucking pun as well. ‘kamukura kamukura jasqueen’, or just ‘kamukura jasqueen’ for short is good k thxxx

2. describe ur dream outfit!

oooo gosh this ones trickyy!! there are so many good outfits out there, especially in the scene community!! but it’d have to have a few tiny elements of dr cosplay to add a lil of my dangan-weeb culture in there ofc! more specifically, id really love to get one of kazuichis jumpsuit and just wig out and add shit like this just because i could:

(id just rlly love going out in all those glowy/shiny things at night like all that haha..and yes the shoes would probably kill me/my fuckin feet if i tried to walk in them but shut up i love them theyre cute as fuck)

3. describe ur dream haircut!

oo another tricky one!! i do like my regular hair, and honestly id be lying if i said i didnt love ibuki’s hairdo too but id defs have to go with something like this!!

yaaaassss, so pretty and spikeeeey! maybe id dye my natural hair colour black and/or add some funky colours if i ever actually got this style down!

4. describe ur dream room!

i have a lot of ideas for dream bedrooms actually, but heres a visual image of one of them i found!!!

MIKU ROOM MIKU ROOM MIKU ROOM MIKU ROOM

(this specific idea arose mainly just for the aesthetic but i also find it super cute and a good environment to be in general hhhnnggg)

5. if u could make anything out of kandi, wat would u make?

oh you mean those colourful beads and bracelet things??? i love those man!!! theyre so visually appealing to me aaaaa…id probably just make a fuck-ton of those and most probably use the little letter beads to say random words/phrases like ‘aubergine’ and ‘despacito’ knowing my shitposter self lmaooo! id definitely make a sansmaeda themed one too thoo fr

6. wat would u write on ur shoez?

it’d probably range from things like a simple kaomoji doodle to something randum and stupid like ‘seesaw’ bc yes asjnd

7. wat kinda piercingz/tattooz do u hav/want?

i dont think i rlly want any real piercings (at least not atm) but id totally go for those fake stick-on gemstone lookin’ ones! and as for tattoos, i cant rlly see myself gettin one of those rn either, but id want something like a mario power-up, preferably the bell one/cat suit powerup!!! its my favorite powerup and its sooo cute!!!

8. fave genrez?

i dont rlly have a specific genre, i like most kinds of music, but i rlly like energetic music that i can dance tooo!!! >w

9. fave bandz?

im a big fan of gorillaz and botdf!!! i like p!atd as well but havent listened to it in a while.. gatta catch up loool

10. fave songz?

my favs alternate a lot, but atm im super into ‘slow dancing in the dark’ by joji!!! so much emotiooon quq…also rlly hooked on botdf and jefree star’s ‘sexting’ tooo lmaooo

11. fave lyricz?

‘The world keeps spinning Among this sinning Oh what a cruel and disgusting place The purest moonlight Is bloodied by plight And screaming resonants But somehow I know That it’s all for show The world will reveal it’s true beauty soon And we’ll all reach towards the moon ‘

its so deep but its from a fucking kaito momota fansong and i love that asnkjdnefe

12. hav u evr been to a concert?

not in a damn long while my lad,, rip australians not havin many artists they like from other countries tour there ;-;

13. do u wanna be in a band?

ive always thought thatd be pretty cool ngl!!! tourin around with ur bandmate friends, makin awesome fuckin tunes, people lovin u and ur music, just livin the dream in general,, nice

14. wats da best soda/energy drink flavour?

havent rlly had any as of rn  my lad so i wouldnt know :/

15. wat do u miss most abt old internet?

i loved that we could all just be ourselves and act like the kids we are inside without bein reprimanded at all.. it aint rlly that much of an issue for me but i still think itd be a lot nicer if it was like that again sometimes,,

16. wats da best old meme?

ooohhh there are so many i still miss man! numa numa ermagerd and doge still remind me of the glory days…when old animeme was good and you could still haz ur cheezburgers in peace. also rage comics! rage comics were good what happened

17. best place 2 buy clothez?

i dont think theres any hot topics in australia but if there is. i will hunt it down you hear me

18. wat r ur fave accessoriez?

OH THERES SO MANY GOOD ONES??? as i stated b4 i rly love kandi bracelets and other glowy/led things!!! also rlly love ties with cute and fun patterns and long colourful and/or ripped socks like ibuki’s too hehe

19. wats ur best tip fr ppl that just got into scenecore?

im not rlly the best at advice, but my main point would be-just hav fun here dudes!!! dont let anyone else bulli u abt it, we’re supportive people, u can talk to me or anyone else whos willin to listen an/or help for reassurance ofc

20. opinion on furbiez?

oOH MY GOD YES. FURBIES. MY BABIES I WANT 10 OF THESE CHILDREN…I ACTUALLY HAVE A FURBY HE LIKES SLEEPING IN HIS SPECIAL DRAWER AND HIS NAME IS TINGLE I ADORE HIM I’LL POST A OF PICTURE LATER MAYBE

21. opinion on funko popz?

i like em and ive seen lots at eb games, but i dont buy em much..i do have a megaman pop with a broken arm tho loool

22. wats ur fave pattern? (zebra/leopard print etc)

i looove a lot of patterns but not gonna lie im always a sucker for rainbow checkerboard patterns yknow hehe!

23. fave color combo?

i dont have one rlly…soooo many possible comboooos…cx

24. sumthing u liked as a kid dat u still like?

im still going on girlsgogames and recently, ive finally mastered sues beauty machine!!!! its so good and fun all of ya’ll should try it my dudeeees

25. wats ur most used emoticon? 0w0

as most of ya’ll probs alredy know i spam ‘:O’ a lot, but one of my bigger favs is actually ‘x3′ and my fav kaomoji is ‘ଘ(੭ˊ꒳​ˋ)੭✧’ (both of them are so kyooot >w

26. wats ur fav typin quirk?

i luv talkin like dis, but i dont rly do it that often loool…i awso wuv tawking in ‘owo’ speak wike dis >//w//>

27. do u wish ur fllwrz talked 2 u moar?

hellz yeaaa!!! i luv followr interaction my dudee! it makes me super happi when u all talk to me heehee! x3c

28. tag ur fave scene blawgz!

:O !!! oh gawd!!! i dont know many atm but heeereee!

@xxadam-antidotexx (op of the ask meme)

@glitchkichi (not sure if this counts but their stuff’s rlly cool >v

@otonashi-banana (scene boyf…wuv im more than anythin >///w///>

29. wat got u into scenecore?

i dont remember exactly how it happened but i’d always sorta wanted to go back to the glory days that was the old web and the scene era, and that, coupled with a bright, colourful aesthetic that i could really enjoy, drew me in like a moth to a neon colored flame ig looollll

30. how long hav u been scene?

i’ve only been officially apart of the community for about a few months now (at time of writing) i reckon so some things are still a lil new to me ig ^^;;

31. wats da best thing abt being scene?

the freedom of bein able to express myself 4 one thing, and its just so fun being so ‘out-there’ yknow???? it feels so great really

32. do u hav a fursona?

i…actually used to but ive moved on from the furry fandom and ive grown more attached to my human sona anyway sooo :/

33. r u in sum “cringy” fandomz?

YEA man!! i dont rlly think dr is inherently considered ‘cringey’ but undertale is and im in that one for sure!!! i also kinda technically never left the skylanders fandom(?) so theres that too ig??? oh yeah and who wants to let me draw my old moshi monsters characters COWARDS

34. do u liek plushiez?

YASSSS QUEEEN!!!! i have HEAPS of them in my room on my desk with my gonta shrine

35. do u liek stickerz?

also a big yaaassss from me dawggg!!! i love them and i love those ones that you stick on your fase like this!

its so cuuute!!!

36. do u hav a friendproject?

i dont, not at the moment a least, actually! didnt even know what it was til recently but it looks kewl haha

37. do u hav any other scene account?

well, i haz this one, and i also have an emowire account for shuichi if that counts!!

38. do u make art? (drawingz, blingeez, etc.)

YES!!! i love to draw and i also make blingee edits sometimes!!! ITS SO FUN XD !!!

39. wats da most scene thing? (anything!)

hmmm, weeell…i think the most stereotyped thing would be that kewl, suuuper big hair like this;

its really prettyyyy, and i love all that colouuur!!!

40. ask ur own randum question!!

hm, oh wowie, since the anon didnt specifically ask this one…POTATOES!!! X3

phew, finally done, that was a lot of typing! this was so fun to do though, so thank u nonnie!!! :3

[revengehurts]

15. Merlin

Explanation:

I absolutely love the BBC show Merlin, it's sooo good. Rewatching it, however, and catching all those little hints about the Great Purge and the events leading up to and during it, I started wondering about all the other kingdoms mentioned in the show and why they were so anti-magic.

As far as I'm aware, the Great Purge started after Uther asked Nimueh for magical help to conceive an heir since the queen was barren. She told him the price would be a life so there would be balance, but he didn't understand or she didn't clarify that it was his wife who would die from this magic. Feeling tricked, he declared and began to see magic as evil and, thus, started the Great Purge. Up to this time magic supposedly had been free and plentiful among the people with many of the older members of the kingdom once having it or been close to someone who used it (i.e Gaius and all his old friends).

Because the Great Purge had essentially been started on a personal vendetta, I wondered how the other kingdoms were convinced to partake in this (for all intents and purposes) brutal and bloody genocide. Did they already hate magic and Uther was the hold out or did he have to convince them to continue the Purge in their own lands (I can't imagine it was easy to convince a ruler he needed to slaughter his own people)?

Whatever the case, I can't imagine there still aren't one or two (or several) kingdoms that still allow magic and are prosperous (i.e. not Cenred's kingdom), whether they hide this freedom or not. Or at the very least, there are many, many magical sympathizers in high places all around Albion.

Additionally, we all know Cenred is a ruthless and, quite frankly terrible, king so I also find it hard to believe that no one has ever tried to revolt or overthrow him. And in a land where magic is not illegal in the least, it would have a fairly decent chance of success (again: totally inept ruler, probably couldn't defend against an attack by his own people very well).

Prompt:

Cenred's kingdom is overthrown and under new leadership: a young (like 16 young, an actual child compared to other rulers), brazen queen who uses magic like it's second nature (it is). She is talented in magic (can be very or moderate, but does possess a good grasp on it) and terrifyingly cunning and smart. Having taken over the kingdom in a successful peasant revolt she led, she goes about fixing the problems of the kingdom in an often roundabout but very effective manner until she comes to the issue of foreign relations. Once she stabilizes the economy and leadership enough that it is no longer on the brink of collapse (as it was under Cenred's rule), she reaches out to other kingdoms and offers an alliance, especially the ones Cenred was on poor terms with before. The biggest of these is (you guessed it): Camelot.

Things to Include/Address:

- Can be during Uther's reign or Arthur's (I think Uther would be more fun, personally, just because you'd get to describe his reactions to this bull-headed queen who wants peace but practices magic (I mean he's so stubborn but tries to be good, I feel like it'd be hilarious to see the interactions)

- If you do Arthur's you can just pretend that Lot doesn't exist or that he was overthrown instead

- All of Camelot is soo confused when they get word of the revolt and the new leadership and think it must be false (no mere girl (not even a woman) could lead a revolt and a country) and are very surprised by the offer of peace and the Queen herself OR they don't hear about it at all and are super confused when the letter for a peace treaty comes in, followed by a young girl they've never heard of

- The Queen recognizes Merlin as Emrys and is very confused and slightly (really) amused at him being a servant in a kingdom that states that magic is illegal

- If he has to serve her during a banquet or something it would be fun to see her having a mental conversation with him and not showing it at all (keeping coversation up with the other guests/king, eating and drinking, smiling, etc) while he attempts not to react or spill anything while she says some really funny or sarcastic things/commentary on the other guests/etc (I imagine her to have a really dry, sarcastic wit and sense of humor (so not stupid, childish jokes))

- You could also do that she recognizes him because she is from Ealdor (which was in Cenred's kingdom, remember) and he babysat her or something when she was little

- During the peace talks they get through the no fighting each other/trade/financial/etc and Uther/Arthur brings up magic and the extradition of sorcerers/aid in hunting them/what punishment they prefer (ex: beheading or the pyre or an arrow, etc) and she gets indignant and cooly angry (again I see her as very controlled and logical) stating something like "I think there has been a misunderstanding. I do not intend to make magic illegal in my kingdom; it shall stay free as it always has been there. In fact, I practice magic myself." and while everyone is in shock and the guards are called to arrest her, etc she raises her hands "However, in accordance with your laws and respect to you and your people, I have not practiced magic since I stepped a single foot over the border of your kingdom, nor have I brought any magical items with me. What happens in my own kingdom, though, is, quite frankly, not your concern nor right to punish." and basically just (civilly and calmly) rips them to shreds

- No one knows how to deal with her and alternate between expecting her to be super ignorant of everything (because she was a commoner and half of them can't even read much less know proper etiquette) and being so surprised when she acts with all the grace of a natural born queen and even knows more than them about several topics AND forgetting that she was, in fact, a commoner at one point and is, thus, very independent and hardworking and knows how to do things all the knights and kings don't and, while she knows all the proper formalities, doesn't much care if someone (like the serving staff or something accidentally) forgoes those formalities (basically they're so surprised by how down to earth and chill she can be)

*The point of this prompt was basically to see Camelot (especially its royalty) struggling with the idea that all magic is evil, but not having jurisdiction in other countries and wanting peace (ie: they could excuse fighting magic in Cenred’s kingdom before because he was an evil and terrible ruler, but now they have no excuse and aren’t sure what to do because they don’t want to cooperate with a sorcerer at first but don’t want to rashly declare war either)

*** I got a lot of my inspiration from her character from Soo-Wan from the anime Yona of the Dawn (i.e. the cunning, roundabout measures, down to earth, very knowledgeable, etc) ***

[supermusicallee]

Sooo, I just watched Endgame for the fourth time and I feel like I have finally articulated some of my thoughts to share.

First of all, if we want, we can nitpick this movie all day long -- with all that time travel and different timelines, there are a lot we don’t understand; however, nothing would change the fact that this movie is epic. It is. At least for our generation for sure, nothing like this will ever come.

I get why some are not happy with Thor. But saying that he’s got turned into a joke is not really right. Guys, no one was fat-shaming. If you laugh when he’s shown with that beer-belly that’s on you. What they want us to see is that he is still worthy. He is depressed, having panic attacks, not in shape as he used to be, he thinks he is useless but he’s still worthy, and I think this is a great message. (Not gonna lie, at first I was like “wth what have u done to him?!” too, but if u really listen to him, u can see that he’s just at the rock bottom. So, he’s silly? Let him be, the man has been through more than anyone and still standing. That’s a strength.)

I know we haven’t seen much of her (I really hope that I change my mind in the future) but all that hype around Captain Marvel being the strongest --not actually hype, she is said to be the strongest by the studio itself I know, but I never got the feeling that wow here she comes. I don't want anyone to tell us that Carol is the strongest, I want to s e e it. Like I saw Thor being the strongest, Wanda being the strongest.

I guess my only real complaint is that Natasha seemed to be just --gone? I would love to see her in the final battle, I know someone had to die for the soul stone and it kind of fulfilled her wish,, then I would really really love them to at least have a little gathering in her memory? Idk I’m not talking about a big funeral I know that wouldn’t be the case anyways++

?? Okay, this is just an honest question and I‘d appreciate if someone answers: If Gamora from 2014 can come to 2023, then why can’t Natasha from let’s say 2022? ++

?? “Soul for a soul”, so when Steve put the soul stone back, doesn’t it mean that now the stone owes him a soul?

For what I’m about to say, you’re all going to hate me,, but it’s not like I’ve never been hated so here we go: That scene where all the women got together? It made me cringe. There, I said it. I’m sorrysorrysorry I know it’s like “wow nothing will ever make u happy will it?!” But think about it, there is this whole fight going on against probably the biggest army in the universe, and somehow a l l main woman characters congregate,, and among them, we have two of the strongest characters we have (Wanda and Carol). This is not,, being woke? Or not empowering? Not really. It would be cool if Carol starts running and the women exchange the gauntlet (like Clint and T’Challa do. I think it would give the feeling that women are trusting one another, they depend on each other. But no. We need all women in one (1) shot because that is empowering. It felt like moviemoviemoviestopscenetomakefeministshappymoviemoviemovie. It felt forced. What I like about that scene is that all those awesome women were protecting the strongest person on their team, and Carol didn’t just fly away, they moved together.

THE SCENE WHERE EVERYONE COMES BACK FROM THE SOUL STONE!!!!! Oh. My. God. That scene itself is enough to say that okay this is The Best. I get chills just by thinking it. That “Avengers...Assemble!” is the reason I’m living. Oh my goodness, believe me when I say I was shaking throughout the whole battle. It. Was. Fantastic. Don’t even get me started on that wide shot of Steve standing on his own against the whole freaking army.

oH LET’S HEAR IT FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA!

Sam Wilson you deserve it so bad and I promise I’m with you ‘till the end of the line.

[khadij-al-kubra]

Useless

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Pairing: Belial/Emile (can be seen as romantic or platonic) 

Characters: Belial, Emile, Virgil, Thomas.

Author’s Note: This fanfic oneshot is based off of the wonderful “Illumination AU” created by @altruistic-skittles. The story itself is my own original idea, but the concept of soulmarks, the characters, and world writhing are her territory. So kindly go read her work as well. Seriously, it’s awesome. Hope you enjoy my story and as always feel free to leave a comment in the messages or reply if you have any notes or constructive critiques. I’m always open to writing advice.

              *    *    *

Belial stifled a yawn as he walked over the the Heart & Soul Cafe. You’d think he’d be used to these 8am Tuesday therapy sessions by now, but it had been a late night performing his tricks and he didn’t sleep so great in general. At least the money he’d made was pretty good. He was really starting to get some popularity for his magic tricks.

No doubt Emile, his therapist and apparent soulmate (another thing he still wasn’t used to), would be chipper as ever. Sometimes he wondered if the man wasn’t actually a cartoon character come to life. Still, Belial supposed he shouldn’t complain. Dr. Emile Picani was good at his job, He could even handle a hopeless case like him. Now Belial had progressed to only sometimes lying compulsively. ‘What a real improvement’ he thought as he walked through the doors of the cafe.

“Oh great,” groaned the familiar voice of his ex from behind the coffee counter.

“Always a pleasure seeing you too Virgil,” he said, venomous sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “Are those new bags under your eyes?”

Virgil responded with a growl and a glare combo. He only eased up when Thomas placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Easy Virge, he’s not worth it,” said Thomas.

Belial smirked and headed to the corner office at the back. ‘Not worth it.’ Of course he wasn’t . Belial was never worth it to anyone. But he hated to admit how much it stung to see Virgil, someone he once loved, relying on someone other than him. Not to mention Virgil now had three soulmates . Three! Well, at least Belial could say he (by some miracle) had a soulmate of his own, platonic or otherwise. The jury was still out (not that he cared). A fact he still couldn’t wrap his head around. Emile was the complete opposite of him. Good and honest in all the ways he wasn’t. And sure, it was clear from their sessions how the doctor would be someone Belial was destined to rely on or need to some degree...on a professional level of course. Yet he couldn’t fathom how he himself would possibly be someone for Emile to lean on when times got hard. What use was he to someone so put together?

He was at the door to the office now, but to his surprise it was already ajar. No knocking needed. What was even more odd is that there was none of the usual ambient music playing. And Belial could’ve sworn he heard a muffled sob from the other side. Before he could think better of it Belial went inside. He was not prepared for the chaos he was. Couch pillows were torn and knocked to the floor, stuffing spewing from the fabric wounds. The tiny waterfall lay cracked on its side. Papers, pencils and pens were scattered everywhere, and even one of Emile’s favorite cartoon posters was torn half hanging off the pastel blue wall. Worst of all though was the sight of the normally Happy Doc (damn, Emile’s humor was rubbing off on him) sitting on the couch, bent over with a hand covering his face as silent sobs shook his shoulders. Even his hair was messy like it had been tugged at and his signature pink tie askew.

Belial’s own facial soulmark ached at the sight. He didn’t know what to do. So he just awkwardly cleared his throat. Emile jerked up, putting his glasses back on. The soulmark around his eyes glowed green, matching the therapist’s emerald eyes perfectly. But they were so sad. That sadness didn’t belong there.

“Oh, Belial. I didn’t here you come in,” he said with a smile. Belial knew a fake smile when he saw one. 

“Yeah, I’m here for my session.”

“Of course! Right...Now’s not a good uh...I’m sorry. Let me just tidy up a bit, then we can...get started.”

Emile started to pick up papers around him and set them on the table. He moved painfully slow, not even getting up from his seat. Belial signed and sat across form the therapist. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sooo what happened in here?” he asked.

Emile sighed. “I happened. I guess you could say i sort of went Tasmanian Devil on the place.”

Didn’t see that coming. Frankly, Belial didn’t think the man had a rage filled vein in his body. Well, he supposed even therapists were entitled to a bad day once in a while. Of course it had to be on his session day.

“You? If anything you’re usually more of a Tweety Bird.” Shit. Another one. Worst of all, his slip of the tongue reference didn’t even get a chuckle out of the cartoon enthusiast.  Not a good sign.

“Yes, well, i uh...got some bad new this morning and well,” Emile waved at the mess around him.

“Are you okay?” he asked on instinct. Hopefully Emile didn’t catch the tone of sincere concern in his voice.

“Oh i’m alright. Its...” he taked a long breath, “It was a patient of mine. She’d been coming to see me for some time now. Early this morning I got a call from her father that she...passed away a few days ago.”

Oh shit. “I’m...sorry. How...how did it happen?”

“...She happened.”

“Oh...” Really? Oh? That’s the best he could think to say in this situation? It’s not like he couldn’t sympathize. Belial remembered form his time with Virgil how hard someone could struggle with fighting mental demons like that. Hell, there had been times when he’d even entertained the idea. Those were his darker times when he’d felt the most worthless...Things got better after he could afford to move out of his mother’s house. To actually go through with it though, even with a therapist like Emile trying to help you... A hollow laugh bright Belial back from his thoughts.

“And I thought we were really making progress. I-I thought she was getting better. How did I not see? It’s my job to see! I should’ve--” He took off his glasses again as fresh tears fell from his eyes. “I could’ve done more!”

Belial would never admit how much it killed him inside to watch Emile hunch over wracked with sobs, In the past few months of therapy with him, of time spent in and out of the Heart & Soul Cafe, Belial had begun to feel more than he had in a long time. And his didn’t know what to do with it all.

What could he do now? He didn’t have Logan’s tact of Patton’s sensitivity. All he had up his sleeve was-- 

“Wanna see a trick Emile?” he asked, grabbing a blank scrap of paper and a pencil from the floor.

“I really don’t feel in the mood,” said Emile, pausing in his hiccuped cries for a few seconds.

“Trust me, it’s a good one,” he said as he drew a rough picture of a spoon on the paper.

Actually this was one of the more difficult tricks in his arsenal of illusions. He’s only been able to pull it off twice before among numerous tries. But if it worked now, it was sure to amaze Emile and maybe even cheer him up a little. It would be worth it.

“If you must blink, do it now,” The Kubo reference coax a small smile out of Emile. “Watch closely.”

He swiped a hand over the picture, holding the paper by a corner. Then he began to gradually pinch the handle of the spoon picture. Belial watched the grown man’s face change from sorrow to awe as he saw the spoon bend while the paper itself remained smooth. Seriously, he could almost glimpse what Emile looked like as a child.

“wha-what the heck-that’s so cool! How’d you do that?”

“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Yep. the thrill of amazing people with his magic never got old. “And for my grand finale...”

He crumpled the paper in his hands and then held them both up, fingers spread open to reveal that the paper had disappeared. Lastly he reached behind Emile’s ear and pulled out a soft yellow hankerchief. He felt a sense of pride at hearing Emile laugh and clap.

“Now blow,” he said, offering the hankie.”

Emile thanked him as he took the small cloth, giving it a loud elephant like blow. He wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands and put the glasses back on.

“Look, said Belial, “I get why you took the news so hard. I’m sure you did as much as you could for her, but it’s not your fault that she...ran out of strength to keep fighting. You can’t save everyone, and it’s not your responsibility to.”

Emile looked into his eyes with those emerald ones. “Then what use am I?”

Hearing that broken tone in his voice, that kind of question, coming from such a kind, patient, and selfless person like Emile felt like a punch in Belial’s heart. (Well, if he had a heart) He understood better than anyone what it felt like to be worthless...useless.

He was, but Emile definitely was not!

“I could easily lie and say that you’re the best therapist in the world and can save someone the next time. But I wont, because I don’t know that for sure.” He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “But you are the best I know, and from what Ive seen a lot of others think the same. I mean come on, if you haven’t given up on a broken mess like me yet-don’t talk, just listen-then you probably won’t give up on anyone else either. You put your all into what you do and actually give a damn about people. Make them feel like they’re worth something. That gives them a reason to...hope...and that can mean more than anything. So you Emile Picani are not useless.”

Phew that was a lot! Maya wasn’t nearly this much work. He tried to be as honest as possible (not an easy feat).  Was that the right thing to say? No clue. Could he have phrased it all better? Probably. Emile half shrugged in response for crying out loud. .At the very least he wasn’t calling himself useless anymore, but he was still clearly upset.What else could he do? He thought back to how he’d try to comfort Virgil during anxiety attacks. Belial took a deep breath and placed a hand on Emile’s shoulder, giving it a gently squeeze.

Belial did not expect the man to lean forward. He didn’t expect him to bury his teary face into his shoulder. And he definitely didn't expect his chest to skip a beat the way it did. He caught the glow of his own yellow soulmakr reflected in the doctor’s glasses. Belial was terrified of making a wrong move, but he let instinct take over and hesitantly wrapped his arms over Emile’s back. He made soothing stroked as his soulmate got out the last of his silent sobs.

After who knows how many minutes, Emile Stopped shaking and with a shuddered breath he finally sat back up. Belial was sorry or the loss of contact.

“Thanks Belial.” The smile on his face was finally devoid of melancholy.

“Don’t mention it. I’m so glad to have used up my therapy session time this way,” he said. Emile just laughed.

“I am sorry about that. I’ll be sure to make up for the missed time next session.” Emile looked around at the state of his office with a sigh. Seriously. It was a mess. “I really should clean up in here before my next appointment. It’s not till noon, but still. Elliot is rather punctual.”

Typical Emile. Thinking of others even after having an emotional meltdown. It was far too pitiful for Belial to allow.

“Better Idea: You leave the cleaning for later and I take you to get some ice cream now,” he said.

“You really don’t have to,” said Emile.

“Of course I do. Didn’t you know? Ice cream is the cornerstone of any healthy breakfast.” He was unable to hide the smirk that ghosted his face at hearing Emile’s full laughter for the first time all day.

“I’d like that,” Emile said, holding open the door for both of them.

“But it’s only fair that you buy, given that I lost therapy time.”

“Nice try Mr. Banks. I’m the one who needs chim-chim-chima-cheering up. We can go halvsies.”

“Oh fine.” Belial put his hat back on and followed him out.

As they exited the cafe and walked down the block, he caught the low hum of a Disney song (Mary Poppins maybe?) coming from the therapist. Well what do you know? He’d actually been able to be there for his soulmate in some small way. This time, Belial allowed himself to indulge in a genuine smile.

Maybe neither of them was useless after all.