#also she paints his name pink and kills herself w blue paint as someone on reddit mentioned

[the-acid-pear]

Beau Issac Wasserman, in my eyes, has a lot of tboy swag. How so? Well, that's a secret 🥰 <- too stressed to write a coherent post

[alpaca-writes]

Mystics, Chapter 25

When Arch becomes hired on at Mystics by the strange shopkeeper Lyrem Nomadus, everything seems to be going well- in fact, their life nearly becomes perfection. Soon enough, however, Arch realizes that perhaps not everything is as perfect as it seems….

Read Chapters 1-24 and more HERE

Taglist: @myst-in-the-mirror, @livingforthewhump

CW: Crying baby and darkness, drug mention and grief. That is all.

It’s Labyrinth time! We catch up with Charlotte and Arthur as they make a very startling and disturbing revelation.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: POOR THING

         “I wandered for… Oh… I don’t even know how long. Wishing I could be home again- feeling so guilty for how I treated Arch… Thinking about you as well- I mean, I forgot you, Arty! How does a sister forget her little brother overnight- and for months!?”

        “It’s not your fault, really.” Arthur said, “besides, with the way we left things, I wouldn’t blame you for wanting me gone.”

        There was an island countertop dividing them that Charlotte stared up at him from. An amount of betrayal crossed her browbone.

        “How could you think that? I still care about you. I always have! But what I did, I did for Arch. It wasn’t safe for them to be around you when…”

        “When I was high? Or when I was dealing?” Arthur finished, admittedly. “Well, I guess that’s one gift that came from this terrifying place. There’s no coke in hell. It forced me to get clean and gave me a clear head… I suppose I should have thanked Lyrem before…”

        He sighed, “not that it matters much now.”

        There was a bout of silence.

        “There’s a baby here,” he continued, shooting his sister a look to indicate that she ought to elaborate for him.

        “Yes. Rosanna, I think is her name. At some point during my aimless wandering, I came upon the house, and the light, and… her.” She pointed her eyes to the ceiling. “She was all alone, and crying. Poor thing. I have no idea how long she’s been here.”

        “You have everything you need,” Arthur commented, sitting up from the stool and winced as his leg still ached. “There is nothing else in the labyrinth- I was lucky to come across a door to Hades and Persephone. That was the only reason I was able to get out and back to Earth.”

        “I’m sorry, who?”

        “You heard me right the first time,” Arthur spoke directly. He fiddled with the pictures sitting upon baby grand piano.  The images were blurry, like vague reconstructions of photographs without any identifiable subjects… except one. He picked up the photo in its faux oak frame and furrowed his brows.

        “I’ve seen her before.”

        Charlotte followed him to the parlour, noting the photo in his hand.

        “It’s the only clear one in this place. It’s… like I’ve been stuck in a dollhouse. Everything is fake, or a simple vague memory of what this place once was. I don’t understand it. I wish I did.”

        Arthur’s head spun with theories. The pink elephant onesie, the blue starred baby blanket, the soother he found at the bottom of the bins…

        “This could be her house… I saw a photo- not this one, but a photo with the same woman, standing over a birthday cake in the back room of Mystics. She was about the same age, I think.”

        “In Mystics?” her mind burned with the sudden reminder of the grotesque shop owner and hissed. “Arch told me about Lyrem… How he used to have a wife that worked with him. That’s why they were hired. She was gone. I wonder if she’s here somewhere, lost or… dead?”

         “Did Lyrem ever mention having children?” Arthur asked.

        Charlotte shook her head. “I’ve only spoken to him a couple of times, but he never talked about family.”

        Arthur looked to the phone hanging off the kitchen wall with the long beige winding cord attached to it. The appliances weren’t new by any means and the style of the house, with its hardwood, and updated linoleum areas caused his mind to stir.

        “Mom’s house,” he said. “In Knoxville… It was brand new when she moved in. Do you remember the year?”

        “’85, I think,” she confirmed. “Why?”

        “She had the same stereo system, brand new too,” he mentioned, pointing off to the opposite wall where the unit sat beneath a Panasonic television set.

        “You’re right, she did, didn’t she?” Charlotte agreed, “I’ve already tried to play it- it only repeats A Spoonful of Sugar from Mary Poppins… Hold on…

        Let’s say the earliest Rosanna could have been born was 1985, that means”-

        “Well, it’s more than reasonable to assume that”-

        Rosanna started crying over their heads. Both Charlotte and Arthur were thinking the same thing. Lyrem had thrown his own daughter into the Labyrinth as a baby, and never once thought of her again.

        Charlotte broke herself off from the chilling realization and pulled a bottle of milk from the island counter that wasn’t there before. Arthur stared at her oddly.

        “It just keeps refilling,” she explained, shaking it up in her hands. “It’s like everything just resets once she wakes up… And she never stops crying.”

        Arthur followed his sister back up the stairs again. This time, to investigate the rooms. The nursery was quaint and painted in a calming lilac. A sunflower was painted on the ceiling around the light fixture. The small inconsistencies in the shape of the petals caused Arthur to assume it was done without a stencil. Probably by someone who was very excited to welcome their child into the world. A slim acoustic guitar sat in the corner, and a small wicker chair right next to it.

        He wrinkled his nose as he moved around the room. The scent of a baby’s bottom made him gag. Charlotte didn’t seem to care.

        “Lightweight,” she taunted after him.

        Arthur proceeded to the master bedroom across the hall. It was stark. Everything was placed in an orderly fashion throughout which was not a cohesive pattern for the rest of the house. The sheets were perfectly tucked, the pillows, untouched and undented. To the left side, there was a set of glasses and a yellow book. There was a scribble on the front of it, as though it was meant to be English, but it wasn’t convincing to a literate person.

        A lamp on either side of their bed, a window, off to the right that overlooked the front yard and a trembling aspen whose branches swayed in the breeze also gave the impression that this was a house that only belonged in someone’s dream. It was perfect.

        He opened the dresser drawers only to find nothing inside. He found the closet door next, that was set into the wall. There were shirts, all the same color of cream button ups with flared collars, and a few dark pants hung neatly beside them. This had to be Lyrem’s. But where were his wife’s things? Where were his photos?

        Why did Rosanna only remember bits and pieces of the house? And more than that, how the hell did she create all of this? She was only a baby. She couldn’t have been more than a year old.

        These were questions that needed answering one day. But for now, Arthur had to remember that he was still in the middle of his task. He needed to bring Charlotte back to Earth and he needed to find Arch.

        He glanced to the empty doorway. Charlotte was humming a song from their childhood. A sweet and mournful tune as she fed them from the bottle in the room over, he could hear her whisper the melody’s words-

“Goodnight, goodnight sweet child,

Why don't you dream with the angels,

To forget for awhile.

To forget of the life,

That's been handed to you

Where everything's real,

Yet nothing is true”-

        Arthur wondered how easily Rosanna would be able to travel. He didn’t have much experience with young children, but he knew that even in the best circumstances they could be a challenge to bring along anywhere- especially if one wanted to remain quiet.

        He turned his back on them, and raised his hand. Hades had given him the Abysmal Flame to help him kill Lyrem, and it had come in handy when faced with Paimon.

        Maybe it would help them find a way out of here.

        Thinking back to that moment- where that power rushed through his head and into his hands and lit up his bowie knife with blue flames- he could feel it again.

        “Come on,” Arthur started. Encouraging himself to feel the same rage, to feel the same force as before that had lit Paimon up blue. He almost had it… In front of him, in the closet, a pool of darkness formed. He watched it closely become larger and larger until it was about the size of a basketball.

        “Come on, come on, come on…”

        “Arthur?”

        His concentration broke, and he turned, the void closed instantly. Charlotte’s face was red with panic, sheer terror, but not about him or what he had done.

        Rosanna was gone. The baby blanket laid in Charlotte’s elbows with nothing else inside. Though, now, Arthur could see the faint yellow embroidery of her name on the outside edge.

        “W-what happened to her?” Charlotte shook.

        Arthur put himself in front of her, and looked around, like he expected to find Rosanna simply lying on the ground or hiding beside a banister.

        “I- I don’t know. Has she ever vanished before?”

        Charlotte shook her head tearfully and shook out the blanket. Maybe she’d just hiding in one of the wrinkles. Charlotte placed a hand over her mouth and cried out. Her back fell into the door jam as she crouched into a ball on the floor.

        “No. No! I-I can’t do it again! I can’t lose my baby again!”

        Seeing her this way was crushing. He bent down, and placed an arm around her shoulders.

        “You haven’t lost your baby…” he spoke calmly. “Arch is still out there and they are waiting for you. They’re waiting for us to find them… For now, we need to keep it together, for their sake. We need to bring them home- together.”

        Charlotte continued to weep. The thought of facing more heartbreak was unbearable, but Arthur was right. She needed to find her child. Her real child. While she took her time recovering, Arthur removed himself from her side. He was able to create an opening. Leading to where, he didn’t know, but it worked, and to him that was a success.

        The room darkened, like a rain cloud passed in front of the sun. The tweeting birds fell silent. He looked outside, only to find the darkness of the labyrinth closing in on them very quickly. Without Rosanna here, there was nothing left to be remembered.

        “Char! Grab hold of me!” He rushed to her side. “The Labyrinth is erasing the house. Hold onto me and don’t let go!”

        Charlotte did as he said and soon enough, they were both consumed by the deep and dreadful darkness.

-

-

 -

  -

   -

    -

     -

      -

        A blue flame, small but visible, sat in the center of Arthur’s palm. Charlotte clinged to his other arm as he concentrated. He could feel his created void grow larger and larger around them until he saw a very familiar and spritely looking face staring down at them from above and nothing else.

        “Persephone,” Arthur greeted her with a relieved and exasperated smile. “Long time, no see.”

[underdressedgoth]

This is older art that I finally finished (it was first made in September before Goretober and I finally finish it like 2 months later)

I’m choosing now to properly introduce these kids (and a new one too) as the “Multiple Dimentional Craze” fanchildren. (this is going to be a very long post)

Sapphire

Parents: Morty and Riley *oc* Full Name: Sapphire ‘June’ Smith Nicknames: Saphie Birthday: November 17 Age: 16 Species: Human Blood Type: A+ Height: 5′7ft Sexuality: Lesbian Personality: Rude, Courageous, Rebellious, Loyal, Hot-headed, Impatient, Intelligent, Arrogant, Protective, Honest (very brutally honest), prideful, strong, confident, leader-like Powers: N/A Family: Morty *Father*, Rylie *Mother* [Out of the picture], Rick *Great-Grandfather*, Beth *Grandmother*, Jerry *Grandfather* and Summer *Aunt* Friends: Monster, Pinecone, Pineneedle, Mars, Mercury, Bruno, Leah and Josie Dating: Mayflower Likes: Her girlfriend, stir fry, the color magenta, warm foods, science related subjects, math related subjects, cats, sweet and salty foods Dislikes: Emiko, Evelyn, Takei, Victor, London, Samara, Morty, Samantha, P.J, Lee- you know what she hates like ⅞ of my fanchildren we could be here all day if I had to list everyone she doesn’t like, rain, wet items, spicy foods, sour foods, chunky things- okay so she really doesn’t like a lot of things either (you get the point) Other Things: -Her hair is naturally blue, Morty was concerned that she was Rick’s kid (considering the reason why they had split up), but nope. Morty’s her Dad. -Her parents are separated (Her mother cheated on Morty with multiple people) -She doesn’t like most people (it’s considered an accomplishment if someone managed to get on her good list. Which is -by the way- very small) -She pretty much hates Morty, a lot. She has a lot of resentment towards him, mainly because she hasn’t seen her mother since she was 5. (While Morty wants to tell her that he had tried to get her mother to see her, her mother is pretty much a dead-beat parent who doesn’t give a flying fuck that her daughter exists. He knows Sapphire probably won’t believe him) -While they may be friends, Sapphire likes to pick on and bully Mars. But just because she likes to bully him, doesn’t mean she won’t beat up a person who makes fun of him (it’s like a sibling-love thing. Everyone who has a sibling here should know what I mean) -She looks up to Rick, much to her family’s (including Rick’s) dismay, she always wanted to go adventuring with him but he always declines (thus making her frustrated) -Sometimes will steal things from her Great-Grandfather without him knowing until she’s already gone with it (one of the normal things she usually steals is the portal gun -While most of her friends have powers, she’s not jealous, in fact that only makes her more confident in herself since she knows how strong she really is (thus making her even more scary knowing that she’s just as strong as her powerful friends) -She has a soft spot for her friends and girlfriend -There are very few people on her bad list that she respects (one for example being Takei) -She’s pretty well known around her school as a girl who never knows when to step down, the amount of fights she was in prove said statement She has known Pinecone and Pineneedle since they were babies, Mayflower and Monster since 5, Mars since 6, Bruno and Mercury since 7

Monster

Parents: Wirt and The Beast Full Name: Monster ‘Edelwood’ Oak Nicknames: Monty Birthday: January 31 Age: 15 Species: Demon/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5′8ft Sexuality: Heterosexual Personality: Calm, Collected, Optimistic, Peaceful, Caring, Protective, Observant, Quiet, Diplomatic, Introverted, Fair-Minded Powers: +Plant Talk- Can talk to plants and understand what they’re saying +Nature control- Able to control any plant around her or even make pants appear out of nowhere +Shadow Camouflage- Using her shadow form, she can blend into any surface she so chooses as long as she doesn’t use it while in sunlight +Night vision- While using her real eyes, she can see clearly in the dark. It only works with her real eyes though, while in her human disguise she can’t see in the dark +Shape-shift- Whether it be in her human disguise or natural form, she can also turn into any animal she can think of +Enhanced smell- Can smell twice as good as a blood-hound. Helps when smelling for blood or souls +Angel’s Voice- Like with the beast, she can sing to draw prey towards her along with drain any bravery or hope from them +Underwater breathing- Can breathe underwater (she didn’t know she could until the age of 6 when Mars went out too far and nearly drowned. Wirt nearly had a heart-attack that day but was grateful she could do that) Family: Wirt *Father*, Beast *Father*, Sara *Step-mother*, Max *little half-brother*, Lantern *little half-sister*, Greg *Uncle* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Pinecone, Pineneedle, Bruno, Mars, Mercury, Armory, Echomain Crush: Mars Likes: Tea, Poety, Nature, Music, Rivers, Exploring, Her Family and Friends, Old Things, Books, Walking through the woods, Singing, cold weather, English subjects, Art, Musicals Dislikes: Very hot weather, her friends/family getting injured, cheese (no one knows why, she just doesn’t like it), bright lights Other Things: -She’s carnivorous, won’t eat any plants unless she has to (a funny way to put it is that she’s like a reverse vegan) - Her favorite poet is Sara Teasdale - She got her love for poetry from Wirt, ever since she was a baby, Wirt would read poetry to her. Beast also would sometimes recite Shakespeare to her when she was a child while she visited him - She can easily retell Hamlet from memory word-for-word (she’s read and heard Shakespeare so many times that she can do that with any of his stories) - She’s in her school’s chorus (Known to be a very beautiful singer) - Her favorite type of music is Opera (no surprise there) - Once a week (sometimes two) every other month, she and Wirt would go visit the beast. Sara does know about this as she was there when the deal was first offered - She has never actually spent a halloween in the real world - Monster was born out of a giant flower - Sometimes out of habit from her demonic heritage, Monster will eat either a bird or small animal (Mayflower and Mars are the only ones who seem to freak out when that happens) - Has been playing Piano, cello, Clarinet and bass since she was little (she loves playing instruments) - Sometimes if she’s deep in thought, she’ll start talking in Shakespearean - Is an outcast at her school because people find her very weird with her personality and hobby with plants (Since she likes to whisper to them a lot). - - - - While Wirt may have reacted differently to a situation like hers, she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it at all. Nor does she acknowledge the insults other students will sometimes say about her. Sapphire on the other hand, has been in many fights because she refuses to let anyone bully her friend - Monster loves her half-siblings to death, she’ll do anything for them. Her brother Max sadly doesn’t like her since she gets most of Wirt’s attention - Her brother doesn’t know she’s not fully human, her sister on the other hand found out through her own ways (she’s very young so she’s fine with it, in fact she thinks Monster is cool and lucky to have powers as she wishes she had them too) -She’s mainly nocturnal, but since she can’t really sleep during the day often either, her body luckily managed to readjust itself so she doesn’t need to sleep often. - She doesn’t really express much inner emotions, so it’s not obvious that she has a crush on Mars (only people who know are Sapphire and Mayflower) - Has known Pinecone and Pineneedle since they were babies, Mayflower since she was 4, Bruno and Mercury since 5, Mars since 6 and Sapphire since 4 - She’s considered a theater kid (the theater kids are probably the only ones out of her school who actually like her) - Funny thing, she can walk on water (another thing to add, it took Wirt forever to let her into the water, he was just that terrified if she drowned.) -She can’t see well in bright lighting, her eyes don’t adjust well to it -She sees Sara like an actual mother to her -Seems to bleed Oil,Gold and Blood

Mayflower

Parents: Connie and Spinel Full Name: Mayflower ‘Spinel’ Maheswaran-Universe Nick names: May, Curly, Petal Birthday: February 28 Age: 14 Species: Gem/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5′3ft Sexuality: Bisexual Personality: Self-conscious, Joyful, Caring, Nurturing, Optimistic, Friendly, sometimes nervous, self-less, strong Powers: + Rejuvinator- can easily pull out her own rejuvinator from her gem (it can also double as a weapon to fight against other creatures, electrocuting and cutting any enemy she swings it at) +Stretchy Limbs- Like her mother Spinel, she can stretch any part of her body (as long as she doesn’t over do it, she’s fine) + Fusion- like her father Steven who is also half-gem, she can fuse with any gem or human Family: Spinel *Mother*, Connie *Mother*, Steven *Step-Father*, Nicholas *Older Half-Brother*, Stephen *Little Half-Brother*, Greg *Little Half-Brother*, Greg *Step-Grandfather*, Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz *Step-Grandmother*, Priyanka *Grandmother*, Doug *Grandfather* Friends: Pinecone, Pineneedle, Mercury, Bruno, Mars, Monster Dating: Sapphire Likes: Dancing, Singing, Traveling the Multiverse, Animals, any romantic comedy or novels, painting, Homeworld, space travel, space itself, anything funny, gardening Dislikes: Her looks, Monster attempting to eat a small creature, abandon buildings, taking pictures of herself (she gets flustered from them), horror movies, silence, being alone, blood, anyone getting hurt Other Things: -She isn’t really one who is confident with her looks, she isn’t exactly thin (she’s kinda chubby) and it does bother her sometimes (Sapphire still loves her to death and will kill anyone who makes fun of her girlfriend without hesitation or remorse. Sapphire would do anything for and I mean anything) -She and Sapphire have been dating for about 2 years now (for the one who has confessed their love to the other, they both were just flustered stuttering messes as Sapphire sucks with emotions besides anger and Mayflower is not one who has confidence) - Her older brother doesn’t like her, she tries her best, just like Monster with her own brother, to get her brother to not hate her (he’s just edgy) - She has her own gem, a spinel like her mother Spinel’s (spinel didn’t give up her form, it turns out from what I heard, Rose didn’t have to give up her form for Steven. So I am just using that idea for here too) - Since Steven, Spinel and Connie are in a polygamous relationship, Steven likes to help Mayflower understand her own powers since he can relate of course) - I can definitely assure that the Diamonds like to smother her and her brothers with love since they are Spinel’s and Steven’s kids (same can go with Pearl) - Doesn’t seem like it to others, but Mayflower is really strong, she can lift a lot since she likes to work out sometimes

Pinecone

Parents: Bill and Dipper Full Name: Pinecone ���Pyramid’ Cipher-Pines Nick names: Pinie, PC, Creepy, Gremlin #1, Cone Birthday: May 23 Age: 13 Species: Demon/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5ft Sexuality: Heterosexual Personality: Creepy, Hyper, Observant, Extroverted, Goofy, Creative, observant, curious, courageous, adventurous, chaotic good, crafty Powers: +Shapeshift- Can shape-shift into anything from her demon form to any small objects +Portals- Can manifest a portal to the multiverse +Enhanced smell- can smell better than humans +Telekinesis- Move things with her mind +Floating- Can float Family: Bill *Father*, Dipper *”Mother”*, Pineneedle *Twin brother*, Gravity *Little brother*, Falls *Little sister*, Mabel *Aunt*, Pacifica *Aunt*, Aqua Marie *Cousin*, Manuel *Cousin*, Tala Poly *Aunt*, Lillusion *Aunt* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Monster, Bruno, Mars, Mercury, Gabriel, Flint Crush: Max Likes: Forests, Dark areas, Halloween, Bugs, Camping, Fire, Bones, Traveling through dimensions and universes, anything sugar, Tad Strange, scissors, disturbing things, Birch trees Dislikes: Being Normal, having to sit still, London (surprisingly), snobby people, having to pretend to be human, pineapples, fancy things (finds them boring) Other Things: -Is older than Pineneedle by 6 minutes - Tad Strange is her’s and Pineneedle’s teacher (secretly since Bill hates Tad) - While she likes Monster’s little brother, most people will say she has a very “strange” way of showing her affection towards her (that being a very creepy way, what I mean is that she’ll say the creepiest things to him since she for some reason “finds his face adorable when it looks scared”) (she won’t hurt him, just freak him out. Added note, he doesn’t like her at all. Her love for him is very one-sided. But she is determined to win him over one day) - She and Pineneedle were not planned, they kinda just happened by accident (their parents still love both of them none-the-less) - Knows about other fanchildren in other universes, enjoys talking to them

Pineneedle

Parents: Bill and Dipper Full Name: Pineneedle ‘Illuminati’ Cipher-Pines Nick names: PN, Gremlin #2, Pointer, Needle Birthday: May 23 Age: 13 Species: Demon/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5ft Sexuality: Aromantic/bisexual Personality: Creepy, Hyper, Observant, Extroverted, Goofy, Creative, chaotic, courageous, adventurous, Chaotic good, disobedient Powers: +Shapeshift- Can shape-shift into anything from her demon form to any small objects +Portals- Can manifest a portal to the multiverse +Enhanced smell- can smell better than humans +Telekinesis- Move things with her mind +Floating- Can float Family: Bill *Father*, Dipper *”Mother”*, Pinecone *Twin sister*, Gravity *Little brother*, Falls *Little sister*, Mabel *Aunt*, Pacifica *Aunt*, Aqua Marie *Cousin*, Manuel *Cousin*, Tala Poly *Aunt*, Lillusion *Aunt* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Monster, Bruno, Mars, Mercury, Gabriel, Flint Crush: N/A Likes: Anything creepy, slim, spiders, snakes, mice, being crazy, scaring others, Tad Strange Dislikes: Having to be “normal”, not using his powers, rules, girly things Other Things: -Almost like he’s Pinecone’s other half, sharing similar personalities and abilities - He’s the younger twin - Where ever one twin is, the other follows (Pinecone and Pineneedle are rarely apart) - The more troublesome of the two (and that is saying something) - While Pinecone likes Max, Needle just likes to scare him - He can be very spiteful - Thinks love is gross (doesn’t understand it) - likes to skateboard with Mercury - He and Pinecone have known everyone since they were babies (they’re the little siblings of the group)

Mars

Parents: Dib and Zim Full Name: Mars ‘Irken’ Membrane Nick names: Nerd, Markie, Dork (<--- Two are from Sapphire) Birthday: July 15 Age: 16 Species: Alien/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5′8ft Sexuality: Heterosexual Personality: Introverted, Anxious, Intelligent, Quiet, Friendly, Nerdy, Dorky Powers: +Breath in space- Yeah, that’s the only thing I think he can do Family: Zim *Parent*, Dib *Father*, Zoey *Little Sister* Gaz *Aunt*, Tak *Aunt*, Dr.Membrane *Grandfather* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Monster, Mercury, Bruno, Pinecone, Pineneedle Crush: Monster Likes: School (because he likes learning), technology, building things, studying, science and math related subjects Dislikes: Sapphire’s rage, moving quickly, the dark (he’s scared of it), oranges (hates the smell), Gym (he’s not that strong) Other Things: -Often gets picked on by Sapphire (though they do have their moments where they get along) (he’s not scared of her, just annoyed) - While Dib may be a proud space scientist, Mars prefers not to be acknowledged as his son for some odd reason - He doesn’t enjoy fighting other creatures, he can handle it, just doesn’t like it like the others do - He has motion sickness, move way too quickly and he’ll get nauseous - Sapphire is the reason for why he’s scared of the dark - He wears make-up to hide the green parts of his skin (the only time he doesn’t is in Gravity falls) - He has only been to space once, didn’t have fun at all (1/10 wouldn’t recommend) - Monster gave him his beanie for his birthday a few years ago, he loves it - He’s your typical shy nerd

Mercury

Parents: Star and Jackie Full Name: Mercury ‘Lynn‘ Butterfly Nick names: Flutter, Wings, Meri, Sparkles Birthday: August 2 Age: 15 Species: Mewman/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5′6ft Sexuality: Pansexual Personality: Out-going, extroverted, bashful, prideful, forceful, somewhat thoughtless at times, crafty, wild Powers: +Butterfly- Butterfly form from Mewberty +Magic wand- since it’s connected to her powers they have similar spells (I am not going to list them because that’ll take too long) Family: Star *Mother*, Jackie *Mother*, Moon *Grandmother*, River *Grandfather* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Monster, Mars, Bruno, Pinecone, Pineneedle, Samantha, Anne, Evelyn, Gabriel, Black Taffy- she’s pretty much the opposite of Sapphire when it comes to people, she has a lot of friends Crush: Samantha Likes: Glitter (a lot), Shiny things, roller-blading, magic, Mewni, crazy things, summer, bright collars, dancing, sugar, hot coco, socializing, parties Dislikes: Unicorns (from her experience with them, you’d hate them too), Fairies (again, from her experience with them, you wouldn’t blame her), gnomes, garden gnomes (don’t ask), bland foods, snakes, magical high commission, her ex boyfriend (oh how the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree) Other Things: -Just going to ignore what happened in the finale because I personally thought it sucked and was a terrible way to end a series. Mercury is the heir to the Butterfly throne. - While she is a girl who can easily make friends, she is one who also tends to loose some due to her nature, she doesn’t understand boundaries and tends to drive people away occasionally - She knows a lot of Royal people and will 100% try to befriend any princes or princesses while she can - She loves to talk, a lot, she is very rarely quiet and it tends to drive Sapphire crazy and threaten to duck-tape her mouth shut - Sometimes the others think she depends on her want a little too much, because she uses it all the time even when she doesn’t need too at all - Despite being a very confident girl, when it comes to interacting with her crush (Samantha), she’s a stuttering flustered mess - Please don’t give her sugar

Bruno

Parents: Tom and Marco Full Name: Bruno ‘Julius‘ Lucitor-Diaz Nick names: Bunny, Demon-boy, Lucitor, Horns (<--- Most of these are from Sapphire) Birthday: March 30 Age: 16 Species: Demon/Mewman/Human Blood Type: [Redacted] Height: 5′8ft Sexuality: Heterosexual Personality: Calm, Brave, Determined, Good-hearted, Responsible, Dare-devil, Leader-like, Assertive (when needed), Confident Powers: +Fire- able to produce fire from hands and have it spread to anywhere on his body Family: Tom *Father*, Marco *Father*, Juliet *little sister*, Mariposa *Aunt*, Rafael *Grandfather*, Angie *Grandmother*, Wrathmelior *Grandmother* and Dave *Grandfather* Friends: Sapphire, Mayflower, Pinecone, Pineneedle, Monster, Mars, Mercury, Black Taffy, Josie, Jack Jr, Crush: N/A Likes: Biking, fire, Tacos, Nachos, Magical creatures, adventure, Ice-skating Dislikes: Math, school, fancy parties, dressing up, London, Mercury on sugar Other Things: -He’s sorta bad at judging things -Often butts heads with Sapphire due to both of their desires to lead the friend group - He has a third eye hidden under his hair -Has three moles in a row from largest to smallest under his right eye - Has his own pair of Dimensional scissors - Lives in the Underworld as the prince and heir to the throne - Is the only one besides Pinecone, Pineneedle and Monster, who is able to handle Mercury - Has known Mercury since the day of her birth, Pinecone and Pineneedle since they were babies, Sapphire since 7, Monster since 6 - He doesn’t really like most demons or hybrids, most of the time they’re too crazy for him to deal with (he already has to deal with 3 crazy people almost everyday. He’s good) - He’s pretty good at flattering people, he’s calls it his “secret weapon” - He likes to consider Sapphire as his rival (Sapphire feels the same way towards him) I’ll admit I got lazy with some parts because writing this was taking too long after loosing a good chunk of progress and having to redo some profiles because of it. This would have been posted sooner if it weren’t for that.

[royal-writer]

Essie - questionnaire

Just trying to get to know Essie better, ignore me! Will add more later.

1. Does s/he enjoy puzzles?

Not particularly. Even given nothing to do, Essie would probably prefer much anything else.

2. Does s/he enjoy education?

I don’t even know if she had a real education. I’m sure she learned more on her own means. I think she’s pretty neutral on learning. It helps better you but she doesn’t see it as fun but neither does she see it as terrible.

3. What is his/her sexual orientation?

Pansexual Panromantic.

4. Is s/he right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous?

Right-handed but ambidextrous casting spells cuz, well, ya almost gotta be..

5. Is s/he fashionable?

Essie don’t give a fuck. She wears what she likes, or wears what is suitable to the weather, or wears shit just to piss people off. So probably not.

6. What is their favorite food(s)?

Okay, here goes: smoked salmon on a bed of greens, herb roast pheasant, venison steak cooked rare to med-rare with roasted potatoes, garlic clam soup, mushroom and leek stew, berry tarts with mint, stuffed trout, pickled duck eggs, sharp cheeses, sunflower seeds, almonds, honeycakes, and she has a preference for drinking spiced ale, orchid wines, and elven made wines that are sweeter and aromatic. I can also see her having a taste for tea, particularly with honey, and sweet or spiced ciders. Maybe some hard spirits in a group atmosphere.

7. Has s/he ever broken a bone?

Nope, not yet at least.

8. Any interests or hobbies?

She enjoys magic, even using it to make kids happy. She enjoys dancing, secretly. Gambling maybe, uh... going on adventures obviously. Will add more if I think of it; she’s lived a life of survival so she probably doesn’t hide many hobbies.

9. Does s/he consider themself organized?

lmao no and she knows that. Ms. Throw-It-All-In-The-Bag.

10. How does s/he handle feeling nauseous?

No food, only liquids. Try laying down. If it doesn’t stop after a while, try walking around slowly in hopes to agitate self enough to just hurl.

11. What is his/her full name?

Essätha Medüza - the last name is a kick on Medusa from mythology.

12. Introvert or extrovert?

She’s a wanna-be-extro. Doesn’t trust others well, but has a desire to fit in and hang with others. At the moment she’s honestly more intro by nature though.

13. Can s/he cook?

Probably okay. Still prone to burning food from time to time lol whoops. But for the most part it’ll be edible, probably just not super tasty.

14. Did s/he have any friends growing up?

Yes! I plan on doing art for some of ‘em eventually.

15. How does s/he react to storms? Being caught in the storm?

Essie likes a good rainfall. Probably doesn’t mind being caught in them, even ‘bad’ storms, so long as it isn’t snow. Too damn cold.

16. Does s/he collect anything?

Nope. Maybe scars. //bricked// Nah because of her lifestyle, she’s not one to gather trinkets or stuff. Necessities and useful stuff only really.

17. Is s/he religious?

lol nope. Doesn’t care for gods or religion or any of that junk.

18. What inspires him/her?

I don’t know... uh, music for dancing. Sunsets and sunrises. The idea that life can get better. Transformation/growing.

19. Do they have a role model?

Maybe her mom, despite not knowing her. Eventually I’m sure she’ll see some of her fellow team members in this way.

20. What’s their favorite joke?

Probably secretly snake puns. Examples: “let me give you a hiss”, “viper that smirk off your face”, “I’ll snake some puns in there”, etc.

21. How would your character describe his/her friends? Lover? Parents?

dnd group companions to be determined.

Opal: (kind stranger) Orange furry cat woman. Seems to follow her own moral code of good which is pure and generous. Pretty kind.

Kraw: (teacher) Bird man of tans, reds, and dark browns/blacks. Grumpy but has a good heart. May try eating you if you’re an animal or can turn into an animal but otherwise nice. Drinker but a sad drinker when he does.

Solace: (ally/best friend) Outgoing, bubbly, considerate reddish-pink tiefling with obsidian eyes and violet blue-toned hair. She’s a rebel but is caring despite her dicey past. Essie considers her a better person than herself.

Phoenix: (aquitaine) Lady crazypants. Charcoal skin with scar-like markings that glow like lava flow when she’s using her powers. Fiery colored eyes and hair. Very much gives a masculine vibe. Will kill you with no regrets. Something’s wrong with her but she is willing to work with others for her own gain which is relatable.

Bretella: (frienemy) Considered a trustworthy ally. Green skinned redhead with golden eyes. Tends to weary flashy or seductive clothing. Will bail you out of a situation but patronize you later. High self-esteem.

Miz'ri: (enemy) A lost friend. Light grey skin, white hair, pale lilac eyes. Essie wishes that the millions of things that went wrong between them hadn’t. She hopes there’s still godo to be found in Miz’ri. A sad, broken soul.

Hepsiba: (mother) Truly the most beautiful person in existence. Warm, loving, considerate, gentle, sweet, gorgeous. Hepsiba is gone now, but her memory is still a vibrant light of warmth. Essie probably looks to the stars and likes to think her mom is up there, staring down at her. Mom was an auburn-skinned beauty with brown eyes.

Tyfiell: (father) Never met him. Mom spoke well of him, but Essie doesn’t think well of someone who ditched her mom. Said to be a dark-skinned Yuan-Ti Pureblood with dark eyes and a wicked smile. Rogue class.

22. How would s/he describe themself?

LOL nothing good unfortunately... She thinks she’s physically ugly due to how she was treated by others when she was young. She doesn’t find redeemable qualities in herself too much, either. Resident snake lady would probably say “I don’t got time for this” if asked. “I’m a scaly Yuan-Ti woman, hi.”

23. What is his/her birthday? Star sign? Do they fit it?

April 12, which would make their zodiac the Aries. It sounds semi fitting, as they’re labeled as ‘courageous, confident, short-tempered, and impulsive’ but like anything else, there’s some manners that aren’t perfectly fitting (optimistic, aggressive, etc).

24. How good is s/he at mending clothes?

She doesn’t know the Mending ability lol! Kidding aside, I don’t believe it’s her hobby or anything. I mean, if you look at some of her clothes, they’ve got tears and threads pulled free. Probably not.

25. How does s/he react to someone spilling something on them?

Depends on the atmosphere? 90% of the time she’ll realize it’s an accident, jump when it happens, and then request the server or whomever fetch something to help clean up the mess- not impolitely just with some urgency in her tone. She’d probably only have a .1% chance going off an the server because hey, shit happens, but if she’s in a bad mood already she may snap at anyone around she’s unhappy with at the moment.

26. How does s/he react to being approached by law enforcement?

‘Oh shit time to run they’re probably after me’ is her thought processing.

27. Do they paint/draw?

Nah, not really her cup of tea.

28. Does s/he prefer any musical instruments?

Essie can’t play, but she probably enjoys winds and strings for daily life, but the occasionally ‘sick beat’ of a big band of instruments to dance to would be A+.

29. If they had a tumblr, what would their account name be?

venomspikedwine

30. How good are they at keeping an eye on their money? Do they also splurge frequently?

Admittedly, Essatha enjoys hoarding funds. As someone who grew up with little, she’s a bit of a hoarder and is very unlikely to misplace even a copper piece. If she splurges, she’s likely drunk or enjoying a ‘luxury’ she didn’t have much as a child (ex: tarts), or items useful for survival, combat, friends, etc.

31. 3-5 random pieces of trivia about them that doesn’t come up often?

Essie loves music; especially pieces with a soft melody. She grew a garden once. Lastly she has had no real schooling; she’s mostly self-taught or listened in on others or hired other’s to teach her. This might be one of the reasons why she’s a bit of a slow reader.

32. Does s/he prefer dawn or dusk?

She feels more ‘lively’ during dawn but enjoys dusk for the twilight glow, the stars, etc. So both with maybe a slight preference for dusk.

33. Have them describe themself in 3 words!

(no, Essie, you can’t use ‘snake lady’ for 2 words, use adjectives).

confident, misunderstood, bull-headed

34. How would s/he react to someone confessing they have a crush on them?

All the blushing. So much blushing. Open-mouthed like ‘uhh??’ If she doesn’t return the feelings, she’ll probably be really embarrassed. Stuttering as she tries the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. Unless it’s not someone she’s close with, in which case, she’d use their ‘crush’ to her advantage. If it’s someone she has a crush on as well, she’ll blush and look away. Be shy. You’d probably need to convince her to speak or look at you again cuz she’d be like ‘?! they like me? me???’

35. What is his/her favorite scent?

Desserts, rain, the outdoors (especially earthy scents).

36. If they had a Pokemon team, what PKMN would they have?

With ‘starter’: Serperior, Weavile, Houndoom, Phantump, Dragalge, Togetic.

Without ‘starter’: same team, replace Serperior with Kangaskhan.

37. Can s/he sing? act?

She can’t sing well but that won’t stop her when she has the urge. Obviously she can act, or she wouldn’t play people so well lol.

38. Can s/he swim?

Yep!

39. Does s/he drink? Do drugs? Smoke?

Yes she drinks, no she doesn’t do drugs (unless medicines in the d&d count? I don’t know what sort of drugs they have), no she doesn’t smoke.

40. Are they good with children?

Yeah actually! She wants kids to have a happy youth, unlike what she had, so she’s willing to do things to entertain and help kiddos. If a kid cons her, she’d try to even hunt them down purely to see if there’s any way she could help them.

41. What sort of atmosphere does s/he give off?

Depends. Either antisocial or exceptional flirt depending on what’s going on to the average person.

42. Do they believe in any form of afterlife?

Yeah, she thinks there’s an afterlife. What it entails, she doesn’t dare imagine.

43. What’s the first thing s/he does in the morning after waking?

Roll outta bed/sleeping bag and get dressed, think about getting something to drink asap.

44. Who would be his/her voice actor/ress?

Morrigan from Dragon Age, voiced by Claudia Black. Dragon Age: Inquisition seems the best bet, as Morrigan’s voice seems more controlled and less bubbly than Origins. Perhaps Origins though when she’s interacting with Sul?

45. How would you describe his/her aesthetic?

Clothing wise: revealing/sexy. Personal taste: nature, stars, anything that’s just lulling, tranquil, natural to the world...

46. How would s/he react to supernatural/paranormal phenomenons?

Willing to fight a ghost. Probably be spooked at first, but after the first encounter with these sort of creations, she’d probably be okay. Just that first time... “woah let’s punch this ghost” half damage “holy shit you can punch a ghost? Cool. Also magic time becuz wow that didn’t do shit”.

47. How would s/he confess their love to others?

Judging by conversations with Heather, she’d be hecka frustrated. What are feelings. I don’t know what this is. Why do I care about you so much please explain this to me? And once she figures out that it’s love she’s feeling... that explains the confusion, the butterflies in her stomach, the awkward shyness even she couldn’t explain when she reacted to them being nice but... I must now blush... and hide my face...

48. How do they react to being bored?

Time to unbored herself by doing something. Hunting, pestering others, flirting, gambling, anything but sitting there jiggin her leg if she can help it. Restlessness doesn’t fit her.

49. Have they ever been stung by a bee?

Yush.

50. If they had to pick a Disney Princess/Prince, which do they like? Which do they feel most alike? Which do they aspire to be most like?

Essie would probably really like Tiana for her go-getter attitude. She probably feels most like Rapunzel, locked away from the world and badly treated by her ‘caretaker(s)’ (the city she grew up in) but now she’s free and adventuring and seeking her own trues and fulfilling her curiosities. Who she’d probably most aspire to be I guess would be Moana (not qualified as a Disney princess yet, but admirable all the same. Moana went on an adventure, conquered it, found herself, defeated the big bad, etc) or Merida (they share like-characteristics, and Merida didn’t need a man to complete her, though family/friends it reveals are important).

21 Q’s for d&d Chars and OCS, taken from here

1. What influenced or inspired the creation of this character?

First d&d campaign. Kept getting stuck between a handful of races. Finally got down to 4, then 3, then 2. Had to wait and see if Ammy would approve Yuan-Ti Purebloods. Got approved. Suddenly whAM - inspiration. Didn’t want a flat typical ‘evil’ Yuan-Ti. Her background was helpfully inspired by the one I picked- Urchin. I just continued adding tragedy because I’m an asshole.

2. What is your character’s relationship with their family? Family is a word which here refers to biological relatives, close companions, and/or the individual(s) who raised them.

Essie’s only known family was her mother. She was very close with her, sadly, her mom passed when she was young, probably 3-4ish. She never knew her dad. Her relationship with chosen family is positive. Details on ‘chosen’ family will be thought up further later, as I’m confident she’ll come to consider her traveling companions like family.

3. Who is the closest person to them?

Her mum (deceased), and eventually probably Sul and the group. I feel she’ll particularly enjoy Cackle and Adela but we’ll see~

4. What were the conditions surrounding their formative years?

Harsh livin of survival all her life yo. Fighting for food, stealing to get by, learning how to use and deceive people to get things she needed and then eventually, things she wanted.

5. What creature would they like to have as a pet?

Snakes and doggos.

6. Do they have any bad habits?

Does stealing count? Lmao uh, other than that, maybe gambling a bit..

7. Is there anyone they’d die for? Kill for?

Old friends, later their dnd group obviously.

8. Who was their first love?

I’m gonna be cheesy here and say Sulhadur. Mostly because she never really knew what love was anymore until him. Whoops feels-

9. How would this character react to someone confessing their love for them?

^ See up there, I know I answered a question like this already.

10. How old is this character?

Twenty.

11. Are they normally peaceful or aggressive?

Peaceful probably- just leave her be and let her do what she gonna do.

12. How does this character handle stress?

Probably get frustrated. Pull on hair, get loud, vent and rant.

13. Does your character consider themselves lucky?

Hahahahaah- no.

14. What is their favorite holiday?

I... Honestly don’t know? If we’re going by holidays present now, probably Halloween or smth low-key based around family. As for d&d holidays, of those I found, she’d probably prefer Trolltide (a variation on Halloween), and either Feast of the Moon or Feast of the Ancestors.

15. What is the best gift they could receive?

Mom’s love. //bricked// Mom’s ring??? That seems about all at the moment...

16. If they could instantly kill one person in the world without consequence, who would it be?

Probably everyone in their childhood city whoops- or at least someone there that caused her tremendous pain.

17. If they were in possession of a trio of wishes, what would their three wishes be?

Mom to come back to life (probably rejected), happiness (rejected), money (rejected), new clothes, new items to help with spells, idk something to help the dnd group as a whole then.

18. What is their favorite spell or method of attack?

Unknown at the moment. I’ll probably say her Magic Missiles and Acid Splash.

19. What are their guilty pleasures?

Give her desserts!

20. What is something this character is or could be addicted to?

Happiness? Desserts. Yes happiness and desserts sounds about right.

21. Have you actually played this character yet? 

Just started! :D

25 Q’s for your d&d Chars and OCs, taken from here

1. What is this character’s alignment?

Chaotic Neutral

2. What is a notable quote from this character? Alternatively, what is their favorite quote?

No notable quotes yet, just started playing her. Favorite quote would probably be something like ‘only the strong survive’ or ‘a sheep in wolves clothing’.

3. Summarize your character’s backstory with no more than three sentences.

Small innocent snake-child is born to a snake-lady whom has no spouse. She’s raised by her loving mother until she passes away of illness. The remainder of her life has been an uphill battle for survival and equality.

4. Describe your character using a song title.

Snake Charmer. //bricked// oR What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.

5. Are there any story arcs you would like this character to explore?

ALL

6. What would your character like (or have liked) to do with their life?

They’d like to find happiness. They’d have liked to have a better childhood filled with joy and happiness too, and a healthy mom, and to better herself.

7. Who is your character’s best friend?

Solace technically from her old group. We’ll see what happens in her new group!

8. Who is your character’s worst enemy?

Miz’ri from her old group thus far~

9. Who has, for better or worse, had the most impact on your character’s life?

Thus far, her mother and the people of her childhood city.

10. What is the most badass thing this character has done?

Nothing really yet? Other than survive. Maybe persuaded Lord Hardon- I mean Amon- to chill his nuts.

11. What crime is this character most likely to be convicted of?

Thievery obviously lmao. And being too cute.

12. What meme would you use to describe the character?

Hello Darkness My Old Friend, But That’s None Of My Business, Fuck That Shit I’m Out.

13. Does this character swear frequently?

Probs!

14.What is this character’s relationship with religion or the church?

Fuck that shit I’m out, no thanks!

15. Would this character ever make a deal with a devil or dark spirit?

Under the right circumstances, maybe. But doubtful cuz she ain’t that stupid. Usually. Probably. Unless dire circumstances.

16. Emotion or Logic?

Logic. What are emotion. Plz explain.

17. Soup or Salad?

Soup and stews!

18. What is the character’s favorite Pokémon?

Phantump :’I

19. What Pokémon Go team would they be on?

Team Valor.

20. Is your character currently in love? Is there anyone in love with your character?

No-yes. Eventually.

21. Do you ship your character with any other characters? (This includes characters from other universes and canons)

Sul and her are meant to be okay.....

22. How would this character seduce a lover?

OH GOD well- apparently with flirty, charm, good looks, lots of hip swaying, smooth talking, etc (and her high Persuasion stat) works in her favor. Sul it- it would just come naturally. Essie’s shy with him it’s precious. It’s because she loves him tho.

23. If your character could play any part in a drama, stage production, or musical, what part would they play?

Behind the scenes, probably something like a makeup artist. In a piece, she’d probably be an actress, and a more low-key role because plz don’t spotlight me the arts aren’t my thing...

24. What is your character’s favorite album?

WIP WIP WIP ?? No albums in d&d realm so??? questionable.

25. What does this character mean to you?

I love her she’s my new daughter duh.

[parzivalleknight]

Make a Rogue Out Of You (LoT OC Story)

A/N: ITS A VERY LONG STORY IM SO SORRY!!! Mariam has been working at S.T.A.R. labs for the past few months in 2016 due to curiosity about the random portal that appeared in her basement one day.Her room-mate, Robin Schyler, was able to hold in the basement. After having it open randomly she decided just to jump through.

When she did so she was brought to 2016, near the end of October. She was greeted by running into a guy, who she now knows as Cisco Ramos, and from that point she was made part of the team. Cisco would let her contact Robin every so often just to check up and let him know she’s alright. 

And after training for a few weeks she quickly became a useful friend and teammate to the STAR labs crew, her shield only being broken by extreme cold or an insane amount of pressure that even the cold dead of space couldn’t break.

Currently she is known as Cherry Blossom, as named by Cisco due to her shield.

When it is produced it blossoms like, as you can imagine, a flower, not to mention a Cherry Blossom pattern is seen frequently in the light purple transparent shield.

Currently it was just another day, another fight, in Star City, another day for Mariam to help protect Barry Allen, or also known as, The Flash.

She was quick to learn Barry was The Flash. How? She knew him by his eyes, and voice to be completely honest.

Currently they were having a bit of a run in with someone Mariam has never seen before.

She just knew were VERY dangerous. Another blast of fire almost landed on her as Mick Rory, or better known as Heatwave, shot at her with his Heat Gun.

She threw a shield up before herself, easily making her way over to him, but as she was about to reach him a heavy and painful force knocked her down and away from Mick, the pain of a boot kick in the side causing her to curl in pain on the concrete floor.

She glared up to meet the glare of the well-known companion and partner of HeatWave and Captain Cold. NightStrike.

The older female grinned down at Mariam, “Not today.” NightStrike went to strike at Mariam but before she could, a blur of movement followed by some lightning punched NightStrike into Mick.

“Stand down!” Barry shouted at them.

Mariam noticed a glow of blue from Captain Colds gun. Mariam leaped up and threw herself in front of Barry, shield raised.

“Dashey, move!” Mariam flinched as the absolute zero flame began freezing her shield. Mariam felt arms latch around her and suddenly, she was moved feet away from the blast of the cold guns blast.

Mariam locked eyes with Barry who moved from behind her, he must have moved her over here with his speedster ability.

She brought her attention back to the trio in front of her and partner in..Heroics? Soft brown eyes locking with the goggles of Captain Cold. “Who’s the new girl Barry?” Leonard smirked and tilted his head at Barry. “Not important Snart, stand down and you can go home free.” Barry shifted his weight towards Mariam, causing her to shift back a bit awkwardly.

“Awe she’s shy. Cute.” Leonard drawled out, Mariams eyes widened, sadly her mask only covered a little bit above her nose. A very obvious blush spread across her cheeks. “Awe Lenny, she’s blushing! How cute she has a little crush.” Nightstrike laughed out. Mariam stomped her foot a little be, “FIGHT ME!” She screeched.

Cold snorted at his partner's comment then looked back to the speedster “Alright fine then Barry, on one account. You let us take SOME of the fortune here in this…” “No way.” Mariam stepped up a bit, “People worked hard to produce this stuff. All you guys did was sneak in and waltz around!” Her watch buzzed to life, shield forming around one hand. They all stared at her, “Kittens has claws… What is you’re name shortstack?” Mick chuckled out. “You can call me Cherry Blossom, now stand down!” Mariam’s shield formed around her other hand too as she took a step toward the bunch. Alex looked at mariam amused, “Cherry blossom? What kind of name is that?” She snorted, but Mar sighed. “I was going to do Rose Quartz but copywrite stuff and...Yeah” Alex looked to the short woman shocked, “You watch Steven Universe to- I mean….. What.” Cold looked to her then at Mariam’s hands, thinking for a moment before sighing.

He shrugged. “Alright fine, we’ll falter.” Heatwave and Nightstrike turned to him, confused. “Well, come on then.” “What why-” HeatWave grumbled as he and NightStrike had to chase after Snart.

After a bit of cleaning up the warehouse Mariam finally agreed it was clean enough for them to go back to the lab. Barry picked Mariam up and in a blink of an eye, Mariam was sitting in one of the chairs in the lab. A wide grin painted Mariam’s face as she swung her legs a little bit. “What’s gotten you so happy?” Barry chuckled as he dashed away for a moment, only appearing again in his normal clothes. Mar looked up at Barry for a moment, thinking of a way to lie. “I did just intimidate a bad guy, let alone Leonard Snart, so much so, he actually faltered. But I suppose he probably has a secondary plan..Actually, I kinda wanna learn more about them. Would that be okay Bar-bar?” Mariam rested her chin on her hand. Barry sighed “We don’t have anything now on Snart but, I can get you some information on the others.” He stood up, walking over to the main computer.

Mar squealed “Alright! Can’t wait… It’s like reading a story about a hero who turns out to be the villain!” She pranced over to Barry’s side, watching the screen carefully as he pulled up a few files.

“Alright here, you can go through these. It’s as much info we have on them.” Barry scooted over so Mariam could sit down in front of the screen to read. “Bar-bar, what do you know about Leonard and his sister?” Mariam turned her chair a bit to look at the young man. “Well..” Barry took a breath. “He was always sorta in the life of crime, he met Alex West- thats NightStrike by the way, when she was a bit younger, late teenage years I think… Len got his gun from Cisco, forced him to make the team’s guns. Past stuff.. Uh, Lisa and Leonard’s dad wasn’t the best,used beat them up really bad…”

This caused mariam to flinch, tears daring to escape.

“You alright Mar?” Barry spoke up, turning to the pink haired girl.

Mariam wiped a few tears away before sniffling a bit more. Barry walked over to her, “Hey it’s alright.. He’s dead now, Leonard did kill him…”

Mariam looked up, “That’s… That’s actually nice to know, one less…” Mar sniffled and wiped more tears away from her cheeks. “N-never mind um… I’ll get back to reading..S-sorry to bother you about that just wanted to know” Barry nodded and patted down some of her hair. “If you ever need to talk, I’m always here Mariam..” The short girl nodded at him. After finishing Mariam got up and began pacing. By this time, Cisco and Caitlin had come back from getting some coffee.

“Alright what’s on your mind Byers, you're pacing, that means you have an idea stuck in that brain of yours.” Cisco leaned back in his chair. Mariam paused for a second, thinking of what to say. “What if I joined the Rogues.” She spoke out into the now dead silent room. The awkwardness in here went from 0 to 100 real quick... Everyone froze, Caitlin choked on her drink, Cisco jumped up and screeched, and Barry looked to her confused as all hell. “WOW DID NOT EXPECT THAT.” Cisco screeched, “UM THAT’S UH.. THAT’S AN IDEA ALRIGHT, NOT A GOOD ONE, BUT-” “Just hear me out okay!?” Mar raised her voice a bit, Cisco became quiet again. “I could get in there, I could help get information. Who knows maybe even...Help them go to the good guys side!” Mariam flailed her hands a bit in frustration.

“You...Have a point..” Barry shrugged a bit, “But still that’s really dumb and dangerous how on earth would you even get in you can’t just walk up to their door and say ‘I wanna join! Let me join!’ you know.” Mariam looked Barry dead in the eyes. Determination written all over her face. “Oh my god no you-”

-Next day- “You’re actually doing this. This is so dumb and dangerous I can NOT believe you’re actually doing this” Barry groaned as he rubbed his face. “Barry I’ll be fine! I have Quartz and my baggy of batteries, anything goes south and I’ll call you with her” “Quartz? Her?” Barry raised an eyebrow at Mariam, she shrugged. “Well saying ‘my watch’ isn’t as cool as saying something has a name.” She tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. Barry chuckled, “Alright, well.. Just be careful and don’t… Don’t become a bad guy, alright?” Barry rubbed his neck nervously. Mariam nodded, “But remember, if we do get into fight we can’t let on I’m giving you guys info, beat me up too. I’m fine normally anyway.” Mariam opened the car door and began walking towards the large building. It looked nice, not many houses around, lots of trees though. It was nice. Though it was a warehouse it still seemed a bit homely.

Mariam quietly waddled up to the ‘front’ door, flattening her pastel blue tank top down a bit, checked to make sure her jeans and flats weren’t dirty, then tied her pink flannel around her waist, she paused for a second, almost not wanting to knock but. She wanted to keep these people safe too, not just get info to foil their plans! Her soft knock was probably almost impossible to hear, but still there was a soft shuffling from inside. The door swung open, the sounds of some form of work happening in the background.

“Yes? What do you want-...Um, hello...” Alex West, or NightStrike, raised an eyebrow as she leaned on the door frame. Her knives on her belt clattering together a bit. “I..I wanted to join you guys!” Mariam rocked on her heels a bit, twirling her hair nervously.

Alex stared at her, confused as all hell. “You...You want to- Are you sure you got the right place girly?” Alex shifted her weight onto one foot, pointing a little bit at Mariam who only nodded. “The Rogues, right? Well… Part of the Rogues… You guys have offence but no defence. I wanted to offer some help with the defence!” Mariam chirped out, smiling warmly at the dark haired girl.

Alex looked Mariam up and down, “...Are you..Are you joking? You’ve got to be I mean like..” Alex looked too her own clothes then back at the bright coloured mess in front of her. “I am absolutely sure, I just wanna help you guys.” Mariam stood straighter, trying to seem tough. Alex sighed and stepped aside, “Alright I’ll see what I can do.. Come on in, Leonard will probably wanna see you.” Alex grumbled as Mariam happily walked beside her. “Len, Pink Piper over here wants to join us.” Alex sighed and motioned her thumb towards Mariam, Mick turned his head to see who this 'Pink Piper’ was. He let out a surprised grunt as he looked at her. “Well this is a plot twist I did not see coming. Why is she so colourful? It's hurting my eyes…” Mick grumbled out, returning his focus back to cleaning his gun. Leonard looked up from his own gun, which was carefully being put back together currently, only to hum and stand. “So you want to join the Rogues.” He strode over to Mariam, and squinted. “Do I know you?” Mariam jumped a bit. “Oh right! Um, I’m Cherry Blossom! I just don’t have the mask on today-” “Why on earth do you want to join us then?” Mick growled out, sipping on the beer next to him.

“Oh well I uh, you guys have guns but no shields. You do have eachothers back but you still have limbs sticking out for people to hit. I have a shield, I am offering protection and help.”

Mariam beamed out a smile, Alex looked at Leonard, who was giving her a quizzical look.

“I mean she has a point, I guess…” Alex shrugged, Leonard sighed then looked back to the short girl. “Maybe, you'll have to prove yourself as actually useful to us first though.” Mariam nodded with a smile, perfect! She's gonna get in!!!

“In the meantime you and Alex can get to know each other.” Alex glared at him and he smirked back. “You suck. Come on Pinky, let's go train then.” Alex turned back and began walking to a different part of the warehouse.

Mar smiled at Leonard and Mick, “Thank you, sirs!” She nodded at them before going after Alex. “Pink Piper let's go!” Alex shouted from down the hall causing Mick to chuckle. “We're not actually letting her in, right?” The pyromaniac looked up to his friend.

Leonard shrugged, “We'll see.”

[owlpen-art]

Name: Cahaya Akihary Age: 23 Class: Blue Mage Job(s): Bodyguard of Lady Lunafreya(former) and last Chief of Akihary Love interest: Gladiolus Amicitia Background: At a young age, her village was destroyed and her mother was taken by the imperials. Her father took her to Tenebrae(Did I spell it right?) where they can live a better life. Her father is a great friend to the Queen and provided his child the best education and best training in order to survive. To make sure if she can take care of herself once her father is not around. While Cahaya was settling in her quarters and began studying her math, her father came in with two children, a young girl who is one year older than her and a boy who is five years older than her. Her father introduces the Queen’s children, Lunafreya and Ravus hoping they and Cahaya can be good friends. Of course being an only child, she doesn’t mind being their friend since she doesn’t have one. She was quite left out because she doesn’t have any friends due to her weight and shyness. Her father told her that she is going to be the Bodyguard of the Princess and that made her vow to protect her at all cost. Sadly, it didn’t last long in the past two years. When the Imperials invade and her second home fell. The Queen died and Luna and her brother orphans. Ravus believes that her father failed to protect his mother. When Cahaya is about to comfort Ravus of the feeling of losing someone, she saw the unexpected that will forever be scarred. Ravus killed her father by stabbing him right in front of her eyes. Cahaya was broken, betrayed and rage of what Ravus did. Ravus notice her present thinking of killing her as well. But instead, he announce that Cahaya's title as Bodyguard of her sister stripped and is banished from the lands. He gave her two days to pack or to donate her things. She doesn't protest or complain because all she can think of is anger and grief on Ravus. When Luna heard of her brother's action from Gentiana, she was shocked and goes straight to Cahaya's chamber to comfort her lost with her bag. When Cahaya saw her, she was broken in tears as Luna hugged her. Luna says to Cahaya she doesn't deserve this grief from what Ravus did to her. Then Luna opened her bag revealing four letters. "Caha, W, Ci, and R" Cahaya recognized the handwriting anywhere. It belongs to her father and looks at Luna for explanation. Luna told her if something happens to her father and her mother she will give these letters to her and the three people he knows best when he was young. When that time came, she gave Luna one final hug and being escorted by Imperial guards to the boarders of Tenebrae. Once she was out of the boarders, she was alone and no one to talk to. With her lesson on navigation, survival and cooking, she began to go to an adventure that might be useful. By the time she settled in camp, she examines the letter from her father. She sighs, opens the letter and began to read, "My dearest Cahaya, By the time you read this, you know that I am no longer in Eos. I know you're in great pain of losing me and your mother. It was not meant to be. I know the world is scary but you will overcome it with courage. There are so many things I regret of telling you is the truth. The truth is, you are the last of the Akihary tribe and more importantly the descendent of Hangetsu. Or in this world they called us, "Children of the Blue Mage." Strong warriors that was passed on from generation to generation. From parents to children. We can control and master the elements, weapons and most of all, manifest creatures and demons at will. We are warriors in secret to protect on what is right. I could not pass on this knowledge and training to you, but instead there are ways for you to be teach. In every Blue Mage, we're provided the scrolls from our elders on everything you can imagine. Lucky for you I gave the scrolls to my friends by the time you are born. You must not tell them who you are. Trust no one, but yourself. The three other letters are my friends and their names, Weskham, Cid, and Regis. Tell them who you are and gave them the letters of their first initial. They will help you in their power. You are so brave my child. Be strong, keep your chin up, and don't let anyone stop you. Your mother and I will always be with you. May the Six watch over you and most of all. I love you my little Caha. Love, Your Father" With that Cahaya makes her journey to beyond to find those men. Weskham is easy because he's the owner of Maagho...in Altssia...which it's far...she knew him because her father and the Queen always go to that place while she, Luna and Ravus are playing with the water. When she was walking on the road, she heard her car engine coming. She steps aside to let it pass, but instead it stops. A saying, "Curiosity kills the cat." She walk towards the pink convertible, the window rolls down and reveals a man with a fedora hat on. He asks where she's going, she answers in honest that she was not suppose to talk to strangers. The man assures he will do no such thing to any other people that encounters children on the road. So, she answer she is heading to Altissa. He also ask, why so young have to travel so far and she answers smoothly, her business is her own. The man shrugged, "Understandable. But let me put your traveling at ease by offering you a ride to the city. I promise that I will not harm you or anything else for that matter if you're wondering. Cross my heart and hope to die to the underworld." She blinked and no hesitation, she went into the backseat of the car and her journey went foreword with the stranger. The man introduce himself as Ardyn. Then it hit her, Ardyn the Chancellor of the Imperial Empire. She stays cool for a moment and he ask her for her name, she answer her fake name "Talia" and she looks at the window. A few hours later in silent, she and Aryden have arrived to Altissia. When she steps out of the car, she apologize to him for the smell and sweat of his car. He said it was fine and wishing her luck of what she seeks. So, she ask the locals of the Maagho bar since she only been there once. Thanks to the locals, she went to the bar and by a snap. When she goes to the bar, a man said, "A little girl so young aren't meant to be in bars." She blushed and answer she's tired, thirsty, hungry and she was looking for someone. The man answer with humor, "Okay tired, thirsty and hungry, who are you looking for?" She pouted and answer Weskham's name. The man answer and revealed he's Weskham. Fast foreword to Insomnia... All of the travel and finding those men and documents. Not only she founded a place called home, but she found out from King Regis that her Uncle resides in Insomnia as a teacher of Valefor High School. She thank the Six for reuniting her Uncle and surprising her new Aunt. When she started her first day in Middle School, she introduces herself to class and tells her classmate that she enjoys making art. After introduction, made some friends and one enemy for no reason until the enemy warns her, "Akihary, I only warn you once. Stay away from my Gladdy." Cahaya tilted her head and answers in awkward of a long ooookay and walks away thinking, "Who the heck is Gladdy?" Personality: She can be cold and serious on the outside, when meeting strangers and enemies mainly. Yet, on the inside she’s kind, gentle, a wise and smart ass, and has a soft spot in children, and certain creatures(Mainly chocobos). Hobbies: She loves to draw and paint of outdoors, animals and people. She learned how to sew and design clothing from her Aunt Gisele. Also her favorite hobby is collecting flowers Likes: Kids, Chocobos, moogles, listen to music, outdoors, killing demons, and driving her motor bike(as a last gift from her father when they’re in Insomnia) Dislikes: Imperials, demons, somebody stole her bike, Ardyn and Ravus

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Drunk Punch Love 2: Chapter 6

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089466/chapters/54170929

Part 2- Chapter 6: The Lobsters

Walking up the steps out of the hold under engineering, Shepard was half convinced she needed to wash out her fucking ears. She'd spent the past 24 hours with Jack, helping her set up her room in the lowest deck of the ship. While she thought it was a little claustrophobic, the mildly crazy biotic insisted it was cozy. With a more colorful vocabulary, of course.

After spending some time with her, Anya just found it best to accept her statements at face value. At the very least, she had a richer breadth of swear words and new ways to insult people. Maybe she could get Jack to spend some time with EDI so that the AI didn't just learn all her humor from Joker.

Overall, though, she was a little overwhelmed. Everything with Jack was anger, sharp objects, and a paint bucket of angst. It was exhausting. Anya would normally complain about her to her face, but she was pretty sure she just learned what kind of person she'd be if she went mob instead of military, and she wasn't sure she liked that.

And she had to admit, the woman was damn powerful. So, she just tried to be as understanding and civil as possible. From what the dossier said, and the few snippets in conversation, she went through hell. Made sense she'd be pissed as hell, too. For now, she'd just give Jack some space to adjust.

Granted, she might've been open to a little more "space" after bedroom setup because a few hours before Chakwas had pinged her that a certain turian was awake and setting himself up in the main battery. Despite the fact she needed a damn nap, she was headed there the second she could sneak off away from Jack.

She also had already pinged EDI on a private channel to please not interrupt them unless it was an emergency, and not to tell anyone where she was. The AI was lovely and compliant. Anya had to admit, over the last few days, she was growing on her.

Couldn't tell Joker that, though, he'd call her a traitor.

Walking up to Garrus' new door, she took a deep breath and knocked. He didn't even ask, or say anything. The metal just slid open and Garrus was there, smiling at her. "Heard you might be coming down to see me."

Anya bubbled with awkward laughter as she walked into the battery and the door closed behind her. "W-who told you that?"

"EDI. She said you wanted to see me and wanted to get permission to shut off comms to my room." He chuckled and Anya wished it was more annoying than it was endearing. "Guess you really want to talk, huh?"

With a glare tossed to the ceiling comms, Anya said, "Okay, I'm with Joker. The AI's a traitor."

"What?"

"Nevermind. I'm just happy you're up and walking around." Anya leaned her elbows against the railing by his station. "Like the new space?"

Garrus followed suit and stood right next to her, but he faced the tech instead of the door. All that really mattered was that his blue eyes were looking at her. "Do I like having a room to myself where I can calibrate guns and not hear Wrex and Williams bicker? Of course." His laughter faded and Shepard knew what he was thinking, talking about the two of them. Garrus beat her to the punch, though, saying, "Granted, I don't think I'd mind hearing them bicker again if I could."

"Me neither."

"How'd the mission go?"

"Perfectly fine, Jack almost tore the ship in half with us in it and the warden was secretly selling his prisoners for spare parts. Oh, and I had to do some Commander bonding to make both Jack and Miranda less domineering assholes. But, y'know, typical."

"For you? Definitely."

Anya felt her cheeks blush at her next thought, but she couldn't help herself. Not when it was true. She did avoid looking at him, though, instead staring at her fingernails like there was anything interesting about their short, pink nubs. "It was distinctly lacking a sniper who likes to back-talk, though. I think it threw me off my A-game."

"I'm pretty sure we can have you covered for the next mission." Garrus paused, and Anya was tired of the weird distance she was putting between them by facing the door. She turned and copied his posture.

But when he got to talking again, his shoulder slumped and his eyes wouldn't meet hers. "Sorry I had to go comatose for a couple days. Doctor's orders, because apparently I didn't follow them well enough while conscious."

"Not a bad call. You're pretty damn stubborn." Lightly, almost like he might break, she bumped his shoulder with hers. Anya didn't know it would feel so nice, doing the casual friendship stuff with him again. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "How are you holding up, after Omega?"

"I don't know." Garrus laughed, but she recognized it as the hollow, empty kind he used when shit really wasn't that funny. Before she could ask more, he sarcastically countered, "How do you like coming back from the dead and waking up a Cerberus play toy?"

"Not funny."

"I'm mostly kidding." He bumped her shoulder back, the way they used to on the old Normandy, like they were tossing little touches of support at each other with each brush. "I just want to know how you're coping. We can go back to my fun new trauma if you really want, but I need to know you're doing okay. I won't shut up about it until you tell me."

"I don't want to let your whole deal slide, but I will for now since you sound annoyingly sincere. Honestly? Being reborn in a Cerberus lab isn't the worst. They give me a lot of liberties and I get to call the shots. It's like Spectres but with a much shinier, much shadier bank account." Anya leaned harder into her elbows, bit her cheek, and looked at him. He looked so genuine and kind that she could vomit. Made her want to talk more than she was used to with the others. There he was, back at it again, making her talk about everything. "Funny thing about Cerberus, no matter how much of an asshole the Illusive Man is and how their ideals suck, it's the treatment that's the worst. I'm more like a godly legend here than I ever was in The Alliance. There, at least I was still one of the soldiers. Here, I'm a multi-million dollar resurrection project to save the universe." Anya sighed and got a little anxious at Garrus just staring at her. "Not that I wish I was still dead, but does mean I have had to accept the fact that I'm not really human anymore, not to the galaxy."

He was silent before poking her in the arm. She remembered the last time he did that; on her couch after Ash's funeral, when she didn't know if he was reaching for more. Luckily, this time, she didn't have any stupid expectations. It was just nice to be poked again. "Still seems like the same squishy human to me."

Anya laughed; laughed like she hadn't in ages. Everything about being here with him, it felt like her skin was ripping away, exposing every inch of muscle, every motion unbearably raw and painful. But she wouldn't dare thinking about being anywhere else, because she'd rather be raw with him than safe outside those. Doors. Looking up at his eyes, she said, "I missed you, Garrus."

"You think you missed me? You've missed me a couple weeks. I've missed you a couple years." Garrus chuckled and leaned in deeper to the railing, like his shoulders were getting too heavy. But his eyes didn't look like he was laughing. "You gave me a lot to agonize over. I should've known "I'll find you" was just heroic bullshit." But then, softer, more bitter, he laughed again. "But I guess you did find me, in that Omega deathtrap."

"How'd you end up there, anyway?"

"You really are going to make me do the tragic backstory thing, aren't you?" When he looked at her, he shook his head. Guess she wasn't the only one who felt like their friendship made them talk, even when they didn't really want to. "I wasn't in the best headspace after you died. Pent-up. Angry. I still am. My sister, Sol, helped me find a place to vent my frustrations and stop hearing your name." Garrus winced and flashed apologetic blue eyes at her. They were nicer than he probably realized, but Shepard felt that one in her gut. It was like a needle suddenly appeared and was threatening to pierce through. "No offense."

She looked away from him, because she knew he had every right to be upset with her. Hell, she was just happy he didn't hate her. But that didn't erase the years of pain that were all her fault and she couldn't forget that. Anya said, "I was the asshole who got myself killed, can't blame you."

But then his shoulder bumped hers, a little harder. "Not that. After all those talks with you about how being a hero hurt, I couldn't stand them turning you into a martyr. I knew Spectres would've been hell about that. I needed to find a place where you weren't a hero. Omega fit the bill."

Anya didn't know what to say. What could she say to someone who hated the galaxy she left behind because she leaned on him? Instead, she asked, "And then what?"

"What else? I ended up doing justice my way. And then I got too high on being team leader to realize it's weaknesses. We were betrayed by one of our own. I got lured away, and by the time I came back, everyone but two of my guys were dead. And those two only lasted a little over a day. I was alone, at the end. Just like when I lost you."

Again, Anya felt lost. Normally, her answer was to fix everything, but she put her own ass out of commission. Now all Garrus had were tragic memories that she couldn't change. The best she had were lame-ass condolences. "I can't bring back your team, but you have me." Even though she was starting to feel overwhelmed, Anya placed her hand on his and looked up at his face, something she cared about so much, and tried to make it clear that the universe hadn't forgotten him; she hadn't forgotten him. She wouldn't let it. "The dossier was a fluke, but I always planned on finding you. When The Illusive Man said you were missing, I couldn't think-."

Old Garrus would've pulled her into his arms and held her, but he just pulled away from her, stared down at his hands, and she could've sworn he looked guilty, maybe even angry. "I had to go underground. You were my best friend and you were dead. I had to do something."

Even though she didn't mean to, Anya felt her skin bristle. "So you turned into a merc-killer?"

He wouldn't even look at her now, just lost in the lines on his own talons. "Better a dumb hero than a useless one, buried under tape."

"You really would've been useless if you died." She wanted to reach for his hand again, but he already pulled away once. She just gave him a lame, weak bump against his shoulder again. With all the feelings washing over her, how could she have much else? Anya just tried her best to keep her composure, thinking about Omega. "You almost did, Garrus."

"On that balcony, I did die. That team got me through losing you. Without them, I was ready to take down as many goddamn mercs as possible before I went out. And then you showed up to save my ass, like you never died in the first place."

In that battery, there was definitely some tension and anger and guilt neither of them really knew how to process yet. And while they could talk in circles over things they weren't ready to face, Anya couldn't sit here, next to the turian she cared most about in the galaxy, and just make him think about the misery of it all. God knows how much she'd already done that while she was gone.

Instead, she just wanted to make him feel better.

"I'm sorry. Everything's fucked up." Anya shook her head and said what she should have said years ago, instead of always falling in his arms like he was made to hold her. It wasn't fair, not when he didn't... Well, she always pushed his boundaries and that wasn't fair, either, not when she knew she'd probably die. "I'm sorry if anything I did back then pushed you away. Or hurt you. I can't fix the fact that I died, but I should've been better, maybe left you with something more inspiring than-"

"Shepard, shut up."

"Don't. Let me try to start making up for what I did to you. I leaned on you. I made you participate in things that meant different things for each of us. I left you. I said I'd find you, but I didn't and I can't go back. Now is all I have."

When their eyes met, Garrus wasn't bitter or guilty anymore, but he still looked angry. And when he stood straight up, so much taller than her, she even felt somewhat intimidated. He looked down at her with such seriousness that it did make her shut up. "You don't need to apologize for being the hero you are." Suddenly, he was placing a hand on her arm, looking all over her shoulders, her skin, her legs, like he still couldn't believe she was there. "You're right, they're gone, and you're back and that's what we're dealing with. But if I could go back, I'd tell the most amazing woman in the galaxy that I was a scared idiot who kept pushing her away." Anya's brain was too fried to understand what he was saying, but he grabbed her hand and kept on going. "I couldn't believe what I felt. Not when you were... you and I was a lost ex-C-Sec officer clinging to you. I don't know if I feel sure or comfortable about any of it, but of course I care about you."

Scanning his face for any certainty, all Anya found was this desperate gaze that she'd never seen on him before. She just started blubbering, thinking of that morning after Noveria. Maybe he was talking about their friendship, and he thought her final words were about something platonic. She couldn't blame him, she never said anything overtly romantic, but she couldn't lie about it either. "I know that, but I meant-"

"Dammit Shepard. I know what you meant. I didn't know how to deal with it. But you died. I'm not going to push you away anymore so you can play perfect Commander. I thought you deserved Alenko or Liara back then. Closer to home, y'know? I was being an insecure asshole." If he knew what she meant... But Garrus just kept on talking before she could process, like if he stopped talking he'd lose the nerve. His hand squeezed hers. "But look at you. I never thought I'd see you again, let alone touch you or talk to you. For all the fucked up things that have happened to me, I don't know how I got so lucky."

"...Garrus..."

He took a step closer to her and Anya couldn't think over the sound of her heart beating. "I'm not smooth or romantic, and I'm not going to pretend I have a thing for humans. Just- Noveria meant something, okay? You chose me over Kaidan. You wanted me to stay the night. I'm not that fucking clueless. And I wanted it. But you were my CO and I thought we could never be anything but some drunk fantasy you got stuck on because you were lonely and hurt. I didn't want to encourage it." Another step, and he looked from their hands intertwined to her face with this screwed up look, like he was somewhere between vomiting and panicking. She understood the feeling. What also was there, though, was this softness that made her speechless. "But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep away from you."

"So you did know what I meant. But you said..."

"I know what I said and I was a damn liar."

With her heart drilling a jackhammer through her brain, she couldn't quite keep anything straight. Anya asked, "Are you sure?"

"You're impossible." Laughing, Garrus took a deep breath and kept going. She was thankful, because she would be stuttering and stumbling so hard by now that this conversation could've been classified as a verbal break. "Let's put it this way. All of us were devoted to you. But look at me. Everyone else moved on; I didn't. If I couldn't have you, the best I could do was be you."

"You did a pretty damn good job."

"No, I didn't. Yet even now you won't shut up about believing in me. Dammit Shepard, the fact that you believed my bullshit is absurd. I'm pretty sure everyone else knew how I felt. The least I can do is tell you now: I want to be with you." His handsome face and eyes fell, but his voice kept going and that was good. Because she could swear that voice was something she wished she could hear forever. "But we gotta be real here, I'm not the same person you said all those things to anymore. Omega and my team changed me. Losing you changed me. I don't know what that means for... us. If there even is an 'us". I'm half convinced none of the things I've just said make any sense."

Garrus might've been holding her hand, but he looked so unsure. She wished she could give him a good old Commander Shepard pep talk, but that wasn't what this was. This was something a lot more beautiful, and so very human.

So, all she had was an awkward human to give him. With a crackling cough, she said, "Call me Anya."

His eyes flicked up and met hers, confused. "What?"

"Off-duty, it's Anya. We can start there." She smiled and added, "I don't really know what to do about this either. I missed two whole years and I never knew you could- I know there's a lot I have to catch up on. But what I said before..." Anya was going to throw herself into a laser if she couldn't finish a sentence. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and then looked up at the handsome turian who made her feel like no one else. And she was fucknig terrified, but she said, "All it took is one look on Omega and you made me feel myself again. That matters. That's why you matter so much." When she laughed, it was so awkward that she wondered if someone could off her right now. Why in the hell did Garrus have any interest in her? That was far harder to wrap her head around than reciprocation.

Pulling her hand away, she ran her fingers through her hair and said, "And maybe next time we pass a bar, you can buy me a drink."

"I- I can do that."

"Good."

They stood next to each other for a minute, not really knowing what to say or do. Her entire body was an embarrassing, life-size blush and Garrus kept scratching his neck and wrists like he'd itch away how tragically embarrassed they both were.

Anya was a little upset she'd never bothered with relationships before. It would make her a lot less of an idiot at this moment, which was otherwise very important to her. Hell, maybe this is why Joker and Oksana used to tell her to go on dates and try out romance more, instead of focusing on work and dance. She hadn't felt so inept in years. Thank god they were alone, because he was the only one she could stand being so-

But then his voice cut through her thoughts. "One last confession?" Anya's head swiveled to look straight at him. His smile looked a lot more hopeful than she'd ever seen before, but it also kept wavering like he might pop a gasket. How sincere he looked made up for it and melted her heart all the way through the damn floor. "I respect Commander Shepard like hell. But those last few weeks on the Normandy? I was starting to like Anya a lot better."

Tragically, Anya felt her eyes tear up. Even without the confession shit, hearing someone she cared about say that? Damn, did that mean a lot to her. Garrus put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it, which did not help the weird whirlpool of overwhelmed feelings. She knuckled away any stray tears as quickly as she could. "Now that I'm not being a lying asshole, I gotta admit you're pretty adorable when you try not to cry."

Anya punched his shoulder. "Vakarian, I swear I will kill you-"

"Also cute when you try to threaten my life."

"Both you and Wrex need to work on what you find endearing." She crossed her arms and tried to take slower breaths and prayed her face cooled off. She needed to stop being such an embarrassment. Garrus also needed to work on what he found endearing since he liked her like this, messy and red and almost crying.

Next to her, he cocked his head sideways. "What do you mean?"

"Before... When we dropped him off, he was proud of people wanting to kill him? And I told him he shouldn't find that charming?" Anya realized that even though the memory was fresh for her, only a few weeks ago, Garrus hadn't seen Wrex in two years. She grimaced and facepalmed. "This whole time jump thing is going to be weird for a while, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it will be. But I'll be here for you like always."

Anya had to deflect; at this point she needed to, or her best friend was about to turn her entire body into a giant tomato with no chance of turning back to its normal color. With a very uneven laugh that cycled through several pitches, she said, "Just realized, you don't even know if I still feel the same way about you. You just assumed. Bold of a so-called insecure asshole."

"How could anyone not love this face?" He paused, and poked her cheek. "And no offense, but look at your face." Before she could get mad, he continued, "In all seriousness, I didn't know until you looked at me in med-bay."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it was when your Commander face was finally down. Even though you only looked for a few days and I looked for a few years, I knew that smile. And I can't tell you how much I wanted to hold you again, seeing you look as relieved as I felt."

Anya wanted to curl up in the corner because her entire body was warm and awkward. She had to be upgrading from tomato to cooked lobster. "You say you're not good at romantic..."

"Give me a minute. I'll say something wonderfully unsexy."

No matter how much she totally loved being embarrassed and impressed and feel her heart beat out of her chest, she did say what she came down here to say. And, she had other things to do. Looking up at his bright blue eyes, she sighed in disappointment. She really couldn't stay down here and look at them all day, could she? "Would love to, but I have some mission reports to go over." She also needed a cold shower and a nap, too.

They stood in front of each other and just kinda stood stiff, neither really knowing what to do. Anya just nodded and started sliding her way towards the door. When she was almost out, all the fuzzy feelings in her chest couldn't help but add, "Two years, and I still found you."

"Yeah, you did, A-Anya." Garrus winced so hard that she could see his flexing muscles ripple throughout his shoulders. Yep, needed a cold shower. Scratching his head, his face looked pained when he said, "Dammit, first time using your first name and I say it like you have a gun to my head. Perfect."

Anya just kept walking very slowly through the open door. "And there it is. The awkward turian of my dreams." After she said that, her entire body caved in, turning into some sort of horrific modern art piece about social suffering. Covering her face with both hands, she rubbed her cheeks and shook her head. How were they two of the galaxy's top soldiers? The universe had terrible taste. They were pathetic. "Fuck, we both need to work on this. But for now, with that horrible, cringey statement, I should go."

Before she could reach the hallway, he stepped forward and squeezed her hand, giving a wink. Every organ in her abdomen fluttered. She was a little bitter that the man had his moments of being so damn charming. "As long as you promise to come back."

Like the horribly awkward grub of a human she was, she shook his hand, then let it go. "I will."

Turning on her heel, she walked away from the battery and hoped space lightning struck her dead before she ran into anyone. Luckily, no one paid any attention to the freshly embarrassed, cherry-colored human walking across the crew deck and into the elevator.

Anya was absolutely pathetic, definitely even more than he was, but she also couldn't help but feel her heart dance a goddamn jitterbug in her chest.

She did need a shower and a nap and to go over some mission reports, but before that she pinged the only other confidant she had. My answer changed. The reunion was good. Really good.

Joker responded a few seconds after she started prepping the water. She checked her datapad one last time to read, Great! Do I get to win the dating pool, then? I bet 50 credits on your big, obvious turian crush.

Staring at her screen, Anya snorted, but played coy. I didn't say anything about dating.

Don't make me force EDI to pull up the footage.

With an eye-roll, Anya replied, I'll send you 300 credits if you shut up.

Sounds like a deal. A pause. Extorting you about your dating life is great, I've really missed out all these years.

Fuck off, Joker.

Happy you're happy, Anya.

///

I love this chapter sososososo much. It's super long, but I always knew I wanted them to talk about their feelings instead of playing the slow burn forever. I feel like people who were as close as they were would always struggle not just letting their feelings fall out of their mouths. Instead, our conflict is them being awkward middle schoolers falling in love and trying to save the galaxy.

Thanks so much for reading. Even more thanks to my lovely patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly