#and Gil has to be cool and calm on the outside

[softquietsteadylove]

I just love Thenamesh Receptionist AU and the way Gil changes his personality from the adorable house husband to this ruthless dangerous gangster when it comes to Thena.

But what if this time it’s the other way? Thena suddenly becoming the goddess of war snapping at some business partners who dare to insult him and making fun of him? Gil being secretly proud but masks it with his unreadable gangster look.

It's been a long time since she's brought in tea to Gil while he's in a business meeting. It adds to the general nostalgia of being in the office, she finds.

Gil is discussing some business plans with a few men she has seen before. Not only are they in the 'shipping' business as well, but she knows that they're almost like frenemies with each other. Perhaps it's accurate to say they're rivals from back when they were first starting out in the business.

Thena sets down the cups of barley tea, keeping it discreet as she peeks at her partner through her lashes. He's just as subtle about looking at her, although she can see a hint of a smile tucked behind his fist pressed against his lips.

"You know what I missed the most about you working here?" One of the associates says with a laugh. "His sexy receptionist."

"Watch it," Gil snaps at them without hesitation. If they didn't have a history of friendly rivalry between them they would already be on their third strike.

"He's right," the other business partner smacks his chest lightly and points at Gil, "he is our gracious host."

Gil remains quiet, waiting to see where this is going (and if he still has to tell these guys off for talking about his girlfriend like this, right to his face, and when she's standing right there).

"Yeah, besides," they both turn at him with matching grins, "he's already whipped."

Thena frowns, standing aside with the tray pressed to her chest--whipped?--Gil?

The men laugh between themselves though--far too hard for a joke that wasn't funny to begin with. "You're right, he's a docile little house husband, now!"

"I bet he does all the cooking and cleaning!"

Well, the cooking, but that's because she can't cook for shit. And she thinks they're quite good about splitting housework, actually.

"Can you even still run the business?" one of them laughs a little too hard, a little too loud, this time. "Or do you have to ask for your balls back from her when you call a meeting?"

Thena walks back over, pulling the empty cup away from him so she has room to raise the tray and hit him in the face with it full force.

The other one sits there, stunned. "What are you-"

"Do you want to be next?" she demands, and he immediately shakes his head no. "Now it's one thing if you want to talk like old friends, but to insult the man who built the empire into which you've been invited!"

Gil lets her go on, enjoying this far too much to interrupt her. And man, she has a great swing!

Thena pulls the man she hit in the face upright again by the tie, making sure he's collected himself enough to listen to her. "If you're sad about being lonely that's your own fault, but if you speak another word at Gilgamesh's expense the next hit with this tray is going to be with the intention of rupturing your entire nutsack."

All three men wince just at her description.

Thena tosses him back in his seat, walking back to the edge of Gil's desk. "Any questions? Or do you think you can manage the rest of this deal via email?"

The gentlemen see themselves out, walking on wobbly knees (one of them needing the other to guide him to the door with his broken nose and swollen eyes). They bow out the door, offering only their respects to both parties.

Thena rolls her eyes as soon as the door is shut behind them again.

"That's my Goddess!"

Thena laughs as Gil sweeps her into his arms and off her feet. He managed to keep such a straight face with them around but now he's back to being her golden retriever of a househusband. "Gil!"

"God, that was hot, Naekkeo!" he laughs, spinning her around with his arms around her waist.

"Well," she murmurs as he sets her down again, "they don't get to talk about you like that."

"Hm," he smiles at her, and she knows from that look in his eye that they're probably done working for the day. "I like having the Goddess of War watching over me."

"Gil, you are a mob boss."

"So?" he shrugs, leaning in to kiss her with a grin, "I like it when you let me lie down with my head in your lap."

Thena kisses him with a sigh, leaning against him as he pries the bloody tray out of her hands. "I like that too."

[fisherrprince]

again. AGAIN!!! This time everyone worries quite a lot

••

Nothing of note had happened. 

Or at least, Alisaie didn’t think anything of note had or was currently happening, she mostly thought things like “I’m glad I don’t have to deal with whatever this Hancock fellow is talking about now” and “How much Gil would it take to ship this back to Sharlyan?” and “By the Twelve, there is no way dignitaries can talk for this long” and things of the sort.

Until, of course, she notices that her brother is not among the long-chattering crowd currently taking up most of the East Aldenaard Trading Company office, like she thought. In fact, he hasn’t spoken in minutes, which is firstly unusual. He instead grasps her hand to arrest her attention and tugs, eyes straight forward. 

“Alisaie,” Alphinaud says tightly, “We need to go outside.”

“What? Why?”

“Please.”

Alisaie frowns. Her brother does not say “please” to her that way. “Alright. Should I leave the bags here or take them?”

“Leave. Or — i-it doesn’t matter. Either.” 

He keeps a tight hand on his, so copying the notion Alisaie brings the goods she’s procured from the Ruby Bazaar as a useful excuse for why they leave so quickly. She throws a quick “Be right back!” at Tataru, and allows her brother to escape the office and take, instead of leaving the area entirely — which probably rules out an attack or something, seeing as he also didn’t try to get Tataru to come with? Or anyone else — take a sharp right at the stairs and nearly collapse directly on the damp grass underneath the porch and out of sight. 

Alisaie’s ears flatten against her head as a sudden spike of fear hits her right in the chest and sinks there. She drops her bags and darts under the porch to press her hand against his forehead. “Are you alright?! What’s wrong? Alphinaud?”

“Fine! Fine,” he says, righting himself — then leaning against the foundation, trying to find something even slightly comfortable. He pulls his knees in. “Just need— I,” he sucks in a tight breath. 

“Should— should I send for someone?”

Alphinaud shakes his head violently. He’s given up on speaking, wholly focused on taking heavy, short breaths curled up against the rock. Something is wrong, though, not fine, he’s acting like he’s sick or injured or, something, or,

Alisaie wants to call for someone anyways. Ch’ari is not here, off doing errands on completely different continents. Maybe Tataru would know what to do — she’s always been resourceful, and she’d peel away from the conversation in an instant if she told her. Stubbornness is a family trait, he could be hurt. But should she leave him? What if — she almost hits her head on the underside of the porch — what if something happens? She should have kept her linkpearl, Garlean intercession be damned—

Alphinaud grasps at her, vaguely, arm still tight to his side. She abandons her train of thought and darts in next to him, as if they were children under a blanket after lights had gone out, huddling under a porch. 

“Five minutes,” Alphinaud whispers, with no less than all the voice he can muster. 

Alisaie doesn’t like this. “Okay. If you do not recover in five minutes, I’m getting Tataru.”

A tiny nod, and he puts his hands atop his head and becomes a tight ball. Alisaie really doesn’t like this. 

Waiting, that is. Waiting around for something to stop. Or get better. Waiting is for people with no plan, with no solution, and she needs a plan. It is not a good five minutes, listening to her brother wheeze through his teeth as if strangled and trying not to skip seconds on her watch and feeling as if maybe there are ants on this grass (there are none).

But true to his word, as he always is, Alphinaud’s breathing slows, and calms, slowly, and he pulls his head off of his knees and leans backwards to take in the cool night air of Kugane. 

“…Are you alright?” Alisaie asks, once she has studied him for a reaction. 

“Mm-hm.”

“What was that?”

Her brother chances a thin look in her direction, his expression doing a funny jolt between relieved and worried at her own, and then seemingly getting too worked up and looking away again to breathe correctly. She must look like a timid mouse. And it’s only in the shelter of the porch that she admits she feels like one. 

“I’m sorry,” Alphinaud starts. “I didn’t… mean to scare you.”

“You would have scared me less had I known you weren’t dying. …Right? You’re not, right?”

“No, no, I promise. No dying. Just…” He takes breaks to make sure he’s still breathing. “Sick. For a moment.”

“How?”

Alphinaud takes his head off the rocky foundation and begins to fiddle with his gloves. At least this is a sign of normalcy, something that makes Alisaie adjust her own position — she hadn’t realized how tense she was — to listen. 

“I’m… sure there’s another word for it. But Ari calls it memory sickness.”

Alisaie’s eyebrows furrow, but she lets him continue. “He explained… how did he say it. That if something bad happens, sometimes the memory that contains that event — or, an object from the event, or something of that nature, can become tainted. And it can fester, if it isn’t paid attention to, so when the memory resurfaces, it can… You can get sick.”

“From a memory? How?” Then, “…Has something happened?”

Alphinaud shifts uncomfortably. He hasn’t — Alisaie realizes, he has only told her an abridged version of whatever he was up to in Ishgard, whatever explained his drastic shift in personality. It hadn’t bothered her before, quite the opposite actually she was very pleased and a bit smug and a bit proud and a bit worried, because her own shift from flat anger to full purpose was… riddled with events she would rather not recall, but now she’s more than a bit worried. 

“Nothing I am able to discern fully,” he lies. She frowns, and almost chases it, but she can still feel his breathing against the side of her chest, so… she will let it go until she’s certain he’s no longer ill. And if it comes from a memory, further prodding may hurt more than help. She will remember it, though. “What is it like, then?”

His head tilts into his hand. “Ari says for him it is more like he thinks he’s inside it, and he can’t get it to stop. The memory is so strong he feels sensations that are not real. But, um— he’s figured out how to feel the memory hit him. So he knows to leave before it makes him sick and he can recover in private. That is why he disappears with no explanation, at times. For me… I don’t know. I cannot tell what is causing it, nor can I think of any specific memory that has fouled. Mayhap I need to pay more attention. But I just become ill like this, as if I were in battle. And then it passes. Eventually.”

Alisaie buries her own chin in hand, sorting through this. “Does it happen immediately?”

“I don’t think so? It builds. That is probably why I can’t pin down what causes it. It has only occurred twice,” Alphinaud admits, quietly. 

“Well. What happened today? Mayhap you can narrow it down. We’ve been gathering souvenirs and repairs for the past hours,” Alisaie begins, stronger now that there’s something solid to puzzle out. 

“Dinner was par for the course, Ch’ari took the entire teapot for himself yet again and the food was wonderful. Those dignitaries inside were quite dismissive, and rather crowded in there. The Bazaar was busy as well — there was that man who tried to sell you a necklace thinking you were me. He was altogether too handsy and I should have kicked him for it. Should I have kicked him for it?”

“No,” Alphinaud says, a weak laugh behind the words. “No, violence is disallowed, remember? I value my sister over petty revenge.”

“We have evaded capture once, we could do it again,” Alisaie sniffs. “But that is not what bothered you?”

Alphinaud drops his chin onto his knees again. “Any number of things could have caused it. Maybe all.”

“Oh.” Her ears lower. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure how to help.”

“You are helping. Very much. And I greatly appreciate you being here with me, even if I pulled us out of the office without explaining.”

Alisaie leans herself against him, short and forceful. “If you think I’d abandon my dying brother, you’ve lost it entirely.”

“I am not dying,” Alphinaud snorts. “I am, however… a bit damp, now. And not bereft of embarrassment.”

Alisaie notices, finally, that the wet grass has soaked through her coattails and into her skirt somewhat. “Ah.” Alphinaud, too, must have a damp patch down his back and legs from his position against the ground. “Well, there is no shame in staying out a bit longer. Tataru won’t come for us for at least twenty minutes.” 

She stands, brushing dew and grass off of herself. “Come on, then.”

Alphinaud takes her hand and heaves himself up, nearly hitting his head on the porch. “We can walk a moment.”

••

“Ch’ari.”

The Miqo’te tilts his head in her direction, indicating that he’s listening. Alisaie tries not to let her breath in shudder. 

“When you spoke to Alphinaud about his memory sickness, what did you tell him?”

Ch’ari, ever perceptive, gets to the point she was trying not to dodge around with a concerned tail twitch. “Do you feel sick?”

“No.” 

He tilts his head the other way and studies her. She folds her arms and looks up at him, normally as possible, the Doman morning just cold enough to seep through the bones. 

Ch’ari knows, he knows she’s overly worried, and he’s not good at hiding how much he wants to do something about it. But how could you not be? And how is Hien so calm? If your brother went wholly missing not only in Garlean territory but in the middle of a wasteland of nothingness, with no one but himself and maybe — she doesn’t fully trust Maxima, they don’t know him — maybe one ally, maybe none, hunted down by the crown prince who doesn’t stop even without an Ascian in his skin Zenos doesn’t stop hunting until his quarry is dead or — she needs to stop thinking in front of Ch’ari. 

Said cat folds his arms and hums. “Your brother has about as much courage as he does fear of simple things. When I explained it to him, he mentioned that it was not entirely fear that caused him to fall apart, it was mostly a sense of wrongness.” He gestures with one claw. “It happens without your consent. It isn’t a sign of weakness to be beset upon by illness such as this.”

“I never said it was,” Alisaie says, becoming very interested in her sleeve. “I just… Want to know how he got rid of it so quickly. My brother is on my mind, if you were unaware.”

At least the attempt at humor causes Ch’ari‘s shoulders to relax, a half-smile causing a fang to poke out from under his lip. “I couldn’t tell.”  

He considers his words for but a moment. “Nali taught me a sequence. Firstly, you must recognize what your soul wants to do. Run and hide? Fight? Then, you must let it, but not let it at your objective. Give it a false target to exhaust itself on. For example — I often think I must either fight or hide. And so I have a terribly battered training dummy in my apartment that I allow myself to hurt.” He stops, and waits. For her. 

Alisaie plays along, at least for now. The walkthrough is more important than her posturing, and so she considers it. And after considering, she concludes that it is decidedly not that specific. She feels antsy, like moving, like yelling for someone to fix it. Like stealing a falcon and searching herself. As if her soul is beginning to shiver. “I… I don’t know. I just want to go after him before something happens.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try running.”

“Right. Doma is big enough.”

“I’ll accompany you, then.” Ch’ari straightens, casting his lance into the impossibly deep fist-sized pocket bag he carries around his waist. Where he got the thing, Alisaie never figured out. “But, before— before we go, another word of advice. Sometimes, despite preventing it, you will get sick anyways.” He gently pokes her in the shoulder. “Like anything else. No matter the medicine, if you have the stomach flu, you might still vomit.”

“Gross.”

“Very. If you do get sick, all you need do is sit and wait. Breathe slowly. Do not focus on anything else. And it will pass soon enough.”

“Hmm.” More waiting. Taking laps sounds like a better option by the second. Alisaie remembers sitting with Alphinaud, however - the way his chest heaved in place and his shivers that passed him in waves. There is likely wisdom in staying still, at that point. She hopes she never experiences it. She hopes he’s not sick. Anything could have happened. Maxima could not possibly know all of this, could he? 

Like reading her mind, Ch’ari pulls out a pair of daggers and closes his bag. “I am proud of you for holding it together,” he mentions, affixing them to his belt. “With Alphinaud’s temperament and your rather knightly tendencies, I half feared you’d be gone already.”

She exhales, focusing instead on lacing her boots. “Yes, well. I have always been less prone to illness than he is.”

“Full glass am I for that. Not that I dislike caring for — well. I’m just glad you’re alright. If we keep our heads on, we will find him soon enough. Shall we race?”

“Where?”

“Mmm. How about that tree?” He points — they have not explored much of the Doman enclave’s surroundings as of yet, and the tree in question rests on a high hill far in the distance. Plenty far to wear herself out. 

“Deal.” She takes off. 

(“Are you feeling any better?”

“No. But… less antsy, I suppose.”

“Good! Good.”)

•• authors note i suppose?? — Ari is conflating a number of mental illnesses, including PTSD and anxiety, all of which share the vague symptom “freak out and shut down due to a trigger of some kind”. I can’t imagine a nomadic tribe or a band of pirates has devoted the resources to mental health, and while I’m sure Sharlyan has picked the topic apart in full, I’m less sure they have a robust and considerate education program about it. Nanali, at least, comes from a large family with chronicled history, and taught Ari the term “memory sickness”. 

I also don’t headcanon Alphy as having anxiety — you can have a panic attack or something similar without having a panic disorder, hence the nomenclature, and when you do, it’s probably a good idea to take the advice of the ones who have them often. He had a bad one early-hw, which scared him half to death and prompted Ari to open up about it. This time it was, like, almost random, but a few too many things happened too fast, and he should have sat down twenty minutes ago but didn’t recognize the warning bells. Alisaie either! She just needs to recognize when she’s starting to get overwhelmed, and already has the “go fast” coping method, but can apply in the short term too in maybe a slightly healthier way. They’re such worried little raccoons and I can’t blame them, not when they’re 16 and they hang out with Me, but auough. Help the

[doodle-pops]

Hi Mina,

Can I ask for the elves reaction to seeing their S/O on their wedding day?

Thank you!

a/n: This was super sweet to picture 🥰

The moment they saw you, their breath was stolen and they didn't mind. You looked heavenly strolling down the aisle with your bouquet of flowers, veil and wedding attire. Their eyes couldn't help but well up a bit the more they beamed at you. "The Valar has truly blessed me with an angel of my own."

FEANOR, MAEDHROS, MAGLOR, Amrod, Amras, Fingolfin, FINGON, FINARFIN, FINROD, Angrod, Ecthelion, GALDOR, THINGOL, Erestor, ELROND, ELLADAN, GIL GALAD

Nervous enough to break out into a light sweat. The wedding jitters are hitting them but the moment you walk through the arch with your veil and flowers, it's waterworks. Tears of joy and mesmerised at the beauty you were. They would probably turn to their friends or family and be like, "Are they real? Are you seeing them? I'm getting married!"

Caranthir, CELEBRIMBOR, Turgon, AEGNOR, ROG, Maeglin, LINDIR, BELEG

They are cool and calm the entire time on the outside but are doing somersaults over the moon on the inside. They're ecstatic and can't believe that they're really tying the knot and settling down with the perfect person in the world. "Damn, I am one lucky elf!"

CELEGORM, Curufin, EGALMOTH

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Wedding Bell Blues

Episode Recap #48: Wedding Bell Blues Original Airdate: May 20, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Elizabeth Maclellan as Jennifer Carpenter (as Elizabeth MacLellan) Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque) Louis Ferreira as Danny Cavaletti (as Justin Louis) Gary Farmer as Rick Maurice Dean Wint as Gil Lolita Davidovich as Christy (as Lolita David) Ondine Hayes as Sally Marium Carvell as Nurse

Written by Nancy Ann Miller Directed by Jorge Montesi

This week, we are at the Silver Dollar bar and pool hall. A game is being played between Danny and some other guy, and Danny isn't doing well. He asks a waitress to get him another drink, and she defends him to a fellow waitress who isn't a fan. The waitress, Jennifer, tries to boost his morale, but the other player says Danny should just get a job. They continue to play, and Danny loses. He takes the money he owes from Jennifer, even though she protests that it is for their wedding.

Later, in the store room, the other waitress is killed by someone we don't see but she recognizes. And she is killed by being run through with a pool cue.

Back at the table, Danny is playing again and doing better, getting all the shots he calls. He wins.

At Curious Goods, Micki tells Ryan and Jack their cab has arrived. Seems the two of them are off to a lodge in search of cursed snow shoes. Jack asks about the pool cue Ryan was on to, and Ryan says a friend named Johnny was going to do some looking around. They leave. Micki is hoping for a quiet weekend.

Jennifer and her sister Christy are doing a fitting for Jennifer's wedding dress. Jennifer's head is in the clouds with regards to Danny, but her sister tries to remind her that Danny has been stringing her along. Jennifer says they are setting a date after the pool tournament but Christy isn't buying it. She also comments that she has had to refit the wedding dress a few times and that she is gaining weight. Jennifer looks at herself in the mirror.

Later, Jennifer is talking wedding plans with an uninterested Danny, then she throws up. Danny goes back to sleep.

At the pool hall, Danny is playing again and being watched by a woman at the bar, and a man. The bar owner wonders where his other waitress is, as Jennifer tries to cover the busy place.

The phone rings at Curious Goods and the man calling asks to talk to Ryan. Micki says he's out of town. The guy, Johnny, says he thinks he found the pool cue Ryan was looking for. Micki says she's on her way. Johnny acts cool and cocky to her on the phone.

Danny is arguing with the other player, but Jennifer calms him down. Micki and Johnny meet, and he shows her Danny, and says he hasn't missed a shot all night. Micki tries to say thank you, but Johnny asks about her and Ryan and why they are so interested in a pool cue. Johnny seems to think it is just a lucky cue and offers to play Danny in a game. Danny suddenly misses a shot and gets pissed. Johnny grabs the cue and tries to run but is stopped and tossed out. Micki pretends to not know him.

Later, she meets Johnny outside and he shrugs off his bloody lip. She tells him she can take it from here. Johnny tries to ask her out, but she bows out and leaves.

In the pool hall, Jennifer and the other player are talking about Danny. Seems the guys were once good friends, but only Jennifer continues to see the good in Danny. He tries to tell her to walk away. Jennifer rolls the pool cue and we see one of Lewis' curse mark on it. She grabs it and stabs the dude, lifting him straight into the air. He dies. Seems Jennifer is the one keeping Danny from being a complete loser at pool.

At a clinic, Jennifer waits and then is told by a nurse that she's pregnant. She goes home and Danny is there to get his cue. She said she missed him, he asks for some money. She mentions the wedding and he takes off.

That night at the Silver Dollar, Micki is trying to get hired as a waitress. She gets the job and is told to introduce herself to Jennifer. Jennifer makes sure Micki knows Danny is off limits. She tells her they are getting married tomorrow after the tournament at Ruby's. Micki asks about the game. Micki opens the freezer for ice, but Jennifer shuts it before Micki can see the body inside. She takes the bucket and sends Micki away. She talks to her baby, still believing her and Danny will be happy.

Danny is winning his games again, to the adulation of the crowd. The owner gives him the trophy. Micki makes a move for the cue, but her boss puts her to work. Jennifer congratulates Danny and asks him to spend the night, but he says no. He keeps making eye contact with a woman at the bar as he packs his cue away.

At Curious Goods, a tired Micki is not thrilled when Johnny arrives. He looks around the shop, but Micki wants him to go. Johnny wants to take her to lunch, but she begs off.

At another dress fitting, Christy is again trying to get through to her sister about Danny. Jennifer can't see it. Danny arrives with flowers. Christy leaves. Danny tries to get some physical attention, but Jennifer wants to talk wedding. Danny gets upset and Jennifer placates him. They fall into bed.

At the hall, the boss leaves Jennifer and Micki to close up and tells Danny he has a lot of money on him. Danny isn't making his shots and is frustrated. He spots the blonde again and blows off Jennifer and takes off. Jennifer grabs his cue and racks it as Micki watches. Jennifer gets suspicious. Later, Jennifer talks about Danny and Micki asks some questions. Jennifer seems deluded about Danny's true nature. Micki asks about the cue stick and Jennifer says it is their good luck charm. She aims the cue at Micki's back, but Johnny knocks and interrupts. Jennifer recognizes him and Micki tries to toss him out. Johnny plays along. They leave as Jennifer wonders what's up.

Micki yells at Johnny, saying he messed up her plans. Johnny wants to know what's up, but a frustrated Micki leaves. Later, Johnny breaks into the Silver Dollar and steals all of the cues. He goes to the back room to get ice for his hand and spots the body in the freezer. He takes off.

Johnny goes to Curious Goods and wakes Micki up. He shows her all the pool cues and tells her about the body in the freezer. Micki grabs a cue and breaks it, then another. Johnny does the same, confused. Micki says the one she wants can't be broken. Johnny is lost and wants answers. Micki says the one she wants is cursed. Johnny scoffs, and asks if she means cursed by the Devil. Micki says yes, but she is also confused cause Danny didn't seemed worried when he left it at the hall.

Later, Micki and Johnny are going over the information Ryan had amassed in regards to the pool cue. He finds an article with a picture of Jennifer and they realize she is the one using it. Micki knows that Jennifer has been using it to help Danny win.

Jennifer is alone, talking to her unborn child, about Danny and when to tell him about the baby. She calls Danny, and he is less than thrilled. He tells her he wants sleep. As he hangs up we see he is bed with someone else.

Micki and Johnny arrive at Jennifer's apartment, but no one answers. Johnny knocks the door in and they search the apartment but find no cue. A cop knocks on the door and Johnny sends Micki out the back while he answers the door.

That night, Jennifer goes to Danny's place and finds him with her sister, Christy. Danny says he never intended to marry her. Christy says Danny is fun, and that she isn't the only one. Jennifer puts the pool cue together as she confronts her sister, then kills her with it as Danny watches. She tells him she's being doing it so that he can keep winning. She holds the cue to his neck and tells him he is going to marry her. She kisses him.

Micki arrives at Ruby's where the tournament is happening. Danny is currently winning and heads to the finale. Danny is reluctantly winning, and the Silver Dollar boss is anxious to keep winning. Johnny arrives having made bail. Micki says Jennifer must have used the cue again. But they see Danny miss a shot and know Jennifer will need to kill again. They follow Danny out.

Jennifer is at the wedding room, in her dress with the cake and all. Danny arrives and says it is all over, but Jennifer won't hear it. They struggle, Johnny arrives and gets knocked out. Danny beats Jennifer with the cue and she crashes into the table with the cake. He leaves.

He arrives back at Ruby's to keep playing and Micki sees him. The game begins and Danny makes his first shot. They we hear a deluded and bloody Jennifer arrive, in her wedding dress. She calls Danny a loser an stabs him. He dies on the pool table and she collapses.

Ryan is back at Curious Goods and Micki and Johnny come in with the cue stick. Jack asks what happened when they see Johnny's injuries. Johnny tells them that Micki has told him about the curse. Micki fills them in on Jennifer. Jack says thank you to Johnny, but doesn't know how they can repay him, He says Micki owes him a dinner and offers to keep helping them in their mission.

My thoughts:

First off, we meet Johnny! He is played off a little more smug and uber-confident, like he's a ladies man, but this can also be seen as him trying to look super smooth in the eyes of the beautiful Micki. He is definitely toned down a bit in the future. But he is willing to help Micki out and even gets beaten up and tossed in jail. He even takes the curse information in stride. Not a bad first meeting.

The pool cue is a different kind of cursed item. And the fact that Jennifer is the one powering it and Danny is just clueless is a good twist.

Jennifer is obviously already unstable, as shown by her devotion to the cad that Danny is. But she is treated like crap by both Danny and her sister, so she has some sympathy there. Although she has killed innocent people just so Danny can win pool games, so… No winners here.

And she wasn't great about hiding bodies. In the freezer of a busy bar? Surprised they stayed hidden for so long. And that the tournament went on after the cops found the bodies!

Sending Ryan and Jack off so Micki and Johnny have to get the cue together must have been a way for them to showcase the chemistry they are hoping for between them. Hard for those of us in the Ryan/Micki camp. And at the time, we were clueless as to why Johnny was suddenly here, so Ryan was still viable to us.

Johnny isn't a bad character, but Ryan is a lot to replace.

As for Jennifer, does she die at the end? Or just collapse and was later arrested? We'll never know.

Next week: The Maestro

[onceuponamirror]

flutter

consequences? of her actions? it’s more likely than you think. nace oneshot, post 2x12, speculative fight and feelings. [read on ao3]

She wakes up disoriented. Her brain adjusts to her surroundings���creaky bed, filtered natural light streaming through plastic curtain panes, and faint smells, all mixing awkwardly with the dull neon sign over Gil’s bed.

Gil’s bed. Right. Now she remembers finding herself outside the Bobbseys’ at midnight, unable to stop herself. It feels like Nick all over again, when she buried her feelings in someone else and begged for a distraction from her own brain. But she keeps seeing Ace on that ledge when she closes her eyes, and can’t bring herself to let the thoughts linger.

The bed is empty, cool to the touch where another body should be. He’s been up for a while then, she thinks. Nancy sits up, straining her eyes against the morning light. Gently, an aroma of coffee and eggs wafts into Gil’s room, and she smiles, realizing he must’ve gotten up to make breakfast.

She pulls on her jeans and boots. Gil hadn’t seemed the type to cook a girl breakfast after a booty call, but maybe she’d misjudged him. She drapes her jacket over her arm and follows her nose to the kitchen.

“That smells gr—oh.” Abruptly, Nancy cuts herself off. It’s not Gil by the stove, but Amanda, who also quickly falls silent halfway through a laugh. At the counter, in his lucky pullover and an unbuttoned flamingo shirt, is Ace, who visibly straightens in his seat when he sees her.

“Uh.” Nancy finishes pulling on her jacket, adjusting her hair around the collar. Her neck feels very hot as she puts the pieces of the scenario together. The three of them, all before 8 am, all at the Bobbseys’s. She flashes Amanda an awkward finger gun. “You’re not Gil.”

Amanda smiles back at her sympathetically. “Sorry,” she replies. She glances down at the eggs sizzling quietly in the pan, and then back to Ace. “But I make a much meaner omelet than him anyway. Want one?”

For a long moment, Nancy just stares back at her. Red alarm sirens are ringing in her thoughts, but she’s still settling with the fact that both she and Ace seemingly slept here. “Is…Gil…here?”

“No. He left, about twenty minutes ago,” Ace says, his voice low. Nancy wonders if he always sounds this grumpy in the morning. “Forgot to mention you were here, though.”

Nancy blinks. “He left? Like—left? Is he coming back?”

Amanda turns off the stove and faces her. “He said he got a freelance gig that he couldn’t pass up. Kind of left in a hurry.” With a slight grimace, Amanda sighs. “Nancy, Gil can be…easily distracted. It makes him forgetful, you know? Of his manners, mostly. He doesn’t mean to be.”

Nodding distractedly, Nancy runs her tongue along her teeth. Of course he runs out the day he was supposed to help her out. After a long moment of Amanda and Ace watching her, he clears his throat. “Why? Did you need him or something?”

Ace’s tone is uncharacteristically harsh, and both she and Amanda turn to look at him. After another awkward beat, Nancy says, “Um. Well, he was supposed to help me run a boat over to this beach for the case I’m working on. It’s kind of…a two man job.”

He looks annoyed, but Amanda just smiles at her. “Well, we can help. Right, Ace? It could be fun. I’ve always wanted to go on one of your mystery adventures with you and Nancy,” she adds. Ace glances between the two of them, looking uncomfortable, but finally nods.

“Sure,” he says slowly, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah, we can help.”

“Great,” Amanda says cheerily, and plops the eggs she was cooking onto two plates. “Well, I’m gonna just take a quick shower. You two have these and then we can go!”

She disappears into the back of the trailer, and a few moments later, the sound of running water filters across the room. By the time Nancy glances back at Ace, he’s nearly finished eating the eggs before him, almost as if stuffing his face will keep him from talking to her.

Nancy takes a small bite of the eggs, chewing as painfully slow as she can. “This is good, actually. Maybe Amanda wants Grant’s old job. We still kinda need a line cook.” At the mention of his brother, Ace finally meets her eye. He doesn’t say anything, though—but she notes that he hasn’t left either. Attempting to fill the awkward silence, Nancy pushes on. “You know, I think this is the longest time you’ve been in a room with me since he left.”

“Yeah,” Ace sighs, and averts her look. “I’ve been busy.”

“Really?” She replies, skeptically. “Because it kind of seems like you’ve been avoiding me. Like, I don’t know, you’re mad at me?”

He glances at her again, like he’s considering his words. “Maybe I am.”

Nancy puts down her fork. She’d known this was coming, and hoped it wasn’t. Her hands slide over her face. “I know, I know, this is about the list of names. But…it was an emergency, Ace. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t let you—” She drops her hands from her eyes. “And—and anyway, I fixed it!”

“Yeah, you fixed it with Celia Hudson,” Ace replies curtly, getting to his feet. His voice rises. “You traded the list for letting a murderer get away with killing 12 people on that ship. You didn’t fix anything, Nancy, you just moved it to another place! You made me responsible for you doing—for those 12 lives instead!” 

For a moment, chest heaving, she stares at him. “No,” she says finally, finding a level in her tone. “I made me responsible for the Bonny Scot. Not you. And I will find another way to bring Everett to justice, okay? There’s always another wa—”

“What if there isn’t, Nancy?” He shakes his head, pacing towards her. “Not everything is a puzzle you can just solve, okay? What if he gets away with this and hurts someone else? We know he will. And you’ll get pulled in deeper with the Hudsons. And when that happens—that’s—that’s on me.”

“Then it’s my burden, Ace!” They’re practically shouting now. Dimly, she hopes Amanda can’t hear this through the shower. “You’re right, Ace, okay, I did trade your life for the witnesses and then I traded the witnesses for the Bonny Scot.I made a necessary calculation in a crappy situation. But I did it, not you!”

“For me!” He yells back. She’s not sure she’s ever heard his voice this loud; she wasn’t sure his vocal cords could physically reach this decibel. He exhales, deflating and running his hands through his hair. “It was… a total Slytherin move, Nancy. Okay? Just…admit you didn’t think it through.”

She scoffs, throwing her head back. “Well, that’s rich.”

Hands on his hips, he glowers at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How many federal databases have you hacked into by now, Ace?” She exclaims, throwing her arms out. “I think I stopped counting after you broke my dad out of prison!”

“That was different,” he mumbles. “That was an—”

“Emergency,” she finishes flatly, raising her eyebrows.

Ace purses his lips, and he finally seems somewhat calmed. “Your dad’s life was in imminent danger. I didn’t risk anyone else in the process. But I told you, Nance, at the paper mill. I told you I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else’s life. ”

“Well, I was responsible for yours,” she replies softly, defeated. He stares at her, chest heaving. “And…I told you, I couldn’t lose you.”

He still doesn’t say anything, but a look passes between them. Her heart flutters so madly against her ribcage she’s afraid he might hear it. She’s reminded of that night after the wraith in the woods, when he’d told her something very similar. He didn’t want to lose her, then. She wonders if he’s thinking the same.

There’s a long moment of silence.

Finally, she nods, and her hand finds itself home on his arm. “I’m sorry I made you feel responsible for the Bonny Scot, Ace, I really am. But…even if you’re right, and I can’t find another solution, then…it’s still my fault. Not yours. It’s my problem, my burden, okay? Please, Ace. I can’t have you mad at me. I can’t…focus when you are. I need you on my team.”

When she meets his eye again, his expression has softened. She can tell the fight has gone out of him. Eyebrows knitted, he says, “No.” Her face falls, but then he continues. “I’m a Hero of Horseshoe Bay too, you know. You shouldn’t have to shoulder it all alone.”

“Yeah, well,” she says, before she can plan otherwise, and steps back from him. She lets out a self-deprecating sound from the back of her throat, thinking of how Gil abandoned her the night after her promised to help. She thinks of Owen Marvin, dead because of her. She thinks of Nick, who was right to have ended things with her. Finally, and bitterly, her thoughts jump to how happy Amanda and Ace had seemed before she walked in. “I’m used to alone.”

His face crumples and he opens his mouth, but whatever Ace is about to say, she’ll never know. Amanda has emerged from the back of the trailer, toweling off her damp hair and already dressed. “Okay, I’m ready,” Amanda says, striding towards them. She pulls to a stop after a moment, having picked up on the strange energy lingering in her kitchen.

Ace is still looking at her with an expression she can’t—won’t—name. If she had to try, it might be pity, or a kinder version of it. She inexplicably feels like crying, but swallows it, unwilling to feel weak in front of Ace’s girlfriend.

“Everything okay?” Amanda asks gently, and Nancy can’t help but think, that’s why Ace likes her. She’s sweet. Her heart squeezes again. Don’t think about it.

Exhaling, Ace nods at Amanda, and then back to Nancy. “Yeah. We’re okay.”

She hopes it’s true.

[imaginethebeautifulworld]

Hello! ¡Hola! Ciao! Salut ! So question: what would you do if you ever met Gilbert, Lovi and Arthur in real life? And possibly where would be the location of your meeting? 🙃

Dear Ancients are you trying to kill me? @_@

Salutations, Lovely~ I'll try to be as... realistic as I can here, I guess.

First off, I at least know from experience that I would keep my panic at bay until I was finally alone again, when I would have a full on meltdown. I don't-

How do you cope with meeting someone you've been lowkey daydreaming about for the past ten years? Silently vow to yourself to keep calm and carry the fuck on, and make sure you never let them find out that you've been writing fanfiction about them for near a decade.

As for how I would meet them?

Well, that's honestly a really hard one to answer, luv. ^_^; Despite my severe social anxiety, I casually befriend people all the time, in some of the most unpredictable ways.

I based each of these loosely off of how I actually met some of my friends, as realistically I can't even begin to narrow down just how I meet/befriend people.

Arthur I know would be the most likely candidate for actually, unintentionally running into. My ultimate goal for years has been to move back to London on a permanent basis, hopefully earn my Masters equivalent in History or Journalism. Now, I gotta be honest, I was rarely ever in my dorm except to sleep; there was a whole city to see!

I got roped into a giant game of Manhunt in Southwark with a bunch of (at that time) strangers, I wandered the damp silt along the Thames when the tide was low, bonding with some Crawlers over the cool ass artifacts we found, and there was Brazilian student I became Whats App buddies with during a weekend bus trip to Belgium, bonding over our books, the fact we were the only singles in a tour group filled with couples, and everything we thought the other should explore back in London.

I can honestly say that Arthur is... Welp, I just think out of the three of them, however we meet would be the most random happenstance. Maybe he's the punk I bonded with while in the queue outside Garfunkle's, singing along to the vintage tunes and gradually loosening up into overly dramatic faces and silly dances.

Gilbert would... As much as I love him, I feel like in real life he would probably intimidate me at first.

He reminds me of these guys I met in Montmartre that started walking with me, rambling at me in French, then English, trying their damndest to convince me to let them buy me a coffee. I thought I was in the clear when I used Italian to say I didn't understand what they were saying, and my fucking luck that one of them was fluent in Italian, too. Or maybe he's like the guy who was at the Venice airport waiting for the same flight, bored out of his mind and playing wallball with a small bouncy ball he had in his pocket, who I ended up asking to join when my roommate fell asleep on her then-boyfriend, now-husband. Or he'd be like the kid who accidentally got locked into Regent's Park after hours, and I helped him climb over the fence to get back out. Or maybe he's the guy I made laugh in an Amsterdam grocery store because of my mini meltdown over finally finding Cool American Doritos at 10 pm, who then helped me figure out exactly which pre-sliced deli meat was turkey-esque.

The thing with Gil is that he's such an extrovert that I could see him being the one more likely initiating any possible friendships.

And then there's Lovino.

If he were true to canon, he's more than likely the one approaching me. Maybe he's the guy who rescued me in Rome from the tourist trap gladiator actors, who will gladly take pictures with you, but don't tell you till after that you're suppose to pay them for each photo. Or maybe he's the guy from the flight to Roma, who was on the phone before takeoff cursing lowly in Italian about politics, and for my dumbass and smart mouth to immediately start commiserating with him, the next hour and a half spent venting to each other about our nations' mutually terrible politicians, and the woes of living in the hellishly expensive London. Or, or! Lovi could be the man I saw in the Barcelona airport at 4 am eating breakfast, who was just so beautiful that all of my party kept checking him out. My philosophy has always kind of been to regret the things that you do rather than didn't do, so as we all got ready to head for our gate, I politely approached him to tell him that he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. And his smile-

To this day, whoever that man was, he is still the most beautiful person I had ever seen. But when I said that, and he smiled at the compliment, only to return it with this earnestness that still makes my heart flutter even as I write this well over five years later-

Anyway.

I'm sorry this got so long, but really I'm not quite sure how else I could go about this. ^_^;

I make friends in all kinds of situations, something that's both a curse and a blessing. I couldn't possibly guess the circumstances, couldn't even begin to imagine how or when it'll happen.

Just keep an open mind, an open heart, and find confidence in who you are, and the rest pretty much follows~

Thanks for the ask, Lovely!

[bagelbright-tok]

Aspire To be

Hi honey!! I saw that your request were open and I had an idea. I really liked the imagine about Malcolm Bright and having an aunt. I was wondering if you could do more of that, but maybe this time Malcolm does know her and they actually like each other and maybe she helps him on a case instead or with Martin? If not it’s completely okay, I love your work tho!! Thanks sweets ❤❤

Requested By: @atjafshelby

__

A/N: Thank you so much for your support! I really appreciate your comments and request! That aunt fiction is one of my least popular fics. I hardly expected anyone to enjoy it and even be inspired by it! Again, thank you! I decided to do a similar thing I did for that last imagine. This is a one-shot and does not really correlate with any other Prodigal Son episode. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for your patience as well! I apologize if it seems sloppy at the end. I just wanted to get this out for you and tended to get sidetracked. _

Finally getting themselves a line of suspects for this crime, Malcolm realizes he might need more than his own profiling skills. Malcolm also has a person in mind who could help… Gil doesn’t agree with Malcolm’s decision, especially when the profiler’s mind has been altered recently. How could Malcolm Bright not go to the person that inspired him?

Malcolm Bright/Whitly x Aunt!Reader [Platonic]

Word Count: 3289 Warning(s): Mentions of murder, mind fog, insomnia, mentions of trauma, attempted murder, drug abuse, swearing, did not double check anything __

Some Good Things in Life __

“Whaddya got kid?” Gil nodded towards Malcolm, hands on hip, and a grin plastered on his already smug face. Gil was already confident in Malcolm’s ability. This would be a piece of cake for the profiler.

Malcolm shook his head. He was confused. This murder took two weeks to have suspects. Even then, they only had four suspects. There was something wrong, though. Malcolm couldn’t get a read on any of them. Their tones and words led Malcolm to many different directions. Malcolm also did not have the right state of mind, having skipped almost a week’s worth of sleep. “Nothing..”

Even he was surprised by his incompetence.

Gil lightly extended his head out towards Malcolm, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What?” He crossed his arms and returned his head to his shoulders. Gil’s eyebrows were now knitted together in concern and were no longer widened. “What do you mean?”

“I… I can’t get a read on them.” Malcolm finally admitted, his shoulders falling down in defeat. He left out a deep sigh and brought his hands to his eyes to rub. Why couldn’t he think straight? “It’s like my mind is just- just covered in fog.” Malcolm motioned to his head, wildly using his index of his right hand to press into his temple.

Gil sighed, looked down at the floor, and unfolded his arms. Taking a few steps towards the NYPD Profiler, Gil placed his hand on Malcolm’s shoulder. “Go home, kid. It’s late and you need to sleep.” Gil was always the father figure that Malcolm needed. Malcolm understood the lieutenant’s concern, but couldn’t help not sleeping. Especially as of late.

Malcolm couldn’t say no. He shrugged his shoulder and peered into Gil’s eyes with his own tired and hazy blue ones. He nodded lightly, closing his mouth and shaping it into a half smile. “Alright..”

*** And with that, the insomniac ventured restlessly to his humble abode. Despite his hazy mind, he drove himself back to his place. On the way over, going through New York’s evening traffic, Malcolm had an idea. Recklessly, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he reached who he wanted. Tapping and putting the phone up to his ear, waiting for them to answer, he shook his leg anxiously. “Hello?” The voice came through, asking curiously.

“Hey! Long time no talk.” Malcolm was smiling, but the person on the other end couldn’t possibly see it. However, it was obvious that they could hear his happiness to be talking to them. “Malcolm? Hey! Where the hell did you disappear to?” They chuckled. “Thought there was a new Bermuda triangle only taking the cool people.” They stated sarcastically.

Malcolm laughed at their joke, shaking his head. “No. I actually got back in New York a couple of weeks ago. Sorry I forgot to tell you.” Malcolm cleared his throat and before the person on the other end of the call could respond, he continued. “Anyways, I could use some help…” “O-Oh? Help? Of course, what do you need?” Malcolm could hear them move from one spot to another. “Some… Some advice. You are still a body language specialist, right?” “Yeah. Need me to do some interrogating?” They chuckled, joking.

“Uh- Yes. Yes, actually..”

“Oh-”

“Could you meet me at my place? I’ll send you the address. If you get there before me, you can let yourself in. There’s a spare key buried in the plant outside.” Malcolm explained, stopping at yet another red light. Traffic had been bad due to another accident happening nearby.

“Of course!” It was obvious that Malcolm and this person were besties and hadn’t encountered one another in a long while. “I’ll get my bag and head out once I have the address.” “Thank you, so much. I’ll see you in a bit.” Malcolm gave a quite breathy chuckle. “Cya!” And with that, the call ended. Malcolm felt a little better. His mood improved, for sure. Malcolm’s shoulders were no longer held up but instead were slouched down. His neutral and tired face was now a happier tired face. Malcolm took note of how he would just have to tell Gil when he got home that he’d be getting some help. Help from someone they both knew. ***

Damn this headache. Malcolm could feel a dull pain in his head as he entered his home. Despite the pain being dull, he felt it making him weaker and even slightly dizzy. Malcolm simply shook the pain away and shut the door behind him. He tried to reach the door, but couldn’t. When he looked behind himself to see why, the door was already shut. His eyes burrowed in confusion. Again, he shook away the confusion and began to text Gil about what he was doing. Now, though, Malcolm couldn’t just shake off whatever was happening to him. He felt nauseous and he felt out of breath. He tried getting back to his phone to call Gil instead. Malcolm instead found that his vision had blurred. He blinked and blinked, even rubbed his eyes, but his blurred vision only got worse. He began to panic now. Something was definitely wrong. Malcolm tried to identify what could be going on, but still, his mind was elsewhere. Malcolm could barely even hear as someone entered his home.

“Malcolm?” The familiar voice could barely be heard as it echoed in his house and in his head. “Malcolm!”

This exclamatory statement of his name was not that of excitement. It was of concern, confusion, and despair. As far as Malcolm knew, he was standing. As far as his visitor was concerned, he was on the ground, unconscious. ***

“What did you do?” Gil asked angrily and accusatorily. He pointed at [Y/N], who responded by leaning back away from his finger. “Me?! Excuse you. I called an ambulance! Maybe next time, I shouldn’t?” [Y/N] argued back, leaning forward into Gil’s finger and raising her hands to her sides, palms up and fingers spread out. Her face was scrunched with anger. Her usual glowing and calm [E/C] orbs were now burning a hole into Gil. Her graying [H/C] hair was standing up due to the sheer frustration she was feeling. This wouldn’t be the first time someone accused her of something horrific due to her past. [Y/N] Bright [L/N]. Also known as [Y/N] Whitly, younger sister to Dr. Martin Whitly. In other words, Malcolm’s favorite aunt and the individual he had called for help in the case. The lady that had found him unconscious in his own home and called authorities. It was because of [Y/N] that Malcolm was in a hospital and not dead. It wasn’t just Gil there for Malcolm, there was also Jessica and Ainsley. Jessica had refused to talk to [Y/N], she never understood how or why Malcolm had taken a favorability to her. Ainsley wasn’t anything but rude to her, and made it clear she did not like her. Summary; All of [Y/N]’s fans were gathered in one place where they were called in an emergency because someone dear to them had almost died. “What were you even doing in Malcolm’s place?” Ainsley’s hollow eyes stared at [Y/N] with pure hatred. Like someone with unlimited darts, trying to get a high score.

“He called me to come over. Sent me his address and told me about the spare key in some weird ass plant outside his place.” [Y/N] swiftly explained herself, keeping her arms open. Her feet however, were closed and pointing away from both Gil and Ainsley. She really did not want to be there, being questioned. “He wanted me to help with some interrogating.”

“You-?” Gil erected his index again at [Y/N], now eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re the help Malcolm called for?” “Why would anyone go to you for help?” “I feel extremely uncomfortable right now!” [Y/N] declared, slapping her hands down to her sides. “I am just here to help with whatever Malcolm needs!” “Just drop it you three!” Jessica finally whisper yelled at them. “My son could have died and you are worried about-.. Her.”

The disdain in her voice as she referred to [Y/N] really set it in for the body language specialist. Nothing she could say would make them think any better of her. Not even if Malcolm were to explain the same thing she did. So, [Y/N] easily decided it would be easier to just sit down and give up the arguing. She felt like a kid once again, forced to keep quiet when faced with authority. She hated it. Gil would never allow for her to help unless Malcolm really made a good pitch to the lieutenant. Then again, when would Malcolm wake up? *** Malcolm was given a diagnosis fairly quickly. Carbon Monoxide poisoning that had been going on for over a week. It was a miracle he had gone so long without anyone noticing the symptoms. Despite the supposed long sleep he was to be put under, Malcolm found a way to wake himself up with his own brain. Waking up with a loud scream as a nurse ran out to get a doctor, and Gil and [Y/N] rushed in with concern. “Malcolm!” Both older individuals shouted at the once unconscious profiler. While the relief was mutual, so was the concern.

“Gil? [Y/N]? Where am I? What happened? How-” Malcolm was confused but mostly scared as well. One moment he was home and the next he was isolated by white walls and repetitive beeping.

[Y/N] made the first move. She steadily and smoothly moved closer to Malcolm’s bedside. She took a deep and obvious breath, straightening her back and lifting her hands with her as she inhaled. A similar action was taken during the exhale; obvious, she lowered herself back onto her feet, and lowered her hands. Although Malcolm was not having a panic attack, it could escalate and [Y/N] wasn’t having it. Gil followed afterwards. Malcolm mimicked [Y/N] in taking deep breaths and calming down. “Are you okay, Malcolm?” [Y/N] asked in a calmer voice.

“Yeah. I mean, I feel okay.” Malcolm buried his face into his hands. “Was I poisoned?”

With his brain working fine, he was able to remember his symptoms. It was unnatural.

“Yeah, in a sense.” Gil responded this time. “A week long exposure to carbon monoxide.”

“A week?” Malcolm removed his hands from his face and peered at Gil and [Y/N]. “Isn’t that around the time this case started?”

Now both Gil and [Y/N] were horrified. What was thought to be an accident, a simple leak in the home, now was a potential case of attempted murder. Whoever was the murderer in their case, knew Malcolm would be a problem and so tried removing him as an obstacle. [Y/N] and Gil took a glance at each other. Despite their… awkward relationship, they knew they had to work together on this one. Malcolm couldn’t leave the hospital, and couldn’t work on the case. His life was in danger and the safest place would be where he was.

***

“I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.” Gil told [Y/N] with a threatening tone.

“Why not two?” [Y/N] chuckled, entering the observation room sat right next to the interview room. Gil just gave a harsh squint. “Not a time for jokes, got it.”

“It was hard to get the suspects back. We’d released them last night because we had them held for too long.” Gil changed the subject swiftly, viewing into the room where they had the suspects. “We were only able to get them back in because Malcolm almost died last night, when he released them all.”

“It’s clear that all of them are upset that they are back. No profiling is needed for that.” [Y/N] noted this behaviour. “All of them are anxious and nervous. Crossed arms, tapping feet, rapid blinking.”

“All of them are suspicious?” Gil pondered curiously.

“Not necessarily. They are just nervous about being back. The idea of being falsely accused looms over them.” [Y/N] continued to scan the room, finally noticing some odd behaviour. She pointed at a man slightly separated from everyone else. “He, however, is a lot more confident than everyone else.”

“His arms are crossed too.” Gil pointed out, looking at [Y/N] with suspicion.

“Yes, but he is leaning against the wall. He is more relaxed. His lips are slightly parted, unlike everyone else’s compressed or pursed lips.” [Y/N] began her analyzing out loud, forgetting anyone was in the room. “His breathing patterns are very alike to everyone’s. Their breathings are picked up due to their nervousness. His picked up pace is because of excitement, though.”

“He’s leaning against a wall. How in the hell did you get all of that off of him?” Gil was just as curious as he would be if it were Malcolm profiling. It was just as mind boggling as when he profiled Carter Berkhead.

“A magician never reveals his secrets, Gil.” [Y/N] chuckled. “Was Malcolm in the interrogation room when they were all interrogated?”

“Yeah. He wanted to be close to profile.” Gil answered, not as confused now knowing that every question and answer would help.

“Splendid. This will make it far easier.” [Y/N]’s [E/C] orbs glimmered in amusement. Her smile was one that Gil had seen before. It was Malcolm’s smile, but it was one he’d seen on Martin’s face too. “I need you to repeat what you did yesterday. Question them in the same order with the same questions.”

Gil nodded. Just as he was warming up to her, some thought came in and set him back to his place. First and foremost, officers came and rounded everyone up. The interrogation began again. This time, it was just Dani, JT, and Gil. Malcolm wasn’t there. If [Y/N] was correct, the one she was suspect of most would give off more of a reaction than the others. Answers would likely remain the same from each person as well. They all want to get out as soon as possible. If Malcolm’s current profile was correct, the killer was arrogant and would show it. If the killer saw that Malcolm wasn’t there, they’d have some sort of mention or bodily reaction to this.

In the case scenario that she was wrong, [Y/N] was sure to make note of everyone’s reactions. Most did not even acknowledge Malcolm’s absence. Their moods had remained the same, anxious and nervous. Finally, it came to the man that [Y/N] came to know as James Lukai. Most of his answers remain the same, worded slightly different than before. [Y/N] compared his last interview, to this interview. The first showcased this man as nervous and anxious. Now, he wasn’t as much anymore. He looked around, as if to make sure his suspicions were right. He gave a quick smirk when he saw that Malcolm wasn’t there. His answers had remained mostly the same, but the tone had drastically changed. It was clear as night and day, it was this man. Just to prove a point further, [Y/N] straightened herself out and left the observation room. Much to Gil’s dismay, she entered the interrogation room afterwards.

“Heya Gil! Sorry I’m late. The call to replace Malcolm was just too soon!” [Y/N] announced with a large grin on her face.

Gil looked at [Y/N], only to respond by rubbing his face. “Don’t let it happen again.” He played along.

The man in question- James- was now shocked. “I thought you didn’t have a profiler anymore.”

“And what would make you say that, James?” [Y/N] immediately jumped on it. “Malcolm is just taking a little break. Family business.”

“What? He-?” James caught himself before he could say anything more.

“You’re too obvious, James.” [Y/N]’s smile immediately dropped.

“What’re you doing, [Y/N]” Gil questioned, only to get an answer through the raising of the lady’s hand to silence him.

“Want to know how we know, James?” [Y/N] confidently asked, not waiting a moment for his answer. “You are far too confident for this. You thought you had gotten rid of Malcolm, the only one who would have caught you.”

The man was speechless. He was caught. He rested his elbows on the table and put his hands through his brown hair. He was hunched, unsure of what to say now.

“What the fuck did you just do?” Gil wasn’t angry, but just extremely confused.

“Caught the bad guy. My job, Gil.” As confident as before, she exited the room.

Soon after, James confessed to the murders and the attempt on Malcolm’s life. Another day saved by [Y/N] Bright [L/N].

***

“Did you get him?” Was the first thing to exit Malcolm’s mouth that night when [Y/N] went to visit him. Fortunately for Malcolm, he had gotten the all clear, so was able to return home.

“Nice to see you too.” [Y/N] chuckled, entering his home. “Yeah. It was obvious. That poisoning really fucked with your brain if you couldn’t see it.”

“Speaking of which, the place was aired out and my heater was fixed.” Malcolm shut his door. “Inspectors had a nifty device and gave the okay.”

“That’s great!” [Y/N] clapped her hands together. “You plan on trying to get murdered again any time soon?”

Malcolm chuckled again, and sat down at his counter. “Ah, no. I don’t plan on it.”

“Good. Shouldn’t have to attend your funeral when I’m older than you.” [Y/N] glided over and sat with him at the counter. “So- Malcolm Bright. When did you change your name?”

Malcolm gave a small, “oh,” and nodded his head. “Several years back when I went to Quantico. You know, to become a profiler..”

Though [Y/N] knew the story, Malcolm felt obligated to tell her how much she inspired him.

“Couldn’t think of a name until the lady there suggested going with someone who I aspire to be. Then I remembered.. You.” His smile was soft and genuine.

“Really?” She smiled back, surprised by her effect on Malcolm. “I.. I’d never guessed I’d have that sort of influence.”

“I hardly say this, but you’re probably one of the more normal and stable members of this family.” Malcolm gave a light laugh, instigating a laugh from [Y/N] as well. “You prove to me that there are some good things in life.”

“I think there is more than just me that does that, Malcolm.” [Y/N] smirked. “You have all those folk at the NYPD! You have Gil, Dani, JT, and Edrisa.”

“Of course. They’re my friends. I trust them.” Malcolm explained. “But you were the first. You helped a lot when Dr. Whitly was arrested. I still remember that day. Even when mother yelled at you, it didn’t stop you from helping me.”

[Y/N] could only nod lightly. “Yeah, Yeah.. I- I remember that day too. I remember the days before and after that day too. I felt like I had to apologize for my brother. He couldn’t be there, so I tried to be. But Jessica never had a good opinion on me, even before Martin was arrested.” She chuckled at that sentiment. “Then Gil got caught up in all the gossip that I had something to do with Martin. At least Jess was skeptical towards all of that.”

It was dead silent after that until Malcolm decided to clear the air. “Anyways, you want some water, or something?”

“Sure!”

Boy. What an odd and bizarre family.

___ E N D

A/N: So sorry for taking so long! Hope you enjoyed it. I had a bit of a hard time trying to get an end for it. Sorry if it is abrupt.

[rexcoatlarchive]

The proposal

Popping the question

After finally finishing up the china Lostbelt, and being cleared by nightingale to leave the infirmary after being injured by Yu Mei Ren, it's time for Rex to ask a goddess to marry him.

Me: *knocks on CasGil's door* oh great King of heroes, could you please lend me some assistance?

CasGil: *opening the door* what is it mongrel? Also don't speak like that, it doesn't suit you.

Me: can I ask for something from your treasury?

CasGil: *kinda offended* now why should I give you anything from my treasury mongrel?

Me: I want to propose to Quetzalcoatl and I need a ring worthy enough for such an amazing goddess, and only something from your treasury could fit.

CasGil: oh! You're going to propose to that Goddess? Very interesting, but I still don't see why I should assist you. She's the kind who'd be happy with a cheap ring, the proposal would matter the most.

Me: ok yeah, but she still deserves way better. You could atleast think of it as thanks for the 2 of us helping defend Uruk from Tiamat. And also getting you out of Kur. Besides, wouldn't end up back in your treasury eventually anyway.... somehow

CasGil: hmmm, now you make a good point mongrel. Fine! But I also ask for front row seating at the wedding!

Me: done!

CasGil: alright! *opens a gate of babylon, a fuckton of rings pour out* now make your selection!

Me: *kinda annoyed* ok then

*after a long ass time looking for a good one*

Me: mmmkay, I think this one's good.

*in Rex's hand he holds a beautiful golden ring with a green gemstone in the center*

CasGil: made your choice? Then go! Make that Goddess your bride!

Me: *running to find her* thanks King!

Enkidu: *appears out of Gil's room* you know you're a lot softer then you realize.

CasGil: I do not know what you mean. Just repayment for Uruk

*in my room*

Me: it's kinda nerve-wracking! I don't want to do it in front of others, who knows what'll happen! *starts thinking* 💡 I got it!

Me: *calling a servant for assistance* hey Semiramis, can I borrow one of your doves?

Semiramis: what for?

Me: kind of secret for now, just want to send a message to a servant!

Semiramis: you can't call them? Like you're calling me now?

Me: this has to be special!

Semiramis: fine!

*dove appears in my room*

Me: alright lil buddy, you're gonna help me

*dove goes towards Quetz*

Me: now to make sure no one ruins it

Me: hey King Hassan!

King Hassan: *appears from blue fire* what is it contractor?

Me: *spooked* fuck! Please don't surprise me. *calm again* I need you to guard my room and don't let anyone but Quetz in! OK?

King Hassan: understood

Me: thanks *goes back in*

*later*

*Raikou comes down the hall*

Raikou: ara? King Hassan? What are you doing outside my dear child's room?

King Hassan: the contractor has asked me to remain guard

Raikou: oh my, whatever for?

King Hassan: that I do now know, but I shall perform my duty regardless.

Raikou: well if you could let me in for a little I could-

King Hassan: that I cannot allow

Raikou: why not?!

King Hassan: thy contractor has requested that none shall enter, save for the sun goddess that thy contractor is infatuated with.

Raikou: *putting 2 and 2 together* oh! Well in that case, I understand. I shall take my leave

King Hassan: very well

*later on*

*Quetz finally comes around*

Quetz: Hola 1st Hassan!

King Hassan: greetings

Quetz: I got a message that master wanted to see me?

King Hassan: he does *moves aside*

Quetz: did he ask you to guard the room?

King Hassan: indeed he did

Quetz: huh, ok then *goes into room*

Quetz: master? You wanted to see me?

Me: *nervous* uuuuhhh, yeah I did.

Quetz: is everything OK?

Me: y-y-yeah, it's just, I have a very important question to ask you

Quetz: what is it?

Me: *shaking* u-u-um, w-w-well

Quetz: what is it master? Are you sure you're able to ask?

Me: yeah I'm sure! This just very nerve-wracking is all.

Me: *deep breathes* ok, here goes nothing *going down on one knee*

Quetz: !!!!???

Me: *pulls out box ring* Quetzalcoatl *opens box to reveal ring* w-w-w-will you marry me?

Quetz: *tearing up* oh master! Yes! Yes I will! *hugs me so hard* you've made me the happiest goddess in the world!

Me: and I'm the happiest man right now! I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you!

Quetz: me too darling! *kisses me* muwaaaaah! I can't believe this is happening! You've made me so happy! I can't wait for the wedding! We need to start planning!

Me: you never actually put on the ring

Quetz: oh right! *puts it on* this is the best day of my life! I need to tell the other goddesses! *picks me up again* let's go share the news Darling!

Me: now?!

Quetz: of course now! I can't hold my excitement I'm! I'm going to burst with happiness!

*the two leave, to go share the news*

And that's how it goes, going to do more things relating to the wedding, partly to contrast with yesterday's angst and for something else...

Tagging @panyum but also @gxymlky and @grievouslyxorvia because I want to tag more mastersona bloggers in these and they seem cool atleast

[tina-nightray]

Pandora Hearts SS Gift~!

i-prefer-the-term-antihero My Secret Santa Gift of Pandora Hearts for you my Dear,

Hope you Enjoy it and wish you Happy Holiday, Sweetie.

From: Me~ (Tina Nightray)

To: This Lovely~

twitter: @nightrayuwu 

tumblr: @sassybitch-classyqueen​ 

Archiveofourown: heismysoulmate

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

Pair: Ozbert~

Type: Fluffy and caring.

Summery: 

Gilbert thought of his cheerful young Master while holding his White Rose.

Oz thought of his old servant / friend while walking into the garden holding a single Blue Rose.

And then, their fate started with warmth going through their hearts.

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

Saturday morning, a peaceful calm weekend morning, the sky was clear and the cold breezy morning signified the upcoming winter with its gentle blows.

A fine young man was resting in his chair on his balcony looking up at the sky while smoking quietly. On his free hand was a white rose with few water drips over it ‘I wonder, what should I make for today’s meeting?’ His thoughts were calm as he blew the smoke out and sighed knowing there was no escape from the sweet tooth Break but he also had to make something warm like a pie, a classic cherry pie would be a good choice then.

‘I hope things stay calm as it is and the weather stay clear for tonight’ with another sigh he stood up and walked back inside his room to change into some proper clothes and head to the kitchen ‘good thing they won’t be here for breakfast so I can have my time making that pie with no bunny to disturb my cooking’ he smiled at the picture of Alice trying to taste every ingredient while Oz try to stop her with loud laughs “I better have my breakfast quick then get started on the pie” he said with amusement in his voice as he sped up his steps to the kitchen.

After 30 minutes, he was done with his breakfast and started to make the crust part of the pie when someone unexpected dropped by to say hello coming out of the cupboard and startling the man as always “Hello there, Gil kun~” that was enough to send shock to the other man who was about to lose his pie base “Break! can’t you come from the door like a normal person?!” After that flustered yell he sighed and calmed again not like that was new anyway “Good morning, I thought you'd be with Sharon until the meeting time” he asked quite curiously as he focused back on his pie.

“Well she sent me here to get her some fresh bread knowing that it should've been baked a few minutes ago, but what are you doing here this early, Gil kun~?” The playful man was quite interested as he watched the black haired one place the crust in the oven “I’m making a cherry pie for today’s meeting, it should be ready to offer by noon” he answered while his hands reached out to start the second part of the pie.

“That looks promising, I will be so happy to eat it, Gil kun~” the excited Break danced then took what he came for and left humming a sweet cheerful song on his way back.

“That was.. unexpected,” Gilbert mumbled as he continued. After an hour and half he was done then left the pie to cool down on the counter as he went to check on his reports and the meeting preparation himself. 

He went to the garden and got help from two maidens for flower selection and rearranged it in a beautiful vase in the main room. While he was fixing the flowers angles for a more stunning display his mind went to a memory of his past with Oz as they were hiding from little Ada in hide and seek game.

“Gil, don’t make any sound she will find us easily if she heard you” Oz told him with big smile of his “Y-yes, young master” he nodded and covered his mouth, while waiting there together, Oz was sure to stare his young servant up and down then try to hold a small giggle noticing how fragile he looked and how cute he was while trying to do what he was told as to not make any sound with his eyes fixed on the outside of the closet they hid in.

Gilbert on the other hand, just noticed the soft and smiley eyes of his master that kept looking at him “Ma-master, is there something on my face?” he whispered his question and Oz blinked twice before realizing what he was really doing and blushed slightly and tried to hide his small crush by saying “I just realized that white looks good on you” looking away from him.

the younger boy seemed to take in the words as he slightly blushed and smiled looking at his shirt “You think so, young master?” he asked again looking up at him with sweet smile that always make Oz’s heart beat faster which cause the older boy to nods his head and smile happily at him “Maybe I should get you a suit that matches mine for the upcoming party” he suggested and made the younger boy blush but happy as well and got a nod from him before they got caught by the young girl “Found you two!” she cheered and giggled hugging them both as they whined in defeat.

Gilbert’s cheeks were slightly bright as he remembered that time and giggled quietly, he left to the front door as the time went fast. He then heard the loud sound of horses and cart being stopped by the gate to the mansion and the servants gathered to greet the guests at the HQ.

Gilbert stood outside by the cart and opened the door to have the duo walk out then turn to hug him for more flustering greetings “Good morning, Gil~!” the blondie boy said “Good morning!” Alice said knowing he would make something for their meeting she was so excited “Good morning, how was your trip?” he asked as he patted their shoulders gently “It was nice and quiet” Oz said as he walked to the gate with the two following him inside.

They arrived at the lounge room and rested there until the others got here too so they could start the meeting “Alice do you want to go to the garden for a bit?” Oz asked her and she nodded. They walked out with Gilbert left to get the last of preparation done. 

After a while they heard Break calling for them to come inside as everyone has arrived and ready to start the meeting in the main room. A few hours had passed before the meeting was over and everyone went off to their ways.

Oz, Alice, Break, Sharon, Mr. Oscar and Gilbert were together in one lounge as they enjoyed their small meeting with Gil’s pie and gray tea to warm their hearts. “It’s good~, Gil kun~!” the doll said loud and clearly cheerful as well “I never knew it could eat” Alice said looking at the doll “Nope, it was only me who ate, Alice chan~” with his usual playful tone Break answered as Oz hummed like the rest in satisfaction from the sweet treat the black haired man made.

“Thank you, Gil” they all repeated and he only answered with a nod “You are very welcome” his voice was calmer than usual as the day passed by for lunch and then some nap time for the afternoon, yet Oz was not with Alice.

Gilbert was walking through the corridor when he spotted Oz walking alone through the garden and went after him. 

The young boy sat on a bench there surrounded by flowers and roses, he sighed only to be startled by none other than Gilbert, his old personal servant, dear friend and secret crush “Oh hey Gil, what are you doing here?” the shorter boy asked as he looked at Gil then to the blue rose in his hands upon his lap “Nothing, I just saw you walking here alone and I wanted to ask you if everything is okay?” Gil said calmly, walking to stand three steps away from his master’s seat.

Oz looked up at his crush and smiled but Gilbert felt as if that smile was a bit odd not quite the cheerful one as usual “It’s nothing, Gil. you still worry too much over everything, huh. looks like you’ve never changed from back then. soft and gentle oh but of course you’re more stronger not like the fragile boy you were back then, but still scared of cats” he chuckled at the last one which caused the older male to blush and try to defend himself “They still want to scratch my face off!” he seemed flustered with blush all over his soft cheeks.

Oz smiled at the sight and hummed “You know Gil you’re still as beautiful as you were back then” the words came out naturally that when Oz saw his crush’s face turn red, he blushed slightly himself and looked at his hands “Sorry, that was weird” he tried to dismiss the matter but then “Wait.. um.. you.. Oz.. I..” he stood in his place stunned and unable to finish his words like when he was young and his master looked up at him blinking a few times before a wide smile spread on his lips “What is it, Gilbert? you still hesitate when you want to tell me something about your feelings or thoughts” he tried to tease him only to be met with a shy Gil, the exact same face but in an older version.

“I.. I don’t think you are weird” he mumbled looking down on his feet, the cold breeze blowing a bit stronger this time taking the white rose the taller man was keeping in his jacket to the younger boy’s lap next to the Blue one in his hands “Oh? is that so? and why Gilbert?” Oz decided to hear his thoughts on this matter as he held the other rose in his hand now “Because I..” his words died this time and he couldn't find his voice anymore. 

Oz stood up and walked to stop in front of Gilbert and into his personal space then looked up at him to see how red like tomato the man was now and ready to run off, he held his coat to prevent him from escaping and lightly tug on it to get him to lean in toward his face “Gil, do you like me?” it was a direct shot to the man’s heart causing him to face away from him and sulk in frustration unable to answer him.

Oz showed a smile of sadness and sighed “looks like it’s just me then, huh” he mumbled and let the fabric go only to have a strong and bigger hand to hold his retreating one and rested it on his chest forcing the blood to rise to the younger one’s cheeks in rush to feel those strong heart beats drumming so loud and clear through that always seemingly calm chest.

“I think it’s cold, do you wish to share our bodies’ warmth?” Gil’s words were soft and low barely above whispers “Oh Gil~, that would be so dramatic but of course I would love to” Oz’s words were low too as he moved his arms to wrap around Gilbert’s neck while the other kneeled down closer to wrap his arms around his thin waist too and pulled him into his chest whispering the words softly to his neck “I love you, Oz” the young boy smiled and whispered the same way to his lover’s neck “I love you too, Gil” closed eyes as they shared quiet and peaceful moment before they pulled a part to share a soft and sweet kiss to warm their hearts while sealing their already intertwined fates.

The sun was setting and the night was coming so they decided to get back inside to relax and enjoy their newly found love, with those feelings being finally revealed and spoken of, their lives would be so much happier now despite the hardships, they had each other's backs forever and ever. 

“Will you stand by my side until i’m gone?”.

“Rest assured that I shall never leave you side, no matter what, My Master”.

“I would love to sleep forever in your arms, My Dear Love”.

Fin.

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Tags :

@phmonth2020​​

@i-prefer-the-term-antihero​​

@maddyisenough

@sassybitch-classyqueen​

[piofiore-imagines]

Naked Proposal [Gilbert Redford x Reader] SFW

Word Count: 2800+ Genre: Fluff (like.. really fluffy) Pairing: Gilbert Redford x Reader Rating: slight, very very slight sexual situations while being naked and a bit of touching, but it’s nothing Notes: Please bear with my grammar and stuff. English is not my native language and this is merely translated from my wording of my native language, so some sentences may sound.. a bit weird. I apologize! (This is a pairing with Gilbert, but you could say it is in the timeline of Dante’s best ending, because of the Lao-Shu being gone)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was another sunny day in Creta. The hottest day of the year, Gilbert and I still enjoyed our daily stroll through this lively district. No matter where we went, Gilbert was always greeted warmly by the people and almost every civilian was allowed to call him Gil. Gilbert loved to show other people, expecially lonely men who try to woo any woman they see, that I belonged to him. He always put his arm around my waist and occasionally hugged me as the men greeted him. As soon as their eyes fell on me and how protectively my dear boyfriend had pulled me to him, they didn't even try to hit on me. Our walk took us past Nina's shop, where we always made a short stop and talked a little with the her. And like always, Nina asked when we are going to bring our relationship to the final stage - i.e. marriage.

Gilbert always found a suitable answer, such as that we still had a lot of time and should not rush things. And that we already lived together anyway and didn't need a wedding to show everyone how much we love each other.

I largely agreed with his reasoning, but frankly ... I wanted to get married at some point ... Gilbert, on the other hand, seemed to want to remain to be a free spirit. Maybe he just wanted to leave all options open in case he wanted something better than- "[Y/n] ..?"

Gilbert's slightly worried exclamation got me out of my thoughts and I looked at him questioningly. "Uh .. yeah?" I asked, seeing that his face was a little alarming. “You are so quiet today and you seem like you are not there mentally. Is everything all right? ”He asked, giving my hip an affected squeeze with his hand as he pulled me close and gave my forehead a loving kiss. "I'm sorry. I have to get used to the fact that, after the whole thing and the problems that the Lao Shu have caused, peace has finally returned and it has become so quiet. I guess my head is still busy processing everything. ", I explained to him and hoped that he would believe me. Apparently he did, because his gaze softened. "I understand. You don't have to worry anymore. Everything has become calm. Even Roberto doesn't cause us any more trouble. ", He assured me and put a strand of hair from my face gently. "Hey .. It's pretty hot today, should we head to our favorite ice cream parlor on the slope, from where you can see the beach?" He asked and I smiled at him. His attitude has helped me often to forget negative thoughts and so I nodded at his suggestion. "Sure! But is it okay if you just take a day off today? Oliver will surely be mad when we come back. ", I sighed. Gilbert wasn't unreliable and usually he was more than aware of his position as mafia boss, but sometimes his spontaneity got in the way and he'd just kidnapped me out of here and left everything behind, including his duties. “I've already considered that and settled it. I left him a message that we are with the Falzone and that I have a few things to discuss with Dante, how we want to regulate the division of the city, since the Lao Shu are no longer there. And we will probably need a few days and therefore even spend the night at the Falzone mansion. So that means we have time. ", He winked at me with a slightly childish smile and I slapped my hand over my forehead. “And you think he'll buy that from you? Come on. Even though it's true that the Visconti and the Falzone are now allied, it sounds totally unrealistic that the Falzone Boss lets the Visconti Boss stay the night in his mansion. ”I said and just shook my head slightly. Gilbert laughed softly and shrugged. “It's Dante. He only looks so cool and unapproachable on the outside. But actually he's a softie. Is it true or am I right? ”He asked me and I laughed softly. What he was talking about could not be denied. "And besides, I have you with me too. You're the convincing argument that he would let us stay the night, ”he added, winking at me. "Gil ... It's still not okay to lie to your men like that .." "I know .. But .. Hey, we haven't had so much time for each other in a long time and .. I just miss being alone with you. Is that bad? ”His question made my heart melt again. We'd been together for so long and his words still had such a big impact on me. "Of course not .." I said softly and snuggled against his strong chest as we walked to the ice cream parlor. Gilbert smiled and stroked my back as he slowed down a little so that we could continue walking in this intimate position.

When we arrived at the ice cream parlor, we ordered our usual flavors: [favorite flavour] for me and coffee for Gilbert. And as usual, every now and then we bit off each other's ice cream while our arms were hooked. The people, who watched us, always had smiling faces and some even whistled at us. “People still stare at us like that. They should have been used to seeing us so closely by now. ”Gilbert smiled and casually licked a piece of melted ice from the side of my mouth as if it were completely natural. I smiled and then closed my eyes. “Seems like they have to get used at seeing you with the same woman over and over again. Since you've always been known as a playboy, who never wanted to commit. ", I answered him and it seemed as if the topic was a sore point for Gilbert too, because he became silent when we stood at a railing that went down to the Beach looked down from above. I felt a bit guilty and wanted to apologize, but my heart sank to my boots and I stood silently next to him and looked at the sea. The rest of our ice cream melted away until we finally looked at each other. "Do you miss those times when you were still unbound and were able to flirt freely with everyone?" I suddenly asked, because of course I also noticed that Gilbert had hardly, actually not at all, flirted with the other women in Creta since we confessed at each other. Gilbert's eyes widened somewhat in surprise at this question and he tossed the cone into a nearby trash can so he could grab my shoulders with both hands. "What are you talking about? Why should I miss it? I have never been so happy as with you in my life. So .. don't think I would ever trade that for anything again. ", He spoke resolutely and in such a serious voice that I swallowed lightly. Now I felt stupid for my negative thoughts and looked slightly ashamed to the ground. "You're right. I'm sorry. “, I whispered and closed my eyes. Gilbert was silent for a moment before I felt a finger under my chin. I opened my eyes again and Gilbert lifted my head with his index finger and looked intensely into my eyes. "No need to apologize. Hey, look at me. ", He spoke softly when I tried to avert my gaze from him again. At his gentle command, I looked him in the eye again and noticed how lovingly he was looking at me. "I love you. Only you. And I'd be the biggest idiot of all time if I let you go again. Was that understandable? ”He asked me in a tone that left no room for argument. All I could do now was a slight nod and Gilbert's mouth formed a big smile. "Good," he said and his face came closer. When our lips touched, I could still taste the caffeine from his ice cream on it. Mixed with the taste of his lips, it was so tantalising that I forgot all my worries when I put my arms around him and gently kissed him back.

After our lips parted, we looked deeply into each other's eyes for a while and smiled. I put my arms around him and hugged him tightly and gently as I buried my head in his chest. "Sometimes.. I wonder how I deserved you .." I sighed softly into his skin through the open neckline and felt Gilbert laugh softly as he hugged me. "I ask myself this question with you every day," he replied a little teasingly and stroked my back. "Mmm. But if we stand in the blazing sun for longer, the heat will melt me ​​away. ”His spontaneous change of subject came in very handy before this got out of hand. After all, we weren't alone out here. “It's really damn hot today. So hot that I could jump straight into the sea when I see it from here. ”I replied and pulled away from him. "Then ... let's go there?" He asked naturally. "What? Right now? ”I asked, slightly taken by surprise. "Sure.", He just grinned at me. “But we don't have anything with us. Neither towel nor swimwear? ”I frowned and when I saw Gilbert grin slyly. I knew EXACTLY what was he would answer.. “It's so hot that we don't need to dry off. The sun does. And .. we don't need swimwear either. We just go to an empty part of the beach behind the rocks. We are undisturbed there. And we don't need swimwear among each other, do we? ”He asked me with a mischievous grin and his hand ran along my sides in a provoking manner. I closed my eyes but then had to laugh quietly. "Your spontaneity really knows no bounds," I said with a smile when Gilbert was pulling me down to the slope to the beach when he took my hand. "I know, but that's exactly why you love me," he replied with a grin and I let myself be dragged along with a laugh. Fortunately, the negative thoughts had finally disappeared and I was sure: I didn't need a wedding. I already felt like the woman who was lucky enough to stay at his side forever.

And that was enough for me. We found an isolated spot on the coast. It was well hidden by rocks so that no one could watch us from above. After we had made sure that there really wasn't a soul around, we began to undress. It was an act we were already more than used to, so I felt no shame as I undressed in front of him. We put our clothes far enough away so that they didn't get wet from the current and I took my first steps into the icy water. "Waaah .. This is colder than I thought." I shook myself and stopped. Suddenly Gilbert grabbed me from behind and threw me over his shoulder. "Aaah? Gil? Let me down immediately! ”I ordered him and gently slapped him on the back as he laughed and ran into the water. "The best way to get used to the water is to jump full pipe into it's coldness ~" he sang, and I suspected what this would lead to. "No, don't-"

Too late.

Without warning, he threw me into the cold seawater, and I heard a dull laugh while I was under the water. After I reappeared, I gave him a pat on the back of the head and gave a slightly angry look. "Idiot." I growled softly. "I love you too." Gilbert countered amused and began to dive in front of me. He emerged a little further and floated on his back. "Ah .. that feels good.", He said and closed his eye. I swam next to him, when I got used to the cold water it was really nice and refreshing. "Oh yeah. We really need a large swimming pool in the garden of the Visconti mansion. ”I laughed. "Naw. I've made this suggestion to Oliver many times, but then there is always a long scolding, what a waste of money that would be and we are here in the Mafia and blablabla. You know that. “, Gilbert answered with a slight pout and I had to laugh quietly. Gilbert could just be so incredibly cute. "Yes, I know that very well." I smirked and looked at him when he leaned forward again and held out his hand to me. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me close to his naked body and put his arms around me. My eyes almost closed on their own as I enjoyed that hug. We lingered like that for a moment before he spoke again.

"I love you," he whispered softly and nibbled my cheek. Gilbert was an old-school romantic. He told me so many times a day that he loved me and other sweet things. I loved that side of him so much. "I love you too." I replied smiling and catched his lips for a demanding kiss. Gilbert's hand grabbed my bottom under water and stroked my thigh to bend my leg around his waist. This made me feel even more of him and I pressed my body more into his through this hot kiss. The ice-cold water made our nipples perky and more sensitive than usual. “Should we go back to the shore? The water is a little too cold to stay in here longer. ", I asked and Gilbert nodded when he let go of me and we swam back to the coast. When I tried to sit down on the rock, he stopped me. "Wait," he said and took his black jacket, which he usually wore casually around his shoulders. I have NEVER seen him ever wear the jacket. It was probably just about style. He spread it out on the rock and indicated that we should sit on it. "Gil .. The jacket will get dirty.", I sighed and shook my head. "Oh, but nothing that can be cleaned though." Gilbert waved his hand and I felt sorry for the maids .. Who knows what problems they had because of his 'You can wash everything' .. After a quick glare with a raised eyebrow, I gave in and sat on the soft jacket. Gilbert did the same and sat cross-legged next to me. He pulled me close with his arm and our heads were snuggled together as we let the summer sun dry us off. There was a pleasant silence between us and I was dozing off when I heard Gilbert mumble something. "Now or never.."

His words made me look up and I blinked. "What do you mean by that?" I asked and Gilbert looked at me with slightly red cheeks as if I had caught him doing something weird. He cleared his throat to maintain his composure and then straightened up in front of me. He took my hand in both of his hands and looked at me insistently but lovingly. "All along I didn't know how to say it, but .. It's just a fact that you've enriched my life. Thanks to you I am so happy as I have never been in my life. And .. I also realized that I never want another woman by my side again. And also .. even if that sounds strange from my mouth, since I never wanted to settle down .. ", he began and my heart almost began to stop when I realized what he was getting at ..

" [Y/n] .. " he started again and one of his hands went to his pants, which lay next to us with our other things. He took out a small, red velvet box from his pocket and went down on one knee. He was completely naked, but he knelt in front of me and held my hand again. "[Y/n] .. Do you want to be my wife? Do you want to be by my side forever and lead the Visconti family into a better future with me? "

My jaw dropped down. I was completely overwhelmed. He actually proposed to me. Tears of joy began to stream down my face and I could only knock him over when I threw myself into his arms. "Yes .. Yes, of course I want! Gil .. I never thought you'd ask me .. ", I mumbled into the crook of his neck and Gilbert kissed my tears away as he hugged me tightly and took a small gold ring out of the box. It was a diamond with two small [gems that has the color of your eyes] on their side. He took my hand and put the ring on my ring finger while looking at me happily. "Thank you. You make me the happiest man on the planet. Although .. I was already the happiest one before the proposal. ", He winked teasingly and I smiled when I hugged and kissed him again. And so my life was finally complete ..

THE END Working on an extended lemon ending, lemme know if you wanna read this!

[koolkat9]

First Valentine’s Day

Paring: GerEng, implied PruIta

Rating: Teen (Just to be safe)

Word Count: 1949 

Summary: Germany and England are celebrating their first Valentine's day together. Germany who has little experience in the romance department and the haunting memory of their first date littered with mishaps is nervous, but vows to give his lover the best Valentine's Day he can.

---

"Germany you need to stop," Italy said, his usually cheery tone was replaced by one of seriousness. Germany had been pacing back and forth for the past fifteen minutes and the sight was making Italy's neck hurt. "I know it's your first Valentine's day, but you have nothing to worry about."

"What about our first-"

"That was only once. And still, he loved you regardless."

"Ja but...b-but..."

He grabbed his friend's forearms with a strength Germany never saw before. "No buts. Take a deep breath. In...Out...good."

Despite Italy's best attempt, Germany's stress was way past the point of deep breathing. He tried to smile at his friend, but even he could tell it was strained. For a week now he had been thinking of all kinds of plans for England's and his first Valentine's day together. Sure they had spent it as single friends over the past decade, but now they were lovers and that changed everything. England deserved only the best, and Germany had little to no experience with romance. While Germany began pacing again, Italy just rolled his eyes and headed to the living room to phone one of the best restaurants in Berlin and get the two love birds a reservation.

When he returned to Germany, said nation was still pacing around the room, mumbling to himself. "Dios Mio. You can relax a bit. I set up your dinner plans.

Germany halted his pacing. "Really.”

"Si, si. For six. Now come on, you still need to get him a gift."

Germany opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't really argue. Also, one important thing was out of the way, which made him feel lighter. Before he could say anything, the beaming Italian was pulling him out the door.

---

"So you have the reservation?" Italy asked as the two sat in the car just outside of a glitzy restaurant. The only light was that from the street lamps and the restaurant itself.

"Ja...Ludwig for two at six."

"Perfect! And the gift?"

"Yes." Germany looked down at the nicely wrapped box he held in his hand.

They had spent the whole afternoon looking for something and regardless of how many little trinkets they found, none of them were fitting enough (at least according to Germany). Eventually, they came across a store that sold all sorts of glass items. He hadn't thought much of it at first, but he was desperate. He definitely hadn't expected to find a small glass figure of a bunny with eyes as green as England's and would walk away with such a gift. It seemed perfect at the time, but now he was starting to doubt that England would like it.

Italy gave him a slight pout as if he knew what Germany was thinking. "Don't start that," he warned, "just get in there and show him how much he means to you!" Germany swallowed hard. He appreciated his friend's advice and support, but no words were able to calm his beating heart or racing mind.

A knock on the window took Germany out of his thoughts as he came face to face with England. His emerald eyes sparkled under the lights and there was a small and endearing smile on his lips. Germany always found his smile beautiful and the image in front of him made him a bit calmer.

"Good evening love," he greeted, placing a kiss on Germany's cheek.

"Guten Abend." They stood awkwardly for a few moments, looking over each other shyly. England wore a nice a-line suit in dark green that complemented his eyes perfectly and his hair was more kept than usual. "Y-You look lovely," Germany eventually spoke.

The Brit's cheeks went pink at the compliment. "Thank you...so do you." He took the German's hand and began guiding him towards the entrance. "You know, you didn't have to go out like this."

"I-I know...I...I just...you deserve it."

"Oh...w-well.." for once England was at a loss for words, "l-l-let's just head in."

---

"What do you mean the reservation was for five?" Germany took in a deep breath, trying not to raise his voice at the hostess. That proved difficult however as she told them that their table had been given to another couple due to their "tardiness."

He was about to lose it until he felt a light tug on his arm. "Come on Ludwig...it's fine." England muttered. He began pulling Germany towards the door, despite his protests.

"B-But..."

"We don't need their fancy, overpriced meal," he said a bit louder this time to make sure he was heard by the staff.

"Arthur!"

"Just come on."

England didn't stop pulling until they were back outside and even then he didn't let go of Germany's arm. The cool night air against Germany's skin and a deep breath managed to cool him down and let go of his frustration. With a clear mind, he began thinking of what to do next. Italy was the one to drop him off so he didn't have a car and England flew here so he didn't have one either. He looked up and down the street trying to think of restaurants nearby that wouldn't be busy.

"I saw a bar on my way here and it didn't seem too busy, maybe we should try there," England stated, leaning into his boyfriend.

"We might as well check. I don't have any other ideas."

---

At least there was some luck on their side. The bar England had mentioned was practically empty and they got a table right in the front window. Their suits were a bit much for the venue, but they distracted themselves with conversation and their meals. Despite how awkward and frustrating the night started, everything fell into place once they were seated and catching up with each other.

As they ate and England went on about the disastrous meeting with the Commonwealth, Germany noticed that some crumbs had made their way across the Englishman's cheek. "Y-You got some..." he gestured to his own cheek. England lifted his napkin to the side of his face, just missing the spot. He tried a few more times before Germany had had enough and reached over with his napkin to wipe them away. The Brits cheeks went warm at the contact, but a small smile graced his lips as well. Germany was not so lucky however as his whole face and even his neck went bright red and his heart leapt into his throat.

"Thank you...now how has your week been?"

"W-Well..." Germany debated whether he wanted to admit he had been worrying and panicking over today, but considering how good things were going, he figured that it was best left forgotten. "Pretty good. Nothing too special though other than helping Feliciano pick out a gift Gil."

"I see. Tonight is at least eventful."

Germany gave a small chuckle, "I suppose. But anything with you is a highlight in my week."

"I-Is that so?" England's cheeks were flushed again as he reached for what to say next, "God you are too much sometimes...but I feel the same way."

     After finishing their meal, England suggested exchanging gifts. Due to Germany's nerves, England offered to go first, handing him a heart-shaped box with a lovely white ribbon. He looked away as Germany took the box. "I-I got Emma to help me get the chocolates. I-I-I hope it's to your liking."

"I'm sure they'll be wonderful." He looked down at his own gift box starting to think that maybe he should have just gotten flowers or chocolates.

"Love?" England called after a few minutes of staring at the gift.

"Uh...sorry. Here you go. Fröhlichen Valentinstag."

Germany was unsure what exactly caused him to drop the box, but somehow, while handing it over to England, it ended up on the floor and a loud crack was heard. Things became deathly silent as the two stared wide-eyed at the fallen gift.

"Lud-" before England could finish, Germany was already up and heading to the door, his fist clenched and a deep frown on his face. England quickly paid, gathered the boxes, and rushed after him. He shouted out Germany's name as he wandered the streets looking for him.

Eventually, England caught sight of the slicked-back hair of Germany across the street much to his relief. It did not last for long as he tripped while coming down off the curb and landed on his foot wrong in an attempt to stop himself. At least he got Germany's attention who was at his side in no time. He propped the Brit up into a sitting position and ran his fingers over the small scrapes on the other's face.

"Arthur. Mein Gott. Th-This is...I'm so sorry."

"It's...ah...it's fine love. I'll be good as new in a couple of hours."

"No, it's not fine. None of this night has been fine. I...I'm ruining it all. I'm sor-" he couldn't finish his sentence as a pair of lips crashed into his. The kiss made his mind blank and he found himself eagerly kissing back.

As they pulled back and Germany's brain began working again he asked softly, "can you walk?"

"I don't think so."

"I'll carry you."

"W-Wait Ger-" Ignoring the Brit's sputtering, Germany hoisted the other man onto his back. All England could do was grab onto his partner's shoulders and bury his burning face into the crook of Germany's neck.

"I'm sorry for a mess of the night," Germany apologized again.

"No, no, no. You have nothing to apologize for. Lady luck just isn't on our side. Plus...I still had a good time at the bar."

"M-Me too. And I'll replace your gift. It's probably even more broken from that fall."

"Yeah...you don't have to though."

"I can't just not get you a gift for Valentine's day. And don't you start arguing with me over such matter." England sighed and buried his face once more into Germany's neck in compliance.

---

As soon as they returned to Germany's home, England was laid on the couch with his injured foot and Germany went into the kitchen for ice.

"Can I get you anything else?" Germany asked after he situated the ice just right. Before getting up, he pecked the other's ankle for good measure.

"Well, there is one thing." England gave him a smirk as he gestured for the German to come over to which Germany did with a cocked eyebrow. Before he could say anything, he was pulled down into a long, slow kiss. He hummed into it as he moved his lips to match England's. They eventually (and reluctantly) had to break for air, but England's hold on Germany kept them close.

"Anything else?" Germany murmured, placing a light kiss on England's ear.

"Can I see the gift you were going to get me?"

"Nein, you will have to wait for tomorrow."

"Bu-" In a similar way that England did this evening, Germany pressed his lips against England to silence him.

"I'll get the same thing, I just have to run to the store again tomorrow."

"Fine. Chocolate?"

"I'd love that."

And so, the two lovers shared the chocolates as they sat back and watched some cheesy romance film that was playing on the T.V. Eventually, England snuggled into Germany's side and closed his eyes, content to fall asleep right there. Usually, Germany would protest such actions, but it was Valentine's Day and England's sleeping face looked so soft and peaceful so he let it happen. Soon enough Germany also dozed off, leaning his head Against England's.  

Translations:

Guten Abend= Good evening

Fröhlichen Valentinstag= Happy Valentine's Day

[theonlinemuse]

R E B I R T H  A N D  R E C O L L E C T I O N — [ co-created with @incorrectprodigalsonquotes ]      A Brightwell AU

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day When it's cold outside I've got the month of May Well I guess you'd say What can make me feel this way? My girl (my girl, my girl) Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)

sofia wylie as young dani powell | levi miller as young malcolm bright  

This AU came about when thinking of how small things cause big changes as a result of reading too many Chinese rebirth webnovels. The idea of the rebirth is for a character to live their life for a second time; a little bit like time travel except that the character is reverted back to the age they were at the time. We both liked the idea of Malcolm and Dani growing up together because they definitely would have been friends given the chance. This was also a way to be able to change some things we didn’t like the show did, including not giving Dani enough screen time. It’s very interesting to think about what could’ve changed about the whole story if Dani had grown up with Malcolm. It’s also a chance to give our favourite detective (sorry JT) some much needed backstory. This is a chance to make this not just Malcolm’s story but both Malcolm and Dani’s story. 

After being fatally shot during a case, Dani is sent back in time to when she’s five years old and ends up becoming Malcolm’s childhood friend. 

Dani didn't even really intend to reach out to Malcolm so early, she had been more interested in connecting with Gil in addition to making sure her father and aunt, Dinah Senior didn’t die early this time around 

The first time that Dani met Malcolm after being reborn, there was a public performance for her ballet class in the park that day and it was also Dani's first solo performance

So Malcolm ends up seeing this tiny girl with her curls flying while she dances to “My Girl”

She was wondering how to approach him because he's just so young, but he's not much different than the Bright she got to know as an adult

His eyes are still the same in any lifetime

Malcolm wanted to approach Dani too because he thought her dancing was great and they ended up meeting in the middle

It’s also the day Malcolm tries ice cream truck ice cream for the first time

Dani thinks the way that Malcolm's eyes go wide at his first taste is cute

She tells him that the twist is the best flavour because you get both chocolate and vanilla

She gets hers dipped in chocolate and Malcolm ends up ordering the same thing because he's curious about it

He ends up loving it. He's never had so much sugar in his life and he loves it

Ainsley is attached to Dani from the start and she's clinging to Dani and going “no” when the nanny tries to separate them

And they end up talking for so long that the nanny tells him they have to go in order to be home in time for lunch

And Ainsley is not even close letting go

Malcolm tries to convince her to let go for all of two seconds. "Ains, come on, you have to say bye to Dani." "No!" He just looks at the nanny with a look that says, ‘well, I tried’

Dani just finds the whole thing funny and she even encourages it by hugging Ainsley tighter

Dani's mom, Zipporah is giggling in the background

And that's when Malcolm decides to ask Dani if she wants to have lunch with them. "We have a pretty good cook, plus Ainsley likes you."

Which is good because Ainsley was glaring at everyone for daring to take her away from Dani

Ainsley gasps when she hears Malcolm invite Dani and turns the puppy dog eyes on Dani and the nanny and clings to Dani even more

Zipporah finds it hilarious because Dani is maybe a foot taller than Ainsley but the toddler is clinging to Dani like a baby koala

Ainsley is practically on Dani's hip. Dani doesn't really mind, but she looks at her mom to see if she can go. Dani knows that it's gonna be a disaster, but she kind of wants to talk to Malcolm more

He’s still weird, but she likes him

When Jessica allowed the nanny to take Malcolm and Ainsley out to the park, she didn't expect them to come home with a ballerina

"Malcolm, who's your little friend? And why is Ainsley clinging to her like a limpet?"

She did think that Dani was precious and was amused at how Dani already seemed so used to Malcolm and Ainsley's antics

Jessica immediately saw that she was a very calm and mature little girl

And Malcolm knows that look in her eyes means that she wants to keep Dani with them too. "She has a mom already, you can't keep her." "Malcolm dear, there are plenty of other ways to keep her around."

Malcolm was pretty attached to Dani despite the age difference. He could tell that she's supposed to be younger than him because of her round cheeks and small hands

It's her eyes that make him think otherwise

Dani called him ‘Bright’ since they were kids because that was she was used to calling him before the rebirth happened and she called him sunshine boy and says that's when he's ‘Bright’

Dani and Malcolm's family end up catching Watkins much earlier

He still kidnaps Malcolm, but here's a twist, he didn't just threaten Jessica and Ainsley, he also threatened Dani's safety. So Dani knows that the camping trip is coming up, but she knows she can't stop it from happening without Martin getting suspicious

So she prepares. She talks to Ainsley about her "imaginary friend" and slips Malcolm a walkie talkie so they can at least stay in contact

She's ready to arm him to the teeth to help get him out of there relatively unscathed. She gets him a collapsible baton that he can easily hide on him.

She plays it off as just some things her dad always has ready for a camping trip (even though they have never been camping)

It's what he uses to knock out Watkins in the end

And she makes him promise that the next weekend, they go to see Tarzan in theatres so that she can kind of reassure herself that he'll come back and she knows that in a couple months, Malcolm will find out about his father and call the police

And then Malcolm accidentally starts talking about Dani to Martin and Watkins because he's saying things like "Me and Dani usually like to go to the movies on Saturdays. She showed me this cool trick of when you buy popcorn and candy and mix it in the popcorn bag so every bite is a surprise. Dani likes the sour lemon lime gummies and M&Ms so we usually get those."

He doesn't realize that talking about Dani is making Martin and Watkins curious about her, he's just a kid talking about his friend

And when Watkins kidnaps Malcolm, he taunts him with; "Once I'm done with your mother and sister, I'm going after your little girlfriend.” And Malcolm just flies into a blind rage, shouting things like getting Watkins arrested if he so much as looks at Dani wrong and, "If you even get close to her, I won’t think twice about calling the police!" 

He didn't even want Watkins to know what Dani looked like

Unfortunately, Martin told him in very good detail what she looked like. "Oh, she's this pretty young girl that Malcolm's quite taken with." And when Watkins starts describing Dani in perfect detail, almost as if he's been watching her for some time and Malcolm has never been more terrified

In reality it was Martin, who's amused by Dani most of the time

So Watkins gets caught after the camping trip. He kidnaps Malcolm because Martin didn't go through with killing him and takes Malcolm to the little room under the Whitlys' house

Malcolm escapes similar to how he escapes in the original timeline

Only thanks to Dani preparing in advance that he doesn't need to break his hand this time

Dani gave him a lock pick set disguised as a Swiss Army knife

Malcolm managed to hide it up his sleeve before Watkins kidnapped him

Dani was relieved to hear that Watkins hadn't been able to hurt him because he managed to escape

He managed to find Ainsley and Dani in the living room and told them to find Jessica

Dani managed to call Gil right before Watkins cut the power

Watkins had an axe with him and was aiming for Dani. Cue young Malcolm flying into a rage and knocking him out. Dani and Malcolm shove Watkins in the box together

Gil shows up and is like, "Should I ask how he got in the box?" Dani and Malcolm look at each other and eventually go, "He's not as heavy as he looks"

Gil doesn't say anything because he can tell that Watkins tried to hurt them, particularly Malcolm

Both of them are a little bruised, but they both have fighting spirit

Gil reminds Jessica to get them checked out in the meantime, giving poor Zipporah another heart attack

Poor Ainsley was clinging to Dani and Malcolm the whole time. She doesn't understand why police were showing up at their house or why Dani and Malcolm got hurt 

And Jessica fusses over Dani and Malcolm. She even allowed the kids to have breakfast in bed

She has the chef make all their favourites like Dani's cinnamon and brown sugar waffles with strawberries and maple syrup. Malcolm let her convince him to eat some of her strawberries. And then Ainsley wants to be fed strawberries and it leads to the siblings fighting for Dani's attention

It was one of many instances where Malcolm and Ainsley were competing for Dani's attention

Dani forgets that she's been reborn for a little while and just enjoys her friendship with Malcolm until she meets Martin

She makes sure she's never in a room alone with him

Instead she invites Malcolm and eventually Ainsley over for sleepovers

She always hugs Malcolm's arm if Martin enters the room, even if he's just picking something up

Martin can tell that Dani is more than meets the eye, but he still underestimates her

She does impress him by keeping up with Malcolm and sussing out details and she's not happy about it because she doesn't want him to like her

Malcolm is a little amused at Dani treating Martin as if he's her nemesis

He's horrified when he learns the truth and immediately tries protecting her from Martin

He thinks that she'll stop being his friend now like his other friends did

Dani is creeped out by Martin because not only is she meeting pre-arrest sweater vest Martin but he's much taller than her

It's the eyes that creep her out, especially since he reminds her of a sociopathic Mr Rogers with the sweaters, but it's Dani's steady and knowing gaze that starts to unnerve Martin

She wasn't there the night The Surgeon was arrested, but she was there early the next morning. She had her grandma drive her to his house and Dani ends up being the first thing Malcolm sees when he wakes up

She ends up waking him from a night terror much like in the pilot

Jessica was horrified and didn't notice how calm Dani was about it

She was about to pull Malcolm off, but then he wraps his arms around Dani and starts calming down after she sings to him. And Malcolm just slowly wakes up, not realizing what just happened, though he does question why they're in the hallway

He's bewildered over why he's in Dani's arms. Then he sees a scrape on her cheek and reacts in horror

That's the incident that prompt him to seek help earlier than in the original timeline and it's the first time he cries since the arrest

He does go nonverbal for a shorter period of time, but he's more eager to communicate

They both learn sign language so that they can understand each other

If Malcolm doesn't want to talk, that's fine but she's not going to lose her friend and he writes constantly so he's communicating just fine, he's just choosing not to talk at the moment

Jessica thinks this is better than Malcolm shutting everyone out

She also appreciates Dani for sticking with her son when she had no obligation too

After a month, after Dani sleeps over for the tenth time, Malcolm finally talks

It's only one word, "Dani", but it still almost makes Jessica cry

And Malcolm laughs when Dani all but tackles him with a hug

It releases the floodgates and he keeps repeating her name as he buries his face in her hair

Later, Jessica squeezes Dani tight. She keeps stroking her hair and thinking that it's a miracle that Malcolm brought Dani home that day

She makes it clear that while she hopes it will never happen but if Dani ever needed her, she would protect her the way she'd protect her own children

Jessica is even more fond of Dani in the new timeline. She thinks she's adorable and that her friendship with Malcolm is precious. She's always gushing about Dani's maturity and intelligence

Malcolm isn't jealous. It's the first time he and his mother really agree on something

Malcolm and Dani had matching Halloween costumes when they were growing up together

Throughout Dani's childhood, she had dreams where she and Malcolm have odd conversations while dressed as characters from children's books

One dream had her dressed as Alice and trying to get a straight answer out of Mad Hatter!Malcolm. MH!Malcolm tells her that the answer she’s looking for will appear after she finishes her Earl Grey and when she drains her cup, she finds two words painted at the bottom

She can’t remember when the words were, but it shocks her to the point where she doesn’t even realize that Malcolm has practically flipped the overly long table that was between them and he slowly and deliberately walks up to her. She wakes up just as he’s grasped her chin in his hand and tips her face up to look at him 

Gil and Jessica have a long standing bet on when Dani and Malcolm will finally get together

Malcolm talked to Dani when he came home to visit from college and told her that he was thinking of applying to Quantico because by the time he told Martin, he had already applied. And he asks what she thinks of it

He shares his fears about being told that he's his father's son and she tells him that Malcolm Whitly is his own person

She gives the idea of changing his last name and he chooses Bright because she calls him that all the time. She said that he was old enough to change his name without anyone's approval

He didn't call himself Bright for her approval but he did it because Dani's the only person he has in his life where he doesn't have to pretend that he's someone he's not

Jessica is a little miffed at the name change at first. She suggested that he take her maiden name, but then Malcolm talks to her about his discussion with Dani and she now thinks it's sweet

Malcolm is the first to realize his feelings for Dani. She comes by to congratulate him and they talk until late at night. Dani ends up falling asleep on his shoulder and Malcolm stares at her as if she'll disappear if he looks away for a second. Dani has him promise not to drop off the face of the earth before she ends up falling asleep and he kisses the top of her head

During his first year in college, he comes back for Christmas with his Walking Dead look.

Dani and Jessica are a little horrified, but Malcolm just wants his hug and he playfully chases Dani

They're both laughing and they nearly fall over when Malcolm has her in a bear hug

Dani's dad, Christophe died when she was sixteen in the original timeline, but he lives in the new one

Christophe and Dani's sister Naomie were riding home from her swimming lessons one afternoon when a truck ran a red light and hit them in the side. Naomie survived, but she was traumatized to the point when she had night terrors for months afterwards

Dani and her oldest sister Mona took turns sleeping with her to take care of her whenever she had one

This time, Dani was with them and helped them avoid the accident in the nick of time, but she didn't come out of it unscathed

Dani got a bad concussion and was unconscious for two days. That was the first time she caught glimpses of the original timeline

Malcolm came running after Jessica called him in hysterics, especially since he had literally been away for a few weeks because his second semester of college had started

He was a mess when he arrived and he practically collapsed in Christophe's arms

He was half-demanding to see Dani and Christophe let it slide because he knew that the demands were coming from grief and worry

Christophe still had to tell Malcolm to calm down and rubbed his back until Malcolm was somewhat calm before he went in and all the while he was sobbing that he can't lose Dani and it was heartbreaking for Christophe to see

That's when he knew (though he always suspected) that Malcolm loved Dani

Jessica, Christophe, and Gil had to force him to eat and for him to go home for an hour to get cleaned up. Jessica makes a comment about Dani would be complaining about his stench and that earns a watery chuckle

He keeps talking to Dani hoping that she's listening. He gets hopeful when he's talking and he feels her squeeze his hand the tiniest bit. "Are you just trying to get me to shut up?"

And even while unconscious, Dani still has a sense of humour because she squeezes his hand again

Malcolm falls asleep in the chair next to her and Christophe is on guard because he knows Malcolm has night terrors too

He's still surprised when Malcolm actually sleeps through the night

He chalks it up to it being the effect that Dani has on him

Dani wakes up eventually and is surprised to see him

Her voice is still croaky from disuse, but she manages to rasp out "Malcolm"

Malcolm almost lunge-hugs her and he presses his forehead against hers and cries tears of relief. "Sorry," He wipes away a tear that fell on her cheek. "You're awake for one second and I get salt water all over you."

She just smiles at him. She looks tired and worn and she's covered in bandages, but he can still feel her breathing under his fingertips

And he always liked her eyes, but he's never been so grateful to see them open. He swears there's no more beautiful sight than in that moment

At one point, Dani falls into a coma and she sees glimpses of the original timeline where she died. She bleeds out in his arms while he's yelling for an ambulance and begging her to stay awake

In the aftermath of everything, Malcolm takes to talking to Dani whenever he's particularly stressed or sad. He talks about her family and Gil and Jessica getting together and how much everyone misses her. And how he wishes he had been selfish about his feelings for her and admitted it when she was still alive

“I’m still mad at you,” he says one day, “for dying. You didn’t have to, you know. If you weren't always looking out for my selfish ass--maybe you'd still be here. You weren't supposed to leave us. You weren't supposed to leave me… I would’ve switched places with you in a heartbeat..."

In the new timeline, Malcolm does think that Dani has some sort of secret with how she came into his life

He looks at her for a second and thinks that her eyes are still the same as they were twenty years ago and he thinks that with all the coincidences and how knowing Dani has been in the last twenty years and realizes there's something going on. But it's not dark like Dr. Whitly's secrets. It's warm, bright, and gives him hope. He's okay with not knowing

Because Dani is not Martin and her eyes are still the same as ever. It's those eyes that make him think that instead of growing up, Dani just grew into who she was all along

[lostonrevenge]

Dyscalculia

Summary: Harry Hook has never been good with numbers. Maybe there’s a reason why…

Author’s Note: One of my favourite fanfictions I’ve ever written.

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

It all started with a failed test

Nervous students sat around the classroom, tapping pencils, chewing at their lips or bouncing their legs in anticipation. That did not go for Harry Hook, who sat relaxed, leaning back in his chair with his feet pushed up against the edge of his desk. Absentmindedly watching as Fairy Godmother wondered around the classroom giving out the test results. When she reaches him, he lazily takes the test between his fingers, ignoring the disapproving stare she gives him.

Uma watches on from next to him as he looks at the paper, seeming to shrug at it before he puts it down on the desk and resumes leaning back in his chair.

She’s distracted as a sheet of paper passes in front of her face as Fairy Godmother puts her result on her desk. She cracks a smile at the B she sees at the top of the page. It’s nothing compared to Evie’s A+ in the desk in front of her, but she and the rest of her group have over a year’s worth of better education than the rest of them. Evie squeaks in excitement before turning to Mal to show her her result.

“What did you get?” Uma turns back to Harry, having nothing else to do to occupy her time.

He looks up from where he was pulling at the hem of his untucked shirt and over to her before he leans forward to grab the paper off the desk. He holds it up so it balances vertically and turns it around in his fingers. Disappointment flashes through Uma at the sight of the F written in red. Though, Harry seems unfased as he shows her the paper long enough for her to read the letter five times over. She turns away to look at her desk, confused at how to feel.

The education system as it was in Auradon is still new to them. Teachers actually expected students to get good grades, and as little as Uma new about that system, she knew that a F wasn’t any good. She was sure that Harry knew that and the fact that he didn’t seem fazed bothered her.

“Did you even try?” she asks, an irritated tone slipping into her voice.

“Mhmm” Harry nods his head, seeming confused at why Uma appears to be annoyed at him.

Their conversation takes a pause while Fairy Godmother informs them about their homework and dismisses the class.

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

“Why don’t you seem to care?” Uma asks Harry as she jogs up behind him and Gil who were ahead of her in the hallway.

“Care about what?” Gil asks, looking between Uma and Harry.

“Harry didn’t do well in the test” Uma explains blatantly, as they exit the main building and step outside.

“Oh, what did you guys get? I got a B-” Gil declares excitedly.

“Wahey!” Harry makes a noise of celebration, a smile lighting up his face. “Who knew you were so good at math?” he says as he walks backward in front of them, giving Gil a bro five.

“Harry, focus” Uma reprimands.

“What did you get Uma?” Gil asks her.

“I got a B, but that doesn’t matter” Uma speaks quickly only to get the answer out of the way, closing her eyes in irritation.

“That’s better than me!” Gil exclaims happily.

“You wanna ask Harry how he did?” Uma snaps sassily.

But in his excitement, Gil isn’t fazed and turns to Harry. “Harry, what did you get?”

“I failed” he says neutrally.

“Aw” Gil’s face drops in disappointment, though in a different kind to Uma’s.

“Don’t worry about it, mate” Harry tells him, giving him a clap on the back.

“Don’t worry about it?” Uma scoffs and stops in her tracks. Harry then doing the same.

“I’m gonna go meet up with the rest of the crew by the lake” Gil says hesitantly as he backs away from them, not wanting to be a part of their fight. He doesn’t wait for either of them to respond before he speeds off towards the forest.

Meanwhile Uma seems to be trying to stare Harry down. “I’m not going to fight with you, Uma” Harry sighs, shaking his head.

Uma widens her eyes and gestures with her hand for him to continue.

“I didn’t fail it on purpose. I’m just not surprised that I did.”

The only way that Harry could tell he was in the clear was by Uma not saying a word as she turns around on her heels and walks toward the forest.

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

Uma is startled out of her reading by Harry throwing his pencil down at the desk by her window. She looks up to see him leaning back in her desk chair, his hands scrunching up his hair making it stick out in odd places. Concerned but saying nothing, she clambers off her bed and walks over to him. Reaching down, she picks up his pencil from the floor next to the desk before putting it back on the surface.

“It doesn’t make any sense” Harry complains.

“It’s homework, it’s not supposed to make any sense” she jokes, leaning her hip against the side of the desk.

“No, I mean that it literally doesn’t make any sense” Harry states angrily, his fingers tightening into claws.

“Hey, settle down” Uma soothes, pulling a chair over to her desk to sit next to him. “What doesn’t make sense?”

“Any of it” Harry looks back at the paper with wide eyes, seeming scared.

Uma furrows her brow, not understanding why Harry would be reacting like this. “Tell me what bit and I’ll help you out” she suggests.

“No, you’re not listening” Harry tells her angrily, but Uma knows that the emotion is at himself. “None of this makes any sense.”

Uma stops short of replying when she looks at the blank sheet in front of him. He’d been working on it for about an hour by now and he’d barely made a mark on the page. Some of the unanswered questions seemed easy to her and she didn’t understand why he couldn’t answer them – he’d been to just as many classes as she had.

“I can’t do it” Harry interrupts her thoughts as he shakes his head.

“Of course, you can” Uma assures him cheerfully.

“No, I can’t” Harry chokes out as he leans forward over the desk, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands with a sniff.

Uma had heard about people being driven to crying from a sheer amount of frustration, but she had never pictured Harry being one to do that. Her heart breaks a little at the prospect.

“They’re going to send me back” Harry speaks with his words aimed toward the desk.

“They won’t send you back” Uma denies quickly, not even dwelling on the prospect. In her mind it wasn’t possible that anyone would send him back to the Isle, she would never let that happen.

“Hey?” she says softly when Harry doesn’t move. “They won’t send you back” she continues, putting her hands on his shoulders to turn him around to face her. He doesn’t resist and sits up to look at her. Uma is relieved to find that no tears have fallen, although his eyes are shining.

“Let’s call this a day, yeah?” Uma suggests. “Your brain’s overworked, there’s no point trying to get it to do things if it doesn’t want to.”

Harry nods taking a deep breath, seeming to calm down a bit.

“Cool, cause I wanna get out of here” Uma says standing up. “Let’s go find the crew.”

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

The next test result he gets doesn’t come back alone, this time with a blue detention slip stapled to the top.

Uma watches from next to him as he tips his head back, his eyes closing in defeat. She feels sad for him, it’s not like he wasn’t trying.

“What did you get?” Uma asks leaning over to him.

He doesn’t say anything as he flips his test around so she can see the D written on the page.

“It’s better” she encourages, ignoring the fact that her own result had just been placed on her desk.

Harry looks at her with an expression that is begging her not to find a positive in the situation. “What did you get?” he asks her, an undertone of despair in his voice.

Uma turns back to her desk and flips over the paper, “B again.”

When she turns back, she sees Harry reading the detention slip. “When is it?”

“This afternoon, 3:30 to 5:30” Harry recites. “I’ll miss meeting up with the crew.”

Uma purses her lips, knowing that he’ll be disappointed about that. “Better not make detention a regular thing. You already got one last week for refusing to keep your shirt tucked in.”

“What are they going to do? Call my parents?” Harry scoffs, but his laugh doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Guess not” Uma says before following the rest of the class in packing up their things.

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

Harry had been staring off into space for a good part of half an hour, which was impressive since he never seemed to sit still. He hadn’t said anything since he came back from detention apart from that he had had to reorganise library books in alphabetical order. Uma had been watching him as he sat on her bed from over at her desk, but he hadn’t seemed to notice, which was another problem because she wasn’t exactly being subtle about it.

“What you thinking?” she finally breaks the silence.

“Mhmm?” Harry breaks his daze and looks over to her.

“It’s about the maths test, why you’re distracted. Isn’t it?” Uma guesses as she gets out of her chair and comes to sit on the edge of her bed.

“I’ve been thinking���” she hesitates not knowing how to continue. She twirls her braids between her fingers wondering if it’s too late to back out of what she was going to say. But she knows she needs to, so she sighs before she continues, “that there must be a reason why you struggle so much at maths.”

It doesn’t surprise Uma that Harry says nothing. But when she looks up at him, she knows that he’s listening.

“Your father owns a store full of clocks, you carry around a pocket watch – you’ve been surrounded by numbers your whole life - and you can’t tell the time” Uma points out. “Has that never struck you as being weird?”

“Thought I was just stupid” Harry mumbles, looking at his hands clasped together on his lap.

“You’re not stupid, Harry” Uma disagrees. “There must be an underlying issue.”

“Like what?”

Uma inhales a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut to calm her thoughts. She’s never been so nervous about telling anyone anything, frankly because she doesn’t know how Harry will react. “I don’t know how to say it” she admits.

“Well just spit it out!” Harry begs her. “Nothing’s as bad as sitting here thinking about every worst possible option!”

Uma huffs out a sigh and shuffles herself around to face Harry directly. “Have you ever heard of Dyscalculia?”

Harry shakes his head.

“It’s where people have difficulty understanding numbers and concepts in maths” Uma explains, “like learning to count, or understanding graphs and charts.” She looks over at Harry, seeming not to be moving as she talks.

“They might still need their fingers to count, or struggle with using math in day to day life.”

“Stop!” Harry chokes out as he puts his head in his hands, tucking his knees up to his chest. The descriptions all too familiar for him.

“Harry?” Uma speaks softly.

“They’re gonna send me back” Harry’s panicked words are muffled by his knees.

“They won’t” Uma repeats to him.

“They will” Harry interjects. “Once they find out that I’m incapable of learning. They can’t have someone like me running around screwing up their reputation.”

“You’re not incapable of learning” Uma shakes her head.

“Well maybe not” Harry agrees. “But do you really think that they’re going to put in any extra effort for a Villain kid like me?” he asks her as he untucks his legs and gets off the bed.

Uma stands up with him and watches as he makes his way to the door.

“It’d just be easier to throw me out!” he snaps before he leaves.

Uma is quick to close the gap between her and the door. Leaning out of the doorframe she sees him halfway down the hallway, his coat billowing out behind him.

“Harry!” she calls out to him as she steps out fully into the corridor. He doesn’t turn around.

She’s about to follow him when she hears the unmistakable sound of Evie’s voice from two doorways in front of her, “what’s wrong with him?”

Uma turns to her and opens her mouth to say something but no words come out. She purses her lips together and runs her fingers through her hair with a sigh before shaking her head, “I messed up.”

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

Uma felt uncomfortable as she sat in a chair by the windows of Mal and Evie’s room. Her surroundings are too pretty for her liking with all the racks of beautiful dresses lining the walls of the room. Evie sits at her sewing desk with a look of concern on her face, Mal standing beside her with her arms crossed and a neutral expression, while Uma tells them her theory.

“He’s convinced that they’ll send him back” Uma says as she rounds her story to a close.

It surprises Uma that Mal is the first to speak in denying, “they won’t.”

“I should never have told him” Uma sighs as she brings her legs up onto the chair, hugging them self-consciously to her chest. She messed up, and she knows she’s messed up even more in telling Mal and Evie about a situation that Harry most definitely wouldn’t want them to know about. But it was her only option, they would be able to help him because she couldn’t do it on her own.

“No, you did the right thing” Evie assures her gently. Uma despises in this moment that she actually appreciates Evie’s positive attitude.

“I don’t know what to do” Uma admits shaking her head.

“Bring him here and we’ll talk with him” Mal says as she uncrosses her arms. “Do you know where he went?”

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

It was no question for Uma where Harry would be. When either of them ever got upset they would always find a place by water. Her feet carefully balance on the unstable rocks as she makes a path down to a secluded bank at the edge of the Enchanted Lake. She feels at home with the sound of water traveling downward in the streams all around her. Stepping out of the bushes that open out to the bank she finds Harry sitting on a flat mound of rocks looking out at the water. When he hears her footsteps, he turns around and she sees tears shimmering in his eyes.

She says nothing as she comes to sit next to him so that their shoulders touch, or as she wraps her arm around his waist. At her protective stance Harry breaks and turns crying into her shoulder. Still she says nothing as the strong image of her first mate shatters in front of her, she only spreads out her fingers and moves her thumb in circles on his side. She leans her head on top of his as his sobs shake his body. But all too soon he pulls away wiping the tears off his face with a deep breath.

For awhile they stay together in silence, watching the ripples in the water before Uma stands up. “We’ve got some people who want to talk to you” she says holding her hand out for him.

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

By the looks of things Harry isn’t any more comfortable being in Mal and Evie’s room than Uma was herself. Of course, he is in some form of interrogation as he sits in the chair Uma had sat in, while she sits in one which she had pulled up next to him. One of his legs is pulled up to his chest, serving to push him further back into the chair as if he would be able to disappear through it. The scene looks remarkably like a parent meeting with the school principle, except no one had done anything wrong.

“It’s just a theory” Uma concludes a conversation, looking over at Harry who hadn’t been paying attention and had missed all the words that were said.

“Even still, we’ll get Fairy Godmother to check” Evie says as she looks at both Uma and Harry. “She’ll be able to confirm it for you.”

Uma nods her head in thanks, while Harry remains still and unmoving.

“I have to meet with her about the royal gala plans later, I’ll ask about a time for you to go see her” Evie continues as Uma and Harry get up to leave. “I’ll let you know when.”

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

Walking down the hallway they are only steps away from the door when they hear Mal call out Harry’s name from behind them. Stopping in their tracks, Uma gives Harry a look and nods her head in the direction she’s going before turning and walking away.

“Harry” Mal repeats as she makes her way towards him now standing alone. He turns toward her as she stops in front of him.

“Even if it is…” she trails off not wanting to utter the word ‘dyscalculia’ as if it would curse him into an early diagnosis, and she also figures that he wouldn’t want to hear it. She takes a breath before trying again. “Even if it is, they won’t send you back. Ben won’t allow it” Mal shakes her head. “No one here knows the Isle like we do, but they know enough to not send anyone back. Especially for reasons beyond their control.”

At the conclusion of her sentence she has nothing else to say and neither does he. Her eyes find his and she fixes him with a look of promise, to which he nods before they go their separate ways.

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

The heel of Uma’s boot taps nervously on the tile floor beneath the bench she sits on. Through the wall she knows Fairy Godmother sits with Harry running the diagnostic. Even though she sits outside, she hadn’t offered to go in with him. This was something that she knew he would want to do alone.

It seemed like an eternity waiting out in the empty hallway, although Fairy Godmother had told them it would only be a matter of minutes. Uma wishes she was able to just wave her magic wand and get the process over and done with, but spells like that are frowned upon in Auradon. The brain is too fragile of a subject to perform magic on.

At long last Uma hears the sound of a door handle click next to her, she springs off the bench and turns around to face Harry as he closes the door behind him. He says nothing as he turns to her, the look in his eyes gives her all the confirmation she needs, though he doesn’t look upset.

She doesn’t say anything either as they turn to head back the dorms down the hallway, her hand slipping onto his.

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

The next time Harry is handed back his maths test, he’s not fixed with a disappointed look from Fairy Godmother. Instead she gives him a small smile as she walks past him, placing the paper on his desk, no detention slip attached.

Uma completely ignoring the rule for all class members to remain seated, gets out of her chair and steps behind him to look over his shoulder. A smile spreads over both their faces as they see the C+ written in the corner.

[alifeasvivid]

Mistaken Identity, Episode 9 of The Thief of Spades, Season 2 (rated T)

:D You can expect the next few chapters or so to be a return to the same sort of style/format that the first chapters of season 1 were. It’s just to kinda get the story flowing. I’m kinda hoping that although this fic is UKUS, it’s coming across as more complex than just a shippy fic. Alfred and Arthur have complex relationships with other characters too. Particularly Alfred and Matthew.

Rating: T Warnings: None Summary: Matt contemplates his life and Alfred the unsolvable puzzle as he pulls off an assignment for the enigmatic thief. Word Count: ~1000

Read here on AO3. Thief of Spades Masterpost

Matthew sits on a bench just outside the museum, trying to quell the butterflies in his stomach. The assignment is so simple and as usual, Alfred has planned for everything so it’s not even dangerous. Is this how Alfred feels before a heist? Matthew imagines not. Alfred is so cool and collected all the time. He probably shuts his emotions completely down before committing a crime.

Matthew certainly isn’t very practiced at that. He’s a very even-keeled person, he likes to think, but a high stress situation for him took the shape of an exam or a presentation or teaching an unruly class of undergraduates… until he met Alfred, that is.

Why would Alfred even put up with it?

Why is the question the grad student keeps asking himself in relation to the thief. Alfred is charming and enigmatic, clearly intelligent, handsome (if Matt says so himself), outgoing and friendly.

Why steal? Why steal anything when surely the world would hand itself on a silver platter to someone like Alfred?

Matthew does what he can to keep his curiosity in check. There has to be some reason, but he believes Alfred when the thief says the less Matthew knows, the better.

He rubs his right thumb over the back of his left hand and breathes. The assignment is simple. All Matt has to do is wander the museum for awhile, letting the cameras catch him and wait. If, after half an hour, no one has approached him, Alfred had said to leave, go home, and not think about it anymore.

As if not thinking about it were possible.

Sometimes imagining Alfred’s life is all Matt can think about. It isn’t anything more than Alfred being exasperatingly mysterious—a puzzle with no solutions, despite what Gilbert says, not that Matthew has really told Gil anything, but he is detective sergeant, after all. Matthew had ended up saying that there was a weird rich guy who had become very interested in Matthew’s team’s research. Gilbert still ribs him about a potential crush, knowing full well how much Matt loves him.

Matt doesn’t really know how to tell him that that would just be outrageously narcissistic and creepy as hell.

He has thought about asking Gilbert who Alfred is. Gilbert works with theft and robbery cases all the time, he would have to know something.

But Alfred made a deal with Matt and he’s more than held up his end so far.

Matthew stands up and head toward the doors of the museum. Surely, the less he knows, the better.

He buys a ticket and wanders through the various exhibits, wondering which one, if any, Alfred is interested in. Matt can’t help but think that it’s the gem exhibit, on loan from the Gem-A. He chuckles to himself as he can only imagine Alfred being the sort to obsess over “shiny things.”

At around the twenty-minute mark, Matthew notices one of the guards has begun to follow him. The guard is mostly discreet, but Matt had been expecting it. He remembers Alfred’s instructions:

“If they approach you, just stay calm and do whatever they ask. They’ll probably only ask for your ID so they can scan it. I’ve made you an exact replica, but this one has randomized information on it. Leave your real one at home so you won’t get them mixed up. They won’t have good reason to hold you, so once they let you go, hang around for about ten minutes and then head out.”

“Why am I doing this, again?”

Alfred had frowned slightly. “I just want to see how good their facial recognition software is and if they have me flagged.”

Matthew continues wandering around, trying his best to remain calm and act as though he doesn’t notice that he’s being followed.

“Pardon me, sir,” the guard finally approaches him, holding an electronic device in his hand. “Would you come with me for a moment?”

Matt nods and follows him. “May I ask what this is about?” he says once they’re in a more secluded part of the museum.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, sir. Might I see your identification?”

Matthew hands him the replica of his Oxford ID and allows him to scan it.

The device makes a few beeping noises and then a chime. The guard looks up from it and smiles politely. “As I suspected, a mere case of mistaken identity. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Daniels, please enjoy the museum.”

Matt smiles back in kind as the guard hands him his fake ID, responding to the name as if it were his own. “Thank you.” He wanders off, choosing to browse a sculpture exhibit instead. He realizes that it would probably raise suspicion if he left immediately. He pulls out his phone to text Alfred.

I was followed and then they asked for my ID. Took them about twenty minutes.

Alfred replies very quickly,

That’s what I needed to know. thanks Matt.

After about fifteen minutes or so, Matthew strolls out of the museum with some elevated measure adrenaline rushing through him. Is this what Alfred feels like when he’s pulled off a heist? He can admit that it does feel kind of… exciting.

He walks to the train station, breathing steadily. He reminds himself of his own life, of his job at the university, his studies, his boyfriend. These things calm him, make him feel warm and happy. Let Alfred keep the excitement.

♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎

Arthur looks up as an analyst pops her head in the door. He’s alone in the conference room Gabriel and Alice are using as a base. “Yes?”

“Just thought you’d like to know, Inspector. Facial recognition caught Jones at a museum with a gem exhibit.”

“Was he apprehended?” Arthur asks evenly, though excitement bubbles up in his stomach.

“No, it turned out to be a false alarm, actually.”

“Really? But that’s not terribly uncommon, isn’t it?”

“Facial recognition is always improving, but you’re correct. I have the name of the person who apparently bares enough resemblance to Jones to be flagged though, if you want it.”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

“Bryan Daniels. Twenty-three years old, he’s on a student visa from the US doing graduate work at Oxford. The guard’s scanner doesn’t seem to have picked up an image, but those things can be so tricky.”

Arthur scribbles the information down. “Thank you, that’s good to know.” The analyst leaves and Arthur looks at the name scrawled on his paper. Bryan Daniels. It can’t be a coincidence that he so closely resembles Alfred.

Arthur sighs. What is Alfred planning now?

[atopearth]

Piofiore: Fated Memories Part 5 - Gilbert Redford Route

Yayyy Gil time! I'll ignore his weirdness in Orlok's route because I know he's cool at heart hahaha. Anyway, it was so cool how he just gave the people around him money due to the commotion with Luca stealing money from a random. He obviously takes care of people well and tries to keep peace with everyone as long as they're in his governing area. I think in terms of all the routes, I like how this one handled the "getting taken to the Mafia manor" part the most. Yang appearing by her bedside is nightmare fuel though lmao, that would be so scary. But anyway, her running away and bumping into Gil is very convenient but I'll take it because I can imagine him randomly walking around enjoying scenery or doing patrols lol. What I liked most though was that in this route, Lili gets to properly assess her own situation with Gil, and she properly requests his help because she understands that she's in danger for some reason and he's the only Mafia boss that can help her if she doesn't trust the others after that gun fight. I also liked how Gil was very upfront with the fact that he's protecting her because he likes beauties, but also because he knows that she must be important for whatever reason if Yang and them are all after her, so this will most likely be a beneficial position for him if he can keep her. And I think that's what's been lacking for the other routes - proper communication from the beginning. I like how unlike in Dante's route, Gil properly told Lili how everything is going at the church and it's kinda cute how in the other routes, she's forced to stay at the manor most of the time, but here, Gil wants her to be comfortable and do what she wants, so he'll accompany her around town and stuff. It's kinda funny how in this route, she's the one that's like shouldn't I stay here in the manor instead of going outside for my safety hahaha. Anyway, when Gil reassured Lili that the safest place in Burlone was next to him, I wanted to squeal, he's so cute but confident, I love it🤣

Lmao, I love how Oliver called Gil an idiot for picking up Lili off the street especially when she's being chased by other Mafia😂 I love how Gil pisses Oliver off with something new every time he says something hahahah, I can feel Oliver's stress🤣 On the other hand, Gil is my favourite type of leader, I just love how up and personal with all the people in town he protects, and I love how everyone loves and respects him in the same way. If I had to compare him to someone, I would think of Laguna from Final Fantasy VIII, because they're both people who go along with the flow and are inherently kind to others as a part of their personality, they don't even need to try because it's so ingrained into them, and I guess that's their charm. However, it seems that Gil is a ladies man whereas Laguna is adorably shy haha. Okay, I'll admit that I have a weak spot for guys with an eyepatch so dang, the gelato CG is so niceeeee. It really ended up being just like a date as Gil said haha. Gil being so good at picking out dresses and hair accessories for Lili is pretty cool haha. What a riot for Gil himself to be arrested. I wonder if this means the power balance is shaking now~ Anyway, I really like Lili and Gil's relationship because they're both so upfront with their questions and both answer each other's questions properly, I think it's really nice. I think Gil also really appreciated it when she told him that she would believe him whatever his answer was (if he did counterfeit money), because she trusts the person that he is, and I agree so. Trust Gil to be the one that Roberto can't really refute against because he's so sincerely honest about wanting to protect the people just as much as him, it was cute to see Roberto less crazy and emotional haha. Lmao at Roberto's tunnel vision though hahaha, all he was focused on was Gil, he didn't even realise Lili was there with him hahahah. I think it's really cute how Gil loves dressing Lili up but wouldn't force her to wear anything she doesn't want to wear.

I was so excited when they agreed to have Dante send a bodyguard for Lili as a compromise with Gil, because it was obvious it would be Leo and I adore him!!🥰 It was really sweet of Lili to thank Dante for protecting her all these years. I hope Luca has a good ending in this route, he's such a good boy. Gil saving Lili from some guy coming on to her was cliche but it was still cute to see because it was Gil hahaha. Loll, Gil acting like a little kid excited about the new guns and stuff was cute, to be fair though, I get all happy when packages are delivered too🤣 When they started gambling, it was obvious that Lili was going to be a "prize", and that Gil wouldn't allow that, so it would have to be Lili herself who agrees to it. Anyway, even though it was expected, I think it was probably heartwarming for Gil to see how much Lili trusts him that she's willing to bet herself on him winning. Omggg after realising that the casino is dodgy with the counterfeit money thing, I honestly didn't expect Lili to suggest the church as a meeting place for the Mafia bosses lmao. Like yeah they're civil (most of the time) but it doesn't change the fact that she could be endangering Sister Sofia and them if anything were to happen. Lmao at saying God doesn't mind them talking about the stuff they do if he knows it's helping the city kinda thing hahaha. I mean, yeah God is understanding I guess loll. It was nice to see Gil's perspective towards his feelings for Lili, I buy their relationship, they're cute~🥰 I never knew I needed a reasonable Roberto in my life but I guess I do now, he's actually pretty cool haha. I also didn't realise I needed a CG of Gil putting earrings on Lili because omg it's sweet, I love the putting on necklaces or earrings etc CGs, they're usually so beautiful🥺 It's so adorable how Gil is concentrating so hard in the CG trying to put the earrings on for Lili, I love it. I never really thought about Gil's eyepatch but it's nice to know that it's because his left eye is weak, so it's easier for him to focus with just his right eye, but because of that, he can't gauge distances well apparently, and that's why guns work well for him. I guess when you put it into that perspective, you can kinda see why he would have quite a disadvantage against people like Orlok and Yang who are apt at fighting close range. It's kinda sad to think about his eye being weak because he got hit by his abusive father, but at least it led to him having a better future in Italy than staying like that in America. Personally, I'm really glad that there's so much progress with Roberto, mainly glad for him and Marco since after this, Roberto can definitely become an even greater person and policeman, and also glad for Marco because he puts in a lot of effort hoping that Roberto will be able to understand that not everything is so black and white. It's just a sweet thing to see. It's also nice to see that in this route, Luca will have the chance to live, that's something I've definitely been hoping for.

It was really cool of Lili to straight up tell Gil how she felt towards him. Anyway, that went from sweet to sad. I was honestly so worried for Oliver, especially since he's such a faithful guy to Gil and the only thoughts he had before he was nearly killed was that he needed to be at the trial to clear Gil of his charges, so he couldn't die yet. I'm glad Marco and Roberto made it in time to save him, but I hope Nicola is okay... Although I'm sure Dante would have wavered, it was nice to see him level-headed and calm over Nicola's "capture" and understood that even if he did listen to them, it didn't necessarily mean Nicola was safe, so he might as well do what he should to protect Burlone. Anyway, the trial has a very incompetent prosecutor, not only does he show his emotions, make careless remarks and not seem to know anything, I have no idea why if this trial was "so important" they would have someone like him be the prosecutor. Anyway, I thought it was going to be more dramatic when Gil went into the flames to capture the Direttore but I guess not loll. Seeing Luca so healthy made me so happy~ Lmao at Luca and Oliver being on Lili's side when she was mad at Gil, they didn't even care about what she was mad at, they just knew he was definitely wrong hahaha. Wait, that was the best ending?! So rushed and anti-climactic lol, it was like yay we captured the guy, the end lol. Yeah that story was boring lol. But I do like how in this ending, the Mafia are living peacefully with each other, Roberto isn't so obstinate and Luca is happily alive. But is Nicola dead? That's sad if he is.. Lmao at Gil getting Lili all dressed up just to take her to a hotel and take it off loll, I gotta admit though, that red dress she was too embarrassed to wear before is really beautiful on her, I can see why Gil wanted to see her wear it lol. I liked how Gil got to use those new weapons he bought in the good ending lol. Anyway, the tragic ending is rather..awkward? Gil being found guilty was expected, and I guess even though it was super dodgy, if they're corrupted it's understandable lol, but I just found Orlok dying was so random lol. Like excuse me?? Orlok is the one that prides himself for being fast and alert, how could he get killed by some random?? He's someone even Yang has trouble with lol. I also find it rather silly that considering Dante is supposedly righteous and always wants to be "fair", he's okay with sacrificing Gil to gain the continued support of the church to protect Burlone lol. It's kinda sad that in the end Gil refused to take Lili with him no matter what even though it killed them both on the inside, but I personally think Lili should have expressed her feelings better to him so that he would reconsider. Still sad but I think the other tragic endings are better.

Overall, I honestly really like Gil. He's cool, he's kind, he's sweet, he's the whole package with how much of a gentleman he is and how charismatic he is with others. I also loved how much Oliver cared for him over his own life, it's like Nicola and Dante without the obsession hahaha. However, I do think Gil's route was pretty lacking. Not only was the counterfeit bills plot rather boring, the ending for it was so short and inconclusive because it was obvious the Direttore was behind most of it but why?! I don't feel like I learnt anything more than I did before. As for the romance, it suffers from the cliche of Gil doing every gentlemanly thing possible to make you swoon over him, in which I admit that it did make me really happy and I did enjoy it, but in terms of the events themselves, sometimes they were rather silly and more gentlemanly for the sake of the stereotype rather than being from Gil himself such as Gil insisting on going further with their relationship only after everything is resolved and then once it is, he can't "stop" himself from desiring her like lmao geez he's constantly lusting after her it felt like his gentlemanly acts before were a facade hahaha. Anyway, so yeah even though I do like Gil, I do think he suffers from being more of a stereotype than a proper "character" to me. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the route because it was cute to see Lili and him have sweet little moments and build up their bond. I personally liked the Lili in this route the most because I thought she seemed the most mature, logical and honest with her thoughts and was straightforward about them with Gil, so extra points for that imo. Anyway if I had to pick favourite characters, it would definitely be in the order of Yang, Gil, Dante and then Nicola and Orlok tie, but when it comes to their route, it would be Yang, Gil and Nicola tie, Dante and then Orlok hahaha. Yes, Yang is practically perfect in terms of his character, VA, route and all the varying endings, I loved it so much I would play it again but I honestly can't say the same for the others lol. On to the finale!!

[scarletlunavalkyire-blog]

Review of Scarleta Valkyire’s Home Design Services!

As the lucky owner of a growing FC on the Primal-Famfrit server, I’ve had the privilege of working with Scarleta on multiple projects now. Each interaction with Scarleta has been an absolute delight, and the results have been - quite frankly - beyond my wildest expectations.

The first project I commissioned from Scarleta was to decorate our FC’s first home - a small property in Lavender Beds I had been lucky enough to snag a few days prior. I wanted a beautiful home themed after ancient ruins, with lots of overgrowth and plenty of ethereal lighting for a mysterious vibe. I also requested multiple hangout spots for the FC to congregate at in between other activities.

Suffice it to say, Scarleta knocked it out of the park. In just one (partial!) day, our bare-bones home was transformed from an empty shell of a property into one of the most beautiful spaces I’d seen in all FFXIV.

Needless to say, I was more than satisfied with Scarleta’s breathtaking work, as were the astonished members of my FC.

In fact, we all loved and enjoyed the home so much that I immediately commissioned another small project from Scarleta: turning my private chambers in the new home into a glorious, goth-themed palace! Scarleta eagerly accepted the job and handled it with the same degree of friendly, calm, cool professionalism she brings to all her work. Yet again, the results were incredible.

While working with Scarleta on both these projects, we got to chatting and struck up a fast friendship. Not only is Scarleta incredibly talented and eager to share her knowledge, she also represents the very best of the FFXIV community: she’s pleasant, always ready to help her fellow adventurers, and a genuinely kind soul. My FC and I feel blessed to have maintained a friendship with her since then.

Finally, I commissioned Scarleta for one more project. A couple weeks after the small FC house had been decorated, something I never expected came to pass: a large mansion in Shirogane became available for purchase. 200million Gil later, our FC had moved from a humble, small (but gorgeously designed) property to a hulking behemoth of a home in Shirogane. The only problem? The new home would need to be decorated, too. I immediately knew the perfect Miqo’te for the job.

Scarleta quickly accepted the job, and again, within one day our empty mansion was transformed into a stunning display of masterful design. Scarleta carried over the beautiful theme from our small home, but used the extra room to add a crafting workshop, a library, even more hangout spots and group photo opportunities, and outside she even added a sneaky means of getting up onto the balcony (which one of our members has lovingly dubbed the Palcony).

No surprise, we were all blown away with our new home.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a true master to bring your FFXIV home design dreams to life for a reasonable cost, you couldn’t do any better than to contact the lovely, gifted Scarleta with all haste. You won’t be disappointed; we sure weren’t!

Thanks for everything, Scar!