#and decided the world needed more Soft Twi

[skyloftian-nutcase]

The Baby Whisperer (i.e. more Healthcare Twilight)

@hermitdrabbles56 The night had slowed down considerably, and most of the children were asleep. Twilight found himself with nothing to do after he QC’d all the glucometers, and had started debating taking a walk around the unit when he heard the little one’s cry.

In one of the rooms was a baby fresh out of the PICU, generally healthy and stable and on her way out of the hospital. She had been a patient for over a month, long enough that the parents always went home at night, leaving their little one alone in the staff’s care.

Twilight looked at her vital signs and saw nothing amiss, nor was there anything particularly alarming about the nature of her cries, so he searched for less concerning causes. This baby had a strict diet due to her heart condition and a concern for aspiration, so he knew she likely wasn’t hungry seeing as she’d been fed on a scheduled basis. After checking her diaper next, he found it clean and fresh.

“What’s wrong, little pumpkin?” he asked softly, picking her up and holding her against his chest, her little head resting on his shoulder. Her cries began to taper out into whimpers, and he slowly started to walk back and forth in the room, cradling her in one arm while holding the ECG wires that were on her in the other so they wouldn’t pull on her little chest.

Twilight settled into a steady pace, back and forth, humming softly. The baby’s head was soft and warm on his cheek as he nuzzled her gently, and eventually her cries completely pestered out. Twi watched her heart rate settle a little as she calmed down, and he smiled, giving her a kiss.

He honestly lost track of how long he paced back and forth with her, but when he turned to walk back towards the door for the hundredth time, he saw Ilia standing in the doorway.

He stopped, mildly startled. “Hey.”

Ilia smiled, leaning her head against the door frame as she watched him. “Hey.”

Twi shifted awkwardly, whispering, “She got fussy.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Ilia replied simply, still smiling. “You’re good with babies.”

Twilight huffed a bit at that. “Anybody can be good at babies. You just have to know what to look for.”

The pair stood in silence a moment, a strange gentleness filling the air between them, and then Twilight broke eye contact, laying the little one back in her crib. “Good night, little pumpkin.”

He paused as he headed for the nurse’s station, glancing at Ilia as he walked by her. A faint blush colored her face, and she smiled and turned away. He felt jittery all of a sudden, and he shook his head, going back to work.

[noire-pandora]

“Midnight Rendezvous” (and “Take my hand”) for @14daysdalovers. Also on A03

Words: 3162

Pairing: Solavellan

Warnings: it gets a tiny bit steamy towards the end. Nothing too intense but just to be sure. (still not confident enough to write smut. One day!)

Before joining the Inquisition, midnight rarely found Solas wide awake, staring at the ceiling of his room, thoughts racing through his mind and refusing to bend down to his will. In his long life, he succeeded in becoming the master of his thoughts and feelings, able to switch and navigate through them as effortlessly as a seamstress spun her threads. He walked through life, taking pride in his concentration techniques, his indomitable focus not once defeated. Until he met the Inquisitor.

Her mind numbing smirk and cheerful laughter silently found their way into his mind, nestling there and slowly eroding through the barriers set to keep any distraction at bay. Her curiosity and kind nature planted the seed of acceptance in his heart, acceptance that maybe, maybe this Tranquil like world wasn't a world out of his nightmares. 

Slowly, she pushed him to become curious about her life, her thoughts and her mind. There, he found a feeling he had never hoped of meeting again since Mythal's death: love. A gentle, patient love. One that accepted him as he was, without questioning and without prodding his mind to reach his deepest secrets.

And now, midnight found him contemplating those facts, turning and tossing in his humble bed, the sheets wrapping around his ankles. He could not comprehend why she willingly offered her heart to him. Her behaviour forced him to lay awake at night, rummaging on his thoughts, every calming technique he knew unable to stop his mind from thinking about her. For the first time in hundreds of years, someone succeeded in distracting him from walking the ever-changing paths of the Fade. 

He turned on his side to stare at the door, punching his pillow to fluff it, as if that was the reason for his wandering mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose, in an attempt to focus. Instantly the memory of their last heated kiss came to his mind, and he groaned as heat travelled down towards his pelvis. He didn't deserve her, he didn't deserve her love or her acceptance. He should turned his back on her, but the thought of losing her, the idea of another one tasting her lips and curling their fingers into her fire like locks brought a heaviness in his stomach.

A faint knock on the door brought him back to the present, and he opened his eyes, unsure if he indeed heard it. He waited for a voice to follow it and call for him, but no sounds reached his ears after almost a minute. He closed his eyes again, ready to accept the Fade's embrace, when another knock, followed by the sound of shuffling feet interrupted him again. 

This time, confident he heard someone knocking at his door, he rose from the bed, grabbing the robe resting on the back of the chair, to cover his bare torso, wrapping the sash around his abdomen. 

When he opened the door, no one stood in front of it, but he spotted a petite silhouette turning around the corner. He followed it, his footsteps quiet. Soon, the red locks bouncing on the woman's shoulders gave away the silhouette's identity.

"Vhenan?"

"Solas!" she gasped, spinning on her heels to face him. "You're up!"

He hurried his pace to erase the distance between them, the smile on his face creating little wrinkles around his eyes and grooves in his cheeks. "Yes, I am. But why are you awake at this hour? Nightmares?" he slipped a hand around her waist to pull her close and kissed her head. Heat radiated through his chest as she softly giggled at his touch. 

"No, couldn't sleep, so I decided to walk around for a while." 

He hummed, cocking an eyebrow at her. He knew his love roamed the halls of the castle at night, but something in her cheeky smile made him suspicious of that answer "Is that so? And where are you heading?"

"Well," she started, placing one hand on his chest, raising her chin to look at his face. "Do you know Josephine will meet with a few Orlesian nobles in the morning? The type of people who keep their noses crinkled like they smell shit everywhere?"

"Yes," he patiently answered, tilting his head to the side. He took a step back, his hands living her body.

"And she asked Marin to bake sweets for them. But, the last time he did that, the Orlesians refused to eat it."

"Oh, is that so?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he told me the next day, when I went to grab some food from the kitchen. He ranted about how the Orlesians can't appreciate the skills of a Ferelden baker. After that, he mopped around for days, doubting his skills." 

"Too bad. His sweets are delicious." 

"Exactly. And I'm sure tomorrow they will refuse to eat Marin's sweets again, and he'll end up upset for another week. I have a plan to stop that." 

"A plan?" he repeated, leaning forward to examine her face. She had excellent plans at day, but at night, her ideas transformed into various shenanigans, like stealing food from the kitchen and having a late dinner in the courtyard, under the ancient oak tree. The cooks of Skyhold learned how to hide the food they cooked for the next day before the Inquisitor's nose caught a whiff of it and devoured it at night.  

"Yes. I'm going to eat everything he baked for them."

Solas caught a glimpse of pride shining in her eyes as she announced her plan. He bit down on his lip to contain a laugh. "What? Why? How would that help the poor man?"

"When he finds out that the Inquisitor snuck out at night to eat his sweets, he will be annoyed but also happy because the word will spread. And everyone will know how I, the most important person in this hold, ate his food like a glutton," a knowing grin grew on her face, a grin that was too infectious to fight.

In moments like this, when she uttered her plans with unshakable confidence, her shoulders back and chin raised high, he realised why every single soul in the Inquisition followed her without doubting her. Right now, if she decreed she planned to move the mountains, he would believe her instantly. But the idea of making a man feel better by devouring his food brought a smile on his face and reminded him how strange she could sometimes be.

"Oh, the brave Inquisitor, always sacrificing herself for the wellbeing of her subjects." he jested, offering her a bemused smile.

"But of course! C'mon, let's go, we still have a few hours until the cook's apprentice will wake up to heat the ovens."

She walked away from him a few meters, but she stopped as Solas didn't follow her. 

"Are you coming?" she asked, holding out her hand for him to take it.

"Is that the reason why you knocked at my door?" 

"Yes, I want to share them with you. I like to eat, but I doubt I'll be able to eat the sweets made for four people." 

"Vhenan, you know I prefer not to eat at night."

She huffed, rolling her eyes at him. "A late dinner won't kill you," she muttered, shaking her head. "Oh, c'mon Solas, it's going to be fun. Take my hand and join me in this quest of keeping sadness away from my dear subjects!" 

With her hand outstretched for him to grab it, and a serious frown knitting her eyebrows, Solas couldn't say no to her. He took her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers to walk by her side on their way to the kitchen. 

The hallways were empty, their soft steps resounding in the silence. The majority of the people inhabiting Skyhold slept soundly, a few snores and grumbles reaching Solas' ears. From time to time, he could hear giggles coming from some rooms, and he hurried his step, eager to respect the privacy of those behind the doors.

The wall sconces held large touches to illuminate their way, and, in combination with their Elvhen sight, they could clearly see the path ahead of them. The flames cast long shadows on the floors, and sometimes, their light touched Elluin's face, colouring her pale, freckled kissed skin a soft orange. He found himself staring at her as they walked, his mouth drying and his throat growing thick. An impervious need to touch her, to push her against the wall and kiss her until she moaned with pleasure took over him, clouding his mind. He took a deep breath to steady himself, annoyed she broke his indomitable focus without actually doing anything. He fixed his gaze on the floor, counting backwards from one hundred to calm himself, refusing to take another look at her. 

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, they reached the kitchen, one of the three kitchens in Skyhold. The smell of cinnamon and yeast tickled his nose as Elluin slowly opened the door, carefully not to announce their presence. He followed her, closing the door behind him with a low thud. 

Inside, the three, tall working tables stood spotless, with no trace of flour or dough to stain their surface. The measuring cups were lined up on the tabletop, small soldiers waiting for orders. He could see the pans, plates and brushes through the cupboards display, their doors locked. He frowned, staring at the small locks, wondering why the baker decided to lock his tools so diligently. 

A  clay oven with a thick iron door, large enough for a person to climb inside, stood in a corner along the wall. A long flue reached outside through the wall, specially built by the baker to avoid any fumes escaping in the room. Solas admired the man's ingenuity and his ability to keep everyone safe without the usage of magic. He spent a few fascinating hours speaking with him, learning more about the art of creating functionally clay ovens. 

"Well, this is weird," Elluin commented, scratching her cheek. "I can't see any tray with sweets." 

He snorted. "I believe the Master Baker hid his creations from you. The man learned his lesson." 

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her toned arms. "Like that's going to stop me."

She approached one of the locked cabinets and grabbed a lockpick from her pocket, jamming it into the lock, twisting it a few times. "Let's see if Varric's lock-picking lessons will help me."

As Elluin struggled with the lock, he studied the room, one finger gently tapping his lips, his eyes analysing the potential hiding spots. He realised a man as bright as Marin would know better than to hide his food in locked cupboards. No, that was a trick, an ingenious method to keep the intruder busy until one of the kitchen workers heard the noise and came to stop them. It had to be somewhere in plain sight, a location no one would think about.

"The oven," he muttered, snapping his fingers. "Elluin," he spoke out, a faint trace of excitement in his voice. "The oven, he hid them in the oven. That door is closed to hide the tray from our view." 

"The oven?" she made her way towards the oven, narrowing her eyes. "Why would he hide it there? There's ash everywhere!" 

"Good question. Let us see."

The iron door made no sound as he pulled it opened, a testament of the cook's care. A faint magical barrier buzzed around the brass tray inside it, protecting the brownies from any ash or unburned charcoal. 

"Magic!" she laughed, slapping the back of her thigh. " I can't believe this. He asked a mage to cast a barrier on his brownies." 

"Indeed." He gave her a satisfied smile and crossed his arms, content he uncovered the cook's plans. 

Elluin licked her lips as she waved her hands to cancel the spell. She reached for the tray and gulped down with gluttony, her mouth watering at the chocolate covering the brownies. She grabbed one, the tray dangerously balanced in her left hand, and bit it. A moan escaped her lips as the chocolate poured from inside it. Solas eyed her, the sound leaving her mouth causing his fingers to twitch as if pushing him to touch her. 

"Vhenan," he intervened, taking the tray from her and setting it on the table. "How do you plan to eat twelve pieces of chocolate filled cake without getting sick?"

"That's why I asked you to come here with me, I need your help." she gulped down the food, hitting her chest with her fist as it refused to go down. "Those bastards don't deserve all this chocolate. It's been years since I tasted it, not gonna let it go to waste," she bit down on another, humming with pleasure and licking her fingers. "Take one, you're going to love it." 

He gingerly took a piece from the trail, admiring the perfectly spread layer of chocolate, the soft texture reminding him of satin. He smelled it, the hint of vanilla tempting him to take a bite. The chocolate melted in his mouth, wrapping his tongue in a thick layer of pure pleasure. He closed his eyes, and a sigh of satisfaction escaped his throat. 

"Delicious, isn't it?" Elluin remarked, smirking at him. "I knew you'd love it." 

He opened his eyes and offered her a small smile. "You were right."

She winked at him and grabbed another piece, shoving half of it in her mouth. He laughed and shook his head at her, worried for the integrity of her jaw. He watched as she devoured three more brownies, baffled by her ability to swallow the food barely chewed. 

A feeling of weightlessness cloaked his soul as she beamed with happiness, her cheeks rosy with delight. Her joy was contagious, and he smiled at her, grateful she chose to spend this moment with him. She picked him over the hundreds of people around her, over the men and women who craved for her love. She offered her heart and joy to him, a man who hid the truth, a man who had no right to receive this pure, untainted happiness. His shoulders dropped, and he averted his eyes from her smile. 

She came closer to him, her fingers reaching for his chin, gently encouraging him to face her again. "You're doing that again," she whispered, her breath tickling his skin. "Getting lost inside your head. Don't. Stay here with me." 

His gaze still avoided her face. "I apologise. My thoughts distracted me from the present."

"Is that so?" she murmured." I know the perfect way to keep you here."

Before he had a chance to ask more about it, Elluin grabbed the collar of his robe, pulling him down towards her to meet her chocolate cover lips. His lips instantly parted, as her tongue darted out to lick them, eager to explore his mouth. His muscles relaxed, hands resting lazily on her butt. She was right, he thought as his fingers curled into her hair, gently tugging it. When she kissed him, nothing mattered anymore, just the taste of her lips and the faint scent of lily of the valley coming from her hair. 

Her hand moved to the nape of his neck, slipping under his robe. The touch of her skin against his sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine, and he moaned, raw and insatiable lust replacing any thought.  He pushed her against the table, and her knees gave out, her butt hitting the tabletop. She wrapped her legs and hands around him, as if afraid he will pull away. 

He wanted her. Right here and right now. He wanted to taste her skin, to follow the path of her freckles with his lips, from the top of her forehead to her toes. To make her sing as his tongue played with her folds, to finally taste her. He wished for nothing more than his nighttime fantasies to transform into reality. And right now, he couldn't care less they were in a kitchen, where anyone could find them. 

A low growl left his throat as a part of his mind screamed at him, yelled at him to stop this foolishness, to remember his real purpose, his identity. He had no right to taste her body when he gave her only half-truths. He was wrong to take her fully when he hid parts of him. She deserved more than this, more than a man who was too afraid to speak the truth. 

With a draining effort, he broke the kiss, gently pushing her away from him. She whimpered as his body left hers and she opened her eyes, arousal and confusion blending in her gaze. 

He shook her head when her hands reached for him again. "No. This is not right." 

Before Elluin could answer, the door opened with a loud bang, and a woman entered the room, waving a cooking paddle and shouting at them. "How many times do I have to kick you out, you thieves, this isn't the place for…." she stopped in her tracks, eyes widening with shock as she noticed the two of them.

"Your Grace! And you!" she frowned at Solas, confused by his presence. He could see it on her face how the pieces clicked together in her mind, her eyebrows shooting up. "I'm sorry Herald, I had no idea you two--," she stammered, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "I have to warm  the oven, but I'll come later," she left in a hurry, barely giving them another glance. 

Solas sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, his hopes for keeping the matters of their relationship private, shattered. 

"Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later," Elluin nonchalantly explained, getting off from the table and reaching for another brownie. "Until morning, every single person in Skyhold will think the Inquisitor had sex with the weird elf in the kitchen."

"Venan, I," he started, but she interrupted him with a wave of his hand. 

"Don't apologise. You told me months ago you aren't ready and now you weren't ready yet. I get it," she shrugged, shoving the cake in her mouth, slowly chewing it. 

Solas stared at his toes, cursing his mind for not stopping him faster. 

"But I did enjoy our intense make-out session," she giggled and winked at him as he raised his head to look at her. 

"C'mon, we still have a few of those. Let's be fast before that lady comes back and finds us here again. "

He watched her, eyes widen, once again awestruck by her kindness. Why? Why did she accept his explanations so easily? He had no idea, but he knew one thing: this fantastic, mysterious, infuriating woman would be his undoing. And he gladly accepted it because her love tasted like chocolate and brownies. 

[legendofzelda4life]

Sleepless nights

Helloooo and welcome back to cliche af titles day 16 lmao

Today I present some Legend and Wild fluff.

Yeah, you can already guess how this goes.

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Legend was walking next to an orange-ish hair.

“So, Link, how’s your journey been?” She asked. For some reason - though Legend knew who she was - he couldn’t see her face.

“It’s been great! I’ve- Marin?” The girl was gone.

Legend spun around to be met with an island fading away.

Suddenly he was in Lorule.

Then Holodrum.

Labryna.

Then waking up in his house with his uncle.

He disappeared too.

Legend was alone in darkness.

He dropped to his knees and reached out.

“NO!” He yelled. “DON’T LEAVE!” He clutched either side of his head as he cried.

“I’M SORRY!” He yelled again before growing quieter. “I’m sorry! Is that what you wanted to hear?” He looked up to see everyone he’s ever left behind staring him down.

“I need you…”

“Please.” He whimpered before laying down in the darkness, still clutching his head as he cried, wishing the voices would stop.

“Legend?” That was Wild’s voice.

Why was he awake? Had he yelled out in his sleep and woken everyone? Or just Wild? Maybe Wild was already up.

Legend slowly opened his eyes and was met with Wild shaking his shoulders.

“Hey,” the cook smiled softly, “you okay? You were tossin’ ‘round.” Legend just nodded in response. Failing to find his voice, the boy resorted to signing.

“Did I yell out? Or wake you?” He signed. Wild shook his head. “No, 100 years was a good nap for me so I don’t sleep some nights.” The boy said, sitting next to Legend - who had sat up.

“Oh…” Legend trailed off.

“Wanna talk about it?” Wild asked, tilting his head to the side. Legend gave a dismissive wave. “Nah, just a stupid bad dream.” Legend said.

“Alright, but from now on: I’m your night-time buddy.” Legend tilted his head to the side as Wild stood up enthusiastically. “Can’t sleep? Come see me! Bad dream? Come see me! Wanna beat a bitch? Guess what?!? Come. See. Me.” Wild said the last few words sternly before laughing.

Legend chuckled too. “Thank Wild.” He nudged the boy’s shoulder as they both laughed.

They stared up at the sky in silence.

It was so peaceful that Wild hadn’t even noticed Legend passed out.

Once he did however, he let out a small chuckle before tucking the vet into bed. Wild looked outside before pulling out his slate.

“Three am.” He muttered before looking around the camp. “I could probably get a couple hours of sleep in before Twi wakes up.”

Yeah… he didn’t sleep.

The next night

The next night played out similarly, except Legend nor Wild could sleep.

So they opted to stay awake and walk around camp a little.

A week later

It had been a whole week since the last ‘sleeping-incident’ as Legend called it.

Tonight was another one.

“Wild.” Legend mumbled in his sleep. Said hero heard it and silently wondered what the other was dreaming about.

In Legend’s head, he was walking through a void.

Voices followed him.

The same from last time.

Except eight new voices had added themselves.

This was why Legend didn’t like getting attached.

He was always gonna leave everyone behind.

“Wild!” He called out to one of the voices.

“You left.” It whispered back. “So much for night-buddy, huh, Leg?” It whispered again.

Oh yeah!

Night-buddy!

How could he forget?

Legend shot up in bed and looked around.

Everyone was still here. Good.

He hadn’t abandoned them.

“Vet? You good?” Wild asked, causing Legend to basically jump out of his skin. 

“Y-yeah.” “Nightmare?” Legend shuddered. “Let’s just call them bad dreams.” He said flatly. Wild nodded and went over to Legend.

“You wanna talk about it yet?” Legend thought for a bit before answering with a soft nod. “Yeah.” He mumbled.

Wild grabbed his own blanket and wrapped it around the pair as Legend started to explain.

“So as everyone already knows, I have been on a… few adventures.” Legend said with a sigh. “Yeah, more than any of us.” Wild chuckled. Legend moved a little closer to the hero as he nodded. It was cold and the closer they were, the more blanket he could use.

“Basically, I left behind a lot of people.” He said, looking down. “I can only imagine how you feel.” Wild said, wrapping an arm around Legend. “I didn’t go on as many adventures as you so I doubt I left behind as many people that I cared about.” Legend could see the other hero’s eyes grow distant.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be venting.” Legend said, making a move to get away. He felt…

Guilty…

He just vented to someone that felt like they let down a whole kingdom.

“No, it’s okay. I was trying to empathise with you and ended up getting lost in thought.” Wild chuckled as he ruffled Legend’s hair. “If you don’t want to talk though, I wont force you.” He said, moving to stand up but was stopped by Legend.

“I just felt guilty for making you think back.” He said, ducking his head.

Wild laughed quietly.

“Who gives a fuck about how it makes me feel? I sure don’t! This is Legend vent time! Not depressed Wild time!” The blue-clad hero laughed as he spoke. “If you want to vent,” he sat down again, “then by all means: vent!”

Legend nodded and wrapped the blanket around the pair, adding his too just in case one of them stole all the blanket from the other.

“Well, on my adventures, I saved the captured princess and travelled to a dark world, I ventured to the distant lands of Holodrum and Labryna to save the oracles, gaining the ability to control seasons and ages, I went into a dream world on the way back from one of them - I can’t quite remember which it was - and I fell in love with an amazing girl…” Legend looked down.

“What was she like?” Wild asked.

“She could sing like a goddess, looked as beautiful as one too, always managed to make me smile, she did.” Legend was beginning to sound like the Old man. He smiled fondly at the memory of Marin.

“Then I went to a whole other world. That’s when I met Ravio. Surprised he managed to leave after Hilda sent my Zelda and I back. The gateways were meant to close…” Legend trailed off once more.

“You feel like you left all those places behind, don’t you?” Wild asked. The red-clad boy nodded. “Mainly Koholint - the dream world.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Okay.”

The boys conversed late into the night, even laughing about how places in Wild’s Hyrule were named after places and people Legend knew. Wild theorised that the wind fish told others about his dream and they decided to name places after it to commemorate a world a hero left behind.

It was gonna be another sleepless night.

END

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Wow I had a lot of fun writing this.

It was a very interesting thing to write about lol.

LEAVE REQUESTS BELOW!

REQUESTS MUST INCLUDE: PAIRING TYPE/GENRE/CATEGORY (fluff, angst, etc) PLATONIC OR NOT

I WILL WRITE ONLY ABOUT THE LINKS (including the ravio, shadow, the zeldas, and requested characters. Will not write about whole other fandoms though)

I CAN DO READER INSERTS IF REQUESTED (no oc’s tho)

CAN DO AN AU IF REQUESTED

[fanficflaneuse]

Life in Black - The Pilot

Index 

Episode 1: The Pilot 

A/N: GIF is not mine, I found it on Giphy. I hope you like this experiment. It is a mixture of narration and scriptwriting. 

Words: 2341 

Summary: Bellatrix decides she wants to live with her younger sister and her brother-in-law. 

Opening Sequence 

Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy sat in front of each other. Just like every morning, they took breakfast in the porch, overlooking the gardens. Narcissa insisted it reminded her of her homeland and Lucius knew better than to challenge her. He indulged her instead. He read The Daily Prophet as she drank her tea.

Narcissa was in the middle of a story about the preparations for the Paris Wizarding Fashion Week, when they were shaken by a loud bang from the house. The couple ran inside, wands out and faces full of concern. The elves ran frantically to the living room. As they approached, Narcissa relaxed and Lucius tensed even more.

“Bella!” said Narcissa, approaching her eldest sister and giving her a hug. Lucius took a deep breath, bracing himself up for whatever was coming; Bellatrix and him were barely on speaking terms.

“About time you came to greet me, sister” she answered.

“We weren’t expecting you,” mentioned Lucius.

“Do you hear something, Cissy?” said Bellatrix, pretending her brother-in-law wasn’t in the room.

Narcissa rolled her eyes. “What are you doing here, Bella? I thought you and Rodolphus had moved back to Paris?”

“Don’t even mention him to me. We’re getting a divorce,” she said casually, not a hint of sorrow or melancholy in her voice.

Both Lucius and Narcissa eyed her warily. “I am so sorry, sister,” said Narcissa after a moment of awkward silence.

“Oh, don’t be. It was doomed from the beginning.”

“That’s what happens when you marry for convenience,” Narcissa said, shaking her head at the memory of Bellatrix’s rushed, loveless marriage.

“If the other option was to end with a slob like your husband, then no thank you.”

“Excuse you?” he said, outraged.

(NARCISSA MALFOY) TALKING HEAD.

(Narcissa sits on a very elegant armchair. The room is full of paintings and photographs staring at her. In the back of the room, above a marble chimney, there’s a very big portrait in which Lucius and Narcissa stand on either side of a teenager. He resembles Lucius and smiles awkwardly.)

“My sister...she’s truly something. I can’t really put it into words,” she says, politely smiling at the camera.  

(Lucius comes into focus. He’s sitting on another armchair).

“She’s crazy,” he adds, deadly serious. Narcissa frowned at him.

(Bellatrix comes into focus, half sitting on Narcissa’s chair arm).

“Excuse you?” she exclaims, mimicking his previous outburst.

[Back to scene]

Lucius and Bella bickered for a while. Even the elves stuffed their ears with cotton balls so they didn’t have to hear them. Narcissa grew bored a few minutes into their petty drama; it was always the same with them. This time, though, the fact that Bellatrix had decided to move in with them without even asking made their usual passive aggressiveness less passive and more aggressive.

After Lucius stormed off and Bellatrix chose to establish herself in the closest room to theirs, Narcissa decided to call the big guns (also known as her sister Andromeda). She knew her sisters didn’t have a good relationship, but she was also sure she couldn’t deal Bella full time on her own.

(BELLATRIX LESTRANGE) TALKING HEAD.

(Bellatrix sits cross-legged on a champagne coloured divan. It’s placed in front of a big window that oversees the Malfoy gardens. As she talks, a flock of albino peacocks runs in the background).

“My relationship with Andromeda? Oh, it’s nonexistence. Since she married that mudbl- oh right, everyone’s offended by everything nowadays. So, the pc term is muggleborn, right? Well, ever since she married that muggleborn and had a half blood spawn of the devil I decided I just have one sister. She also married an absolute tosser, but at least he brought a pure last name to the table.”

[Back to scene]

Andromeda appeared a few hours later, ready to see her sister for the first time since she got engaged. The two estranged sisters bared a very close resemblance. They were both tall women with curly hair, big, blue eyes, long eyelashes, thin lips and sharp jaw. Anyhow, as they sat by either side of Narcissa, she thought there couldn’t be in the world two more different people. Andromeda’s soft, brown curls in a fancy updo complemented her face and made her look younger. Her eyes were full of kindness and patience. Their older sister, on the other hand, had a thick, raven hair, which looked as though she had hardly combed it. It made her come across as a patient of St. Mungo’s fourth floor.

The sisters sipped tea stiffly and avoided eye contact. Narcissa decided that the feud needed to end, for her own mental wellbeing.

“Andy, Bella is now living with us here,” she said.

“What?” Andromeda now looked at her older sister, trying to the decipher the mask of indifference Bellatrix had always worn.

“Go ahead, laugh all you want,” said Bellatrix, a sardonic smile on her face.

Andromeda was left speechless for a few seconds. Narcissa could see her sister’s mind working and tried to amend Bella’s words.

“She meant -”

“Do you really think I’m so heartless, Bellatrix?”

“Well, you did change your beloved family for a dick,” she shot.

(NARCISSA MALFOY) TALKING HEAD

“I really can’t blame Andy.”

She has a knowing smile as she says this.

(Lucius comes into focus).

He smirks and nods.

[Back to scene]

“Well, Bella, at least I was transparent with my intentions. What were yours exactly? Have a pure and most noble last name and a bit on the side? We’ve all heard about that one, even Cissy, even if she pretends not to.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Andromeda.”

“Tom Riddle. Does it ring a bell? Toujours pur and all that crap only to end your marriage for a fling with none other than an ex - convict,” she spat.

“You’ll drown in your self righteousness, dear. How bored you must be with that husband of yours and all our stupid social norms.”

“You’re talking to me about social norms? You burned my face out of the family’s tapestry when I got engaged to Ted.”

“It was just a game and Cissy fixed it.”

“Just a game? For whom? An arsonist?”

“Your insufferable! Always thinking you’re the better sister, the prettier sister, the perfect sister.”

“I am the prettier sister,” said Narcissa flatly; she had already grown bored of Bella bickering with everyone.

“I never said that!”

“You thought about it! I know you did. You think I’m unbalanced. You think I should be in an insane asylum or something, but I’ll tell you what, I’m smarter than you are. Wait till I fix my hair and climb out of the pit of desperation I’m in and I’ll even be prettier than you are.”

“It’s not a competition, Bella,” reminded Narcissa, “although if it was none of you would stand a chance against me.”

As always, the older sisters ignored the youngest one and concentrated on outsmarting one another. A loud bang came from the other end of the room. Narcissa, cigarette in one hand and lighter in the other, turned her head to see her cousin, Sirius and his husband, Remus. She shot them an almost pleading look as they took seats by her side as Andy and Bella had long since discarded their place.

“Cissa, toss me the light,” he said, lying back on the couch.

“No, no, darling. This is bad for your health,” she answered as she put the cigarette between her lips.  

Sirius raised a brow. “You taught me how to smoke,” he remarked.

As she refused again and he was about to give her some new argument, Remus put his hand on his spouse’s thigh. “Remember your new year’s resolutions,” he said in a sing-song voice.

Sirius groaned.

“What brings you two here. It’s been a while,” said Narcissa.

“Andy told us you invited her and we wanted to make sure Bellatrix didn’t rip her head off,” shrugged Remus.

(ANDROMEDA TONKS) TALKING HEAD

(Andromeda sits on a grey, L shaped couch. Her living room is small and cozy. It looks exceptionally clean. She’s surrounded by plants. Behind her, there’s a big shelf full of frayed books).

“Rip my head off? What, because I’m the only one of the Blacks who wouldn’t be diagnosed as a loony then I’d let Bella walk all over me? No, sir. I showed them right then and there I could also roast someone.”

She looks pleased with herself, but her smile falters a few seconds later.

“Is roast a real term? Did I used it correctly?”

[Back to scene]

Lucius had also joined the others in the drawing room. He cheered on Andromeda every time she said something particularly witty to Bellatrix.

“You go, ‘Meda!” he said after she remarked how everyone breathed a little more peacefully after she moved out.

Andromeda looked at him straight in the eye. “I know you’re my brother in law, but we’re not there yet, honey.”

“I hate her,” he said pointing at Bellatrix, “isn’t that enough?”

The three sisters looked at him, eyebrows elegantly raised.

“Whatever you say now will determine your faith, Lucius,” taunted Sirius.

“I’m also married to her,” Lucius continued, this time pointing at Narcissa, “so you should consider yourself lucky she didn’t run off and have a baby with a convicted felon.”

Remus snorted obnoxiously.

(NARCISSA MALFOY) TALKING HEAD

“I couldn’t smoke while I was pregnant with Draco. Hardest nine months of my life,” she says with a grimace, “it was all worth it, though. I’m living the dream. I mean, who doesn’t want to be in charge of a fifteen years old boy who only babbles about one of his classmates?”

She doesn’t look very convinced.

[Back to scene]

Sirius had joined in the roasting now. Bellatrix had mentioned something about her not being invited to his wedding with Remus. He, in turn, spilling the family tea all over the living room’s floor.

“I never really cared that you were a twi-”

“Tais toi!” screeched Narcissa, not wanting her sister to literally taunt their cousin once again for his sexual orientation. Bella knew exactly who else in the family she was mocking and Narcissa was having absolutely none of that.

DISSOLVE TO: the whole family sitting like scolded kids. Narcissa furiously pacing in front of them.

“This ends here!” she announced, “I’m tired of the Blacks being the absolute worst family in the history of families.”

“What is she saying?” Remus whispered to Sirius while Narcissa kept rambling.

“Shhh,” Sirius mumbled back, “I can barely understand. Somehow her accent keeps getting thicker and thicker.”

“Sirius,” she said. Her cousin perked up at the mention of his name. “When was the last time you saw Nymphadora?”

“Uhh, yesterday?”

“What?!” she exclaimed, “so you see each other regularly?”

“We go to work together.”

“You work?” she asked, even more surprised than before.

“I own a bar,” he shrugged, not surprised that his cousin didn’t know of his whereabouts.

“Of course you do,” interjected Bellatrix, “and what does dearest Nymphadora do?”

“She’s an auror,” Andromeda answered, not allowing any biting remark to come from her sister’s malicious lips.

Narcissa looked at Andromeda curiously. She tried her best to be close with both her sisters and yet somehow she didn’t know know Nymphadora was an auror. In her mind, for some reason, her metamorphmagus niece was still in Hogwarts.  

“She sees Lucius at the Ministry all the time. Just last week she told me they chatted on the elevator,” said Sirius.  

Narcissa shot his husband an accusing look.

“I’ve seen her a couple of times, but I never thought she worked there. I just assumed she roamed the building for...reasons.”

Andy facepalmed as Bella cackled.

“Alright, well those days are over.”

“What days?” asked Remus, afraid to know the answer.

“The days of us not knowing what each other are up to. Auntie Walburga died three years ago,” she said. Andromeda patted Sirius’ back when he frowned at the mention of his satirical mother. “She was the last one of our parents’ generation. It is our chance to start anew, to accept each other. So, it’s decided. We’re having dinner tonight.”

The rest of the family joined in a collective whine, but accepted. Everyone knew better than to mess with Narcissa once she was set on something.

A few hours later, the elves placed all sorts of delicacies at the table. Draco was granted permission to apparate from the school back home, arriving as the rest of the family took their sits. He frowned as he sat by his aunt Bella’s side, who only talked about how he looked like his good for nothing father. He sent a pitiful look at his cousin Nymphadora, who smiled amusedly at him as she tried to start a conversation with Regulus. Sirius and Ted were already talking like old friends and Remus and Lucius shared a laugh at Professor Snape’s expense. Andromeda looked satisfied. Narcissa, at the head of the table, eyed her family proudly.

“Levitate the potatoes my way, please Nymphadora?” said Draco. He wasn’t particularly close with his cousin, but he knew she hated the name.

“Don’t. Call. Me. Nymphadora!” she said as she pushed the potatoes a bit too harshly towards him. Her changed from purple to a shade of red.

“I like you already,” said Bella.

“That’s a very bad sign,” muttered Remus.

(LUCIUS MALFOY) TALKING HEAD.

(Lucius sits on the same elegant armchair as before. He has his legs crossed and the attitude of a dandy).

“Life is full of changes. Some big, some small. I learned a long time ago you can fight it or try to make the best of it. And that's all a lot easier if you've got people who love you to help you face whatever life throws at you,” he says, an affectionate smile on his face.

He then frowns worriedly. “I just hope my house doesn’t become the designated place of gathering. My peacocks couldn’t take it.”

Roll Credits 

[marauder-level-chaos]

In A World Like That Ch. 4

Magnus and Alec have been pushed into their TWI roles by a meddling demon who feeds on their happiness. It puts them in a deep sleep and the only way to get out there is to find each other in TWI and fall in love. If they can do that, they will automatically fall out of the magical slumber the demon has placed them under. Otherwise, they fall into an eternal sleep. It’s upto Malec to find their way back to each other. It is set after the TWI episode in the show, so they have met each other once already. Here is the masterlist. My AO3: malecplusotherthings

A/N: To all my Catarinas out there <3

Warnings: swearing, TWI characters, angst obviously, some fluff, slight show divergence, suggestive dialogue

Empty. And a little hollow. That’s what Magnus had been feeling for the last few days, ever since Alec’s visit. He didn’t understand how it was possible to break up with somebody who he was never even dating in the first place, but that’s what this felt like. Sure, Magnus had had his heart broken in the past, but this was different. Oddly enough, this hurt a lot more than real break-up ever had. He kept telling himself it was for the best, for himself as well as for Alexander. But it doesn’t feel like it, does it? For the last few days Magnus had been warring with himself, trying to decide whether he had made the right decision or not. He had fought the urge to dial Alec’s number on multiple occasions. Even now, he lay on his bed, his eyes closed. He could see Alexander’s face in front of him with his dark hair and deep blue eyes. Magnus sighed and called Catarina, the only person he knew who would be able to help him in this situation.

“Magnus?” She asked as she picked up the phone. “Is everything ok?”

“Cat, can you come over? Please?” He replied, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. Despite that, Catarina must have sensed the urgency in his voice.

“I’m on my way.”

Sure enough, Cat was over in minutes.  She made her way into Magnus’ room and gave him a much needed hug. As her arms encircled Magnus’ body, he felt some of the pent up tension release in the form of tears.

“Oh, Magnus.” Catarina consoled in a soft voice. Magnus could only sniffle in response. After calming down a little, he looked directly at her.

“I miss him. I don’t know why. I just...I never felt like this before. There is something so familiar so comforting about Alexander, and I miss him, Cat.” Catarina held Magnus’ face between her hands.

“Then talk to him. Look, I know I had my doubts about Alexander before, but you’re my best friend. I will always want the best for you, Magnus. It is obvious that not being with him hurts you a lot more than being with him ever could. So please go talk to him.”

“Cat, why would he want to talk to me? After what I did?” Magnus asked, his golden eyes still lined with tears.

“Because from what I can tell, he likes you at least as much as you like him. I’m sure he’s hurting just as much.” The idea of Alexander - his Alexander - hurting stirred a sharp pain in Magnus’ chest. He still didn’t understand how he let himself get attached to a man he barely knew, but maybe that’s what life does sometimes.

“And if it doesn’t work? If it fails? If I put both of us through this for no reason and end up hurting us more?” It scared the fuck out of Magnus to think about the fact that Alexander might hate him if they ever broke up. At least this way he doesn’t run the risk of losing Alexander out of his life completely.

“What relationship doesn’t come with a little risk, Magnus? The question is whether you care about Alec enough to put that fear aside and fight for him. Or are your fears stronger than your feelings for him?” Magnus drew in a shaky breath.

“Cat, I think I love him. More intensely than I have ever loved anyone before.” This was the first time Magnus had said that out loud. It felt liberating. “Oh shit, I’m in love with Alexander.”

“Then go! Fight for him. You deserve to be happy, Magnus, and so does he.” Magnus smiled at her.

“Can you stay the night? I just don’t wanna be alone right now.” Catarina smiled and planted a soft kiss on Magnus’ head.

“Of course. Don’t worry Magnus, we’ll get you your man.” And for the first time in days, Magnus felt like things might be okay after all. He was certainly not going to give up on Alec, not again. I love you, Alexander.

***

Alec didn’t know what to feel. He hadn’t seen or heard from Magnus since that visit to his apartment. Alec had never had his heart broken before. But for all the hearts I have broken, I guess I deserved this. Alec had tried to move on, and usually he’s very successful at that, but this was different. Of all his previous flings, none of them had ever managed to make his heart beat quite as fast or make his knees as weak. Magnus was different. Perhaps that’s why Alec couldn’t get him off his mind. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. I have to let go.

Suddenly, the light to Alec’s room turned on. He turned his head in the direction of the door to find Izzy standing in the doorway. She sighed as she made her way over to her brother.

“Alec, you can’t keep sulking in your room.” He could hear the concern in her voice. He didn’t blame her. This was, admittedly, very uncharacteristic of him. Alec never ever got upset over a guy before. Ever.

“Yeah, well, I can bloody well try.” Alec snapped. 

“Look, I know it’s hard to lose somebody you care about, but Magnus chose this. You can’t harbor over his decision forever. You deserve to be happy, big brother.” Alec looked at his sister, his blue eyes shining through a thin layer of unshed tears.

“No, Iz. No, you don’t. You have always had Simon by your side. I understand you want me to feel better, but you have no idea what this feels like. Don’t pretend you do.”

“Oh, Alec…” Izzy’s voice was soft. Alec took a deep breath to compose himself. He hadn’t meant to snap at her. 

“I’m fine, Iz. Or I will be. I’ll try. It’s not like I fell in love with Magnus or anything.” Oh, but that’s exactly what it is. Alec couldn’t even convince himself when he said those words, how the fuck was he supposed to convince Izzy?

“No, you’re not fine. I know you, Alec. Better than anyone else. I know you’re not okay, and that’s fine. You’re allowed to feel things. You’re allowed to be upset. But I’m just asking you to let me be there for you. Let me help you get over this.”

“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “As long as you don’t tell your idiot boyfriend about this. He already thinks I pine.”

“Deal.” Izzy said, tackling Alec into a hug. Alec sighed against her shoulder. He closed his eyes, trying to forget those golden eyes and that bright smile. Goodbye, Magnus.

Malec Taglist (please let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@thatwinchestergirl67 @quickbright @julialightbane @bestieswithmydarkthoughts @plaggherondale

[writingamileperhour]

The Clover Ring

Hello Darlings! here is my first attempt at actually posting a fan fiction. Now i know not everything is gonna be accurate and there might be some mistakes, but forgive, as i have not played the game or read the books, only watched the show, and felt like writing this!

This is about how Geralt of Rivia meets a strange witch of the forest, named Maylin, and how both find themselves spinning fast and faster down the spiral of destiny, falling in love, as foolish as it is,

Geralt and the world are not mine in anyway.

Theres some smut and swearing and violence.

Enjoy! 

Geralt grunted as his back hit the trunk of the tree, and narrowly dodged the claw that followed. He twirls his sword up and around, ridding the blasted creature of its gross, long head, and watched as it’s counterpart, a smaller version of it, but not its offspring howls in anger, and charges. Geralt got ready to stab it, but he wasn’t expecting the creature to jump at him, horns coming to thrust into with side of his chest, causing him to grunt out in pain.

He gets his sword in the blasted thing, but not after it does enough damage in his skin and muscle to make him believe he will bleed out. He lays in the dirt, feeling it soak with his blood, and stares up at the sky, the moon winking at him mockingly.

But then it is blocked out by a face. A woman’s face, an unbelievably beautiful one at that, even with the scratch on her cheek, and the look of someone who would scold him like he is a child playing with something he shouldn’t.  Her eyes however were soft, even with her scowl, and the oddest color he would think for eyes, as they shimmered both pink and blue, swirled together around a cat like pupil.

Geralt is almost thankful for something so beautiful to be the last thing he sees as his world dives into black.

 Geralt jerks awake in a lush bed, to the feeling of two small, but strong hands holding him down. His eyes wide and wild stare at the hands holding him to be laying. He grunts, as his eyes follow the arm, to see those striking eyes.

“Stop fighting me. I’m not done,” her voice is firm, yet soft. Her hair is tied back with a thick ribbon he can see poking out from behind her head.

Geralt relaxed back into the bed, and notices he isn’t wearing a shirt, and that the woman is straddling him. She sits back and lifts her hands from him and reaches to a small tray on the bed to grab a paintbrush from, and dips into a foul smelling black liquid and comes back to his chest and finishes painting symbols around the currently charred skin, as she had cauterize the wound.

“What are you doing?” Geralt asks, watching her.

“Healing an idiot,” she says as she focuses on her work, “Stop shifting.”

Geralt tries to keep still, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. He is surprised to see the ceiling painted like the night sky, with the moon and everything. He studies the entire time as the woman paints on his chest. He then gasps as he feels a rush of unfamiliar energy, and a soft purple light comes from the woman’s hands.

Geralt grunts in surprise and watches as his skin knits together, the black liquid being absorbed by his skin, and leaving behind flawless skin like nothing happened.

Then she slides off him, and stretches, “Sorry you don’t get a scar, but it’s the bets way I know to heal something that bad.”

Geralt touches the skin, then grunts again, “Hmm.”

The woman nods, “I’ll leave you to dress. I got your horse by the way. Pretty thing.” She waves and leaves the room without eyeing him like everyone else does.

Maylin walks from the room, leaving the Witcher to his dressing, and goes into the kitchen, looking over her tea collection after setting a kettle to boil on the stove. Deciding on a more normal mix, considering her company, she puts the tea leaves in a bag and in a mug before heading into the dinning room slash workspace and starts to get other herbs together.

That is about when the Witcher leaves his room and comes into the expanse of the house.

Geralt looks at the house he is in, and finds he walked into a very disorganizes library, as books and paper litter almost every surface. The woman, wearing a pair of sturdy brown pants and a green blouse whose sleeves are rolled up.

“I’m making tea. Would you like some?” she asks softly, looking up at him with those damn beautiful eyes.

Geralt nods and comes over to a chair that is holding his armour and swords. He checks to make sure everything is there and is relieved that it is. He then turns to her, and watches as he hands move among the bowls on the table, putting combinations in little bags and tying them off and putting them in a bag on a chair beside her.

“I am Geralt of Rivia,” Geralt says, taking a few steps to come closer to her, feeling as if he can be in her presence and not have to have his guard up, but he barely knows this strange magical woman, so he leaves most of it up.

“Maylin,” she offers, not looking up as she continues to work.

“Thank you. For healing me. How did you get me here?” Geralt asks as he reaches to touch a herb and is surprised when she lightly smacks his hand.

“Don’t touch. Some of this is not friendly to you,” Maylin says and shrugs, “Stronger than I look, and I have an intense knowledge of spells. But I must say it was weird to see a Witcher in my part of the forest.”

“I was hunting those monsters,” Geralt says, and doesn’t think it would be a smart idea to question her on the magic she used.

“Fair,” Maylin says, then winces softly as the kettle starts to scream, and she goes to it to take it off the heat and pour it into the mugs. She then grabs a small jar from a cupboard and puts a dollop of honey in one of the mugs, before bringing them over. She hands Geralt his, then heads out the door to sit on the porch, Geralt following behind.

Before them is a porch that leads down to a cobblestone pathway that leads to a garden locked up tight by a wrought iron fence. There is them a well, which Roach is tied to for the moment, but her saddle is resting on the fence of the porch, along with his bags.

Maylin sits on the stairs, and looks out at the trees, “Your free to go when you need to. But I am going to give you that bag of herbs, to use or give out.”

Geralt sits beside her and grunts, nodding. “Is that all you will have me do? You did save my life.”

Maylin shrugs, “I have nothing else for you to do Geralt of Rivia.”

Geralt nods slowly and turns to look out at the forest before them. “I have no idea where we are.”

Maylin blinks, then groans softly, setting her cup down to lay back, “I always forget that. I’ll lead you out then.”

Geralt nods and turns to lean on the support post to look at her, studying her as she looks at him. “Your eyes are… different?”

Maylin looks at him for a long time, making Geralt worried he pissed her off by commenting on them, as he is well known to how that can be annoying, but is relieved when her face lights up with a smile and she chuckles softly.

“Thank you. One of the many reasons I stay away from people,” Maylin says and sits up, “I like your hair. I’m sorry I don’t have a bath for you, I usually just go to the waterfall.”

“Waterfall?” Geralt asks, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, like some god damn woodland fairy, I bathe under a freezing cold waterfall,” Maylin says, and finds herself happily opening up to someone, after so long of hiding herself away from the world. “What is it like being a Witcher?”

Geralt grunts softly, the ghost of a smile touching his lips at her, “Like getting the shit beat out of you every other day.”

Maylin snorts, and takes her cup to sip her tea, “fair. Telling by your scars, which I did not pry and peek at you, by the way, you have gotten beat up a lot.”

Geralt finds he is a bit relieved by her lack of peeking, and nods, “Yes.”

Maylin watches him, then suddenly sits up and leans forward, which makes him tense up, expecting a fight, as he usually does, but finds he relaxes a touch when she only touches his necklace, eyes fixed on it. “My father wore one of these.”

Geralt raises and eyebrow at that, “What was his name?”

“Terrold of Celia,” Maylin says softly, eyes becoming distant.

Geralt shakes his head, “I don’t know him.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to,” Maylin says and lets the Necklace go, sitting back, “He hung himself when I was twelve.”

Geralt doesn’t show any outside emotion, but he is surprised he feels a prang of sympathy for her, “I’m sorry.”

Maylin shrugs, “Things happen.”

Geralt nods, and turns away to watch his horse, and lets the silence settle between them, finding that it feels almost natural.

Maylin finishes her tea, and gets him, sliding off her shoes to go walk in the grass barefooted, and to the edge of the clearing, and she whistles, loud and a little shrill, and the sound echoes around the woods. Geralt feels a chill down his spine, and watches with wide eyes as a beautiful black stallion comes charging in at Maylin, who simply steps to the side and lets the horse charge in.

“Twi, that is enough, come on,” She brings her hand up and the horse comes and nuzzles it, having halting in his tracks when she spoke his name.

Geralt puts his empty mug down, and comes over to her and the horse, who neighs at him as he approaches, “Twi?”

Maylin nods as she pats the horse’s neck, “My horse. Will need him as he head out tomorrow.”

Geralt nods, and heads to his own horse, to pat down.

After which, Twi roams the clearing freely, gazing, and Maylin goes about her day, with Geralt spending his time on the porch, finding he can’t help but watch as she moves around the area. She tends to the garden, getting a smear of dirt on her forehead, her hair still bound back, then cooking them up some eggs he doesn’t know where she got, before she starts packing a small bag with fresh clothes.

Maylin comes up to Geralt as he was standing by the door, and holds up a light green shirt to him, and she glares at it like it insulted her. “Why are you big?”

Geralt grunts softly, “What?”

“I don’t think I have a shirt big enough for you.” Maylin says and tosses the shirt back to the hallway that Geralt came form when eh walked from the bedroom, which he realizes as he looks at the hallway, that it was Maylin’s room.

Geralt turns his gaze back to her, and her retreating form as she goes back into the bedroom, and he feels a pull to follow, and so he does. He looks into the room, to the messy bed, the blood soaked blanket on the chair, a wood burning stove to keep the room warm, a window that is open, and a closet that Maylin is searching through.

“You do not need to dress me?” Geralt says in his rough voice.

Maylin shakes her head, “I need to bathe, and I figured you’d want to too.”

Geralt looks at her, “Bathe in a freezing waterfall?”

Maylin smirks softly, and Geralt feels his cold, emotionless heart beat a touch faster at the sight of mischievous look on her face, “There is a hot spring beside it too. Ah ha!” she grabs a shirt from a hanger and tosses it at him, the shirt a nice deep red. “I know color isn’t your thing, but this should fit.”

“Where did you get this?” He looks at the shirt.

“I get odd people coming by. That was Malcom’s, may he rest in hell,” Maylin gives as an explanation, and he nods a touch, wondering briefly if this Malcom’s person is a past lover, but he quickly shakes the thought from his mind.

Maylin then grabs two towels, and heads back out to the main room and packs the towels in the bag, and grabs a small jar, and a vial, then looks at him, “Ready?”

Geralt nods, and grabs his swords, throwing them over his shoulder, and following the still barefooted beauty from her home, and into the woods, his feet finding their own way before his brain can register it. The pull to this girl is driving him both into a confusion he doesn’t like, and a bit mad. He tries to figure it out on the way to the waterfall, stepping over logs on the way, as the trail is not noticeably clear, but the way Maylin moves through he forest leads him to believe it is by design.

She stops when she stands on a large black rock, the surface almost smoothed black, and she looks over a small, shallow pool of water, a waterfall crashing on an expanse of similar rocks. He notes a small opening tot eh side of the waterfall, lit up from within in a fashion he does not believe to be natural.

Geralt moves to step onto eh rock as well, but is stopped by her hand, gentle on his shoulder. He looks up at her confused.

“Don’t touch this rock,” She simply says, and gets off it, and walks around, with him to her side, keeping him well away.

“Why?”

“As strong as you are, the power that single rock holds will bring you to your knees,” Maylin says, and runs her fingers over it like it is a keeper of an intimate secret. She smiles softly at the rock.

“You touch it,” Geralt points out, and reaches his hand out, but she snatches it quickly, and pulls him away.

“Aye, and it almost killed me the first time I did,” Maylin sets her bag down, and releases his hand. Much to his disappointment. “It… It’s a sacrificial rock for those that followed something much richer than chaos. The blood it has drank is almost unimaginable, and I often wonder what would happen if I continued the practice.” Geralt looks at her with a touch of fear, and nods slowly, which makes her laugh, head thrown back as she does so. “I won’t sacrifice you, that would be a waste of a pretty good Witcher.”

He relaxes at the words, his eyes following the movement of her hands as they untie the ribbon holding her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders in its soft brown glory, the sun hitting the soft waves and making it seem like it is made of copper. He longs to reach out and touch the strands that he has no doubt are soft. He makes a surprised grunt when she starts to unbutton her shirt and takes it off revealing a band around her breasts, but nothing else. There’s a bandage on her side, that she gingerly removes to show a stab wound, scabbed over and healing.

“Your hurt,” Geralt comes to her, and moves to touch it, but her hand catches his once more.

“Don’t. It was a poisoned blade,” she says softly, and gently puts his hand back to his side.

But it doesn’t stay there as he tries again, to no avail, “Which is more of a reason for me to look at it Maylin.”

Maylin shakes her head, “Poison doesn’t hurt me. It’s fine. Healing, and its wont scar.”

Geralt frowns, “How can poison not hurt you?”

Maylin releases his hand, and takes a careful step away, “Juts doesn’t. could drink spider venom and it would have no affect on me.”

Geralt racks through his brain for any sort of creature with that ability, but come sup short, and looks at her with his brows furrowed.

Maylin’s skin tingles under his gaze, and she knows that look well. She swears softly under her breathe, and moves away from him, and starts to remove her pants, turning her back to him as she does so.

Over the skin of her back, is a delicate lacing of gold that Geralt did not notice before, as it goes down over her arms. He makes out eh shape of wings and finds it to be glorious. He raises a hand to touch the gold, wanting to know if its painted on, or stitched into her skin, but he has a sense that the ladder would be the truth, as how could someone alone paint something like this. His hand comes back to himself, and he works on removing his clothes. HE gets to his pants, and wonders if he should go further, and looks up at ask, only to find she is no longer before him.

Maylin’s full naked form walks up into the fall of the waterfall, one of the softer rushes, and squeals softly at the cold before she closes her eyes and tilts her head into eh water, letting it work out the dirt from her skin, and the blood. She slides her hands over her breasts, and down over her stomach, and she squats down to finish the line her hands follow to her feet, a ritual she does when alone, and finds no reason not to before the Witcher. She also sees no reason to hide her nude form, as she has never been ashamed of her appearance.

Geralt was entranced by her hands and how they moved over her ample breasts he tried not to look at, and he found his eyes landing on her plump back side when she squatted, thoroughly surprised she did. He figures it is alright for him to be nude as well, and takes his pants off, and comes to water, holding a handout, his feet already a bit numb from the cold, but he snatches his hand away from the freezing spray with a gasp.

Maylin turns to look at him, her eyes never once looking over him like his did with her, and she chuckles softly. “Take the plunge Geralt. It feels good,”

Geralt grunts in disagreement, but he takes the plunge regardless and has a full body shiver that amuses his companion, her laugh ringing in his ears. He reaches his hand up to take the tie form his hair, and let it fall like hers, and finds, once the first rush of cold hits and passes, that it indeed does feel good.

“See?” Maylin calls over the water.

Geralt nods, and turns to look at her, and she has her eyes on his face still. “what was that… thing you did?”

Maylin frowns a tad, then she clues in and smiles, “I’ll show you.”

She holds out her hands, and Geralt follows suit, eyebrows raised, a small amused smile on his lips, and follows as she does it again, her eyes closed, and she seems to breath a bit better when she squats and finished the run of her body.

Geralt feels a sense of ease after he gets to his feet, and nods, “I see.”

Maylin stands after and goes tot eh bag, and grabs the jar and vial to bring over, “It is not always about seeing, but about feeling.”

Geralt grunts in response, and lets her tale his hand, turning it palm up as she pours half of the vial in it, then half in her own before tossing the vial back, and Geralt frowns, having expecting it to shatter, but is surprised when it simply bounces off the stones.

“Warded glass. It is unbreakable,” Maylin informs his confused expression, and starts to lather the soap into her hair, and Geralt shrugs a shoulder, and does the same, stepping back from the water to save the warmth he has left. He follows her once more into the water to rinse the soap form his hair, then lets her put the other soap in his hand, which smells of vanilla pine and somehow, the scent of when it rains. She washes herself, then rinses off, and steps out of the water, combing her fingers through her hair, and waits for him to finish.

Geralt does and she smiles at him and gathers her clothes and things to stuff into a log, “You should hide your swords in here too.”

Geralt nods and comes to do so, “thugs steal your clothes?”

“No, but they have disappeared before. If it were thugs, I would be wearing their ears,” Her voice is joking, but Geralt feels there’s some truth to it. “Come on.” She leads him into the cave, still naked as a wee babber, where there’s curved steps into a pool of water, and a torch on the wall that is burning.

Geralt looks around the cave and feels the heat from the water warming his cold skin, and watches as Maylin steps slowly into the water, her hand on the wall to keep her steady. She then goes to the other side, by the torch, and sits on a stone slab that seems almost placed.

“Did you do this?” He asks as he descends the stairs and sighs softly at the warmth, and quickly sinks into the water to his shoulders.

“I did,” Maylin says as she starts to braid her wet hair in tiny braids.

Geralt comes to sit with her on the slab, and their thighs touch, and he is surprised she doesn’t move away from him and relinquishes the touch. He turns to watch her hands twine the little braids together at the back of her head with practice skill, till she has an intricate braiding of hair, almost like a crown, keeping it all from her face, but it is still down over her shoulders.

“You are skillful,” Geralt says, having felt he need to break the silence.

Maylin nods and she flourishes her hand a touch, and a length of ribbon materializes into it, a blue one, and she uses it to tie her masterpiece so it doesn’t come loose, “My mother taught me, then Dina, and then Zella too, though I don’t know how she knew, she never wears braids.”

Geralt hms, at that, “Who are those people?”

Maylin smiles softly at the interest, and for a moment almost doesn’t answer, but she turns her eyes to his, and something of the light makes her tongue come loose, “Dina was a midwife I apprenticed for, and Zella… is my best friend. She’s the person I’m closest with.” She feels the sting of tears and looks away from him and at the wall, “I miss her.” Her voice is a broken whisper and Geralt gently touches her shoulder.

“Is she dead?” he asks softly, scared to offend her, but wanting to comfort her in some way.

Maylin laughs humorlessly, and shakes her head, “No. She is most likely torturing some poor man who has been foolish enough to believe she loves them.”

Geralt was not expecting that, and grunts softly, “hm. Well.”

Maylin shrugs, and looks back at him, “Can I braid your hair?”

Geralt is taken aback by the question but can not think of a reason to say no, and he finds he doesn’t want to, and nods. Maylin smiles at that and moves to be up on the ledge behind him to have better access and starts to gently comb her fingers through his silver hair. Geralt closes his eyes and lets himself focus on the feeling of his hair being braided, finding it to be one of the most enjoyable things he has ever experienced.

“Do you know any songs?” Maylin asks softly as she works, never tugging on his hair.

Geralt grunts in dismay, the whole avenue of songs destroyed to him thanks to a very annoying bard, “Regrettably so.”

Maylin chuckles softly, “Fair. I did hear that ‘toss a coin’ song in a tavern. It has a catchy melody, but the person singing it doesn’t hold the emotion the song should have.”

Geralt hms, wanting her to continue.

“well… A Witcher’s job, far as I know, is not easy. Tossing a coin doesn’t solve the problem, and perhaps the valley of plenty is not a plenty of coin for a Witcher to take, but more a valley of monsters, and for each one, a person should toss you more than a coin, cuz money doesn’t stop the monsters,” Maylin explains, “I think the song should be song in a much more solemn to, and with a piano maybe.”

Geralt nods and gets a soft flick to his ear for moving, which eh can’t help but grumble at, “I think I would like that more than what Jaskier has done.”

Maylin chuckles, then shakes her head softly, “Color?”

“Color?” Geralt asks, and opens his eyes, “For what?”

“For the ribbon. What color?” Maylin asks, getting ready to finish.

Geralt searches for a color, but finds only two come to his tongue, and knows he could not deal with he torment if he picked the other, so he says, “Blue.”

Maylin flourishes her hand gently, and a blue ribbon appears, and with a soft blush that she is glad Geralt cannot see, she shows him it, as it is the same color as her eyes, “Like this?”

Geralt nods, “exactly like that,” He whispers the words. He’d get another when the part ways, so he can tie that one to his necklace, as he knows that this encounter with Maylin will not last much longer, and he would favour a reminder of the woman that made him feel, and his heart twitch.

Maylin ties the ribbon in his hair, then comes back to sit with him in the water, “Where are you off to anyways?”

“to the nearest town,” Geralt says, and looks at her, to find those two tones eyes glancing back at him, but this time, they drift for a brief second to his lips, then back to his eyes.

“I will accompany you. I could use a few things from the market most likely,” Maylin says.

Geralt leans a touch into her, his hand coming up and carefully coming to stroke her cheek, and he marvels as she sighs softly at the touch and turns her head into his hand, “What will you be getting?”

Maylin smiles against his skin and finds the callouses on his hands her new favorite part of him, other than his eyes, which are odd like hers, which is why she saved him in the first place. “A blanket for sure.”

Geralt turns her face to him, and leans in a touch more, and his heart beats a touch faster as she leans in as well, her hand coming to touch his shoulder softly, “Why?”

Maylin shrugs a touch, and with a soft sigh she takes the plunge, and crosses the distance between them, letting her lips merge with his, and finds herself falling. Hard.

Geralt’s hand pulls her closer to him, and in the back of his mind, and in his heart, he feels like he has come home.

Without words, Maylin pulls away, and pushes him tenderly up and out of the water, coming to straddle him like she did earlier that day, but this time for the reason one shoulder straddle another person. He arms wrap around his neck, hands twining up into the loose hair, and his hands come to hold her back and ass, squeezing softly, much to her delight.

Geralt’s mind empties, and he finds he’s living for the first time in a long time, and gasps into her lips when he feels a sneaky hand touching his cock, stroking it to full hardness, but from the display of Maylin, it was already half hard anyways. He holds her tight, so she doesn’t fall with one arm, his other coming to her heat to rub gently over her folds, making her moan into his mouth.

He guides his kisses from her mouth to her neck and listens to her moans as he pleasures her with her hand, rubbing at her clit, and making her arch into him. Her hand moves over his sex as well, making him bite down on her skin to stop the sounds, making her moan just a touch louder.

Maylin wants to bring him into her, but she doesn’t wish risking injury, and decides they have time for more later. She takes his hair in her other hand, and pulls his head back from her skin, and he grunts in pain, and his eyes snap open to look into hers, which glow softly, much to his surprise.

“D-Don’t,” Maylin says softly and comes to kiss him, closing her eyes to hide the glow, and he finds he can’t argue with her when she kisses him like that.

He slowly slides a finger into her, finding her tight, and warm, and she moans for him, biting his lower lip softly, making him moan, but he again tries to stop it, but she only bites harder, and he realizes as she moves her finger over his slit, causing him moan more, that she wants to hear him as much as he wants to hear her.

Her lips release his, and he kisses her throat, letting his moans come out, as she massages his cock in the same intensity, he massages her insides.

He opens his eyes to see that the wound on her side is healing, and any soreness in himself is gone, but he feels that if he asks, he will destroy this, so he accepts it with a kiss from her lips and adds a second finger.

It takes neither long to bring the other to completion, Maylin’s and Geralt’s moan mixing together as they hit their climaxes together, a swirl of magic coming from her wound as it heals completely, leaving nothing behind but Geralt’s memory of it.

Maylin rests her head in the crook of his neck and feels a warmth that has nothing to do with the hot spring, or the heat between her legs as she kisses his skin softly.

They stay that way until Maylin gets her sense back, and slides back into the water to clean their juices from herself, and pulls Geralt in as well, to do the same. Then. Hand in hand, leads him out of the small cave, to dawn their clothes once more, and walk back, hands staying together as much as they could, a lifeline between them.

But when Maylin steps into eh clearing, her body tenses, and the hairs on Geralt’s neck raise as he feels her magic, smelling as the soap did, but more like rain than other smells, explodes in the clearing.

He looks at her in alarm, his hand automatically flying to pull his steel sword out, and he follows her gaze to a man standing on the steps of the porch.

The man wears a fancy suit, one that Geralt finds to be extremely weird, with the buttons coming down, and the two pieces that flow behind him like tails. His blonde hair is combed back, and he closes a circular thing in his hand, that’s attached to a chain, and puts in it what Geralt guesses it a pocket on the inside of the jacket and turns to them.

“I see you made a friend May,” the man says, and steps down.

“Suck an egg Damian,” Maylin says, and her stance relaxes as she tightens her hold on Geralt and walks into the clearing some more, moving them so Geralt is closer to the house, and she is closer to the man.

Geralt frowns softly, and goes to move between them, and can not for the life of him figure out why she won’t let him, until the man speaks again.

“Mighty protective eh? Shame really. You’ll outlive him like you did with all the others,” Damian says, and stops a few feet away.

“I have my hopes,” Maylin says softly, “What are you here for Damian?”

“Just letting you know that there’s been some problems, and your… special talents are needed,” Damian says, glancing at Geralt with a dangerous glint in his eye before turning back to you.

Maylin snorts, “Find Zella. She’d happily rip a spine out too ya know.”

“I don’t know where she is, otherwise, I would have,” Damian says, annoyance sliding into his voice.

Maylin frowns, “She isn’t hard to find.”

“Is that why you still live here alone?”

“No. I am recovering.”

“From what? To tell us,” Damian gestures to himself then Geralt, who is staring intently at Maylin now, concerned for her.

Maylin hesitates, but she doesn’t look away from Damian, “Leave.”

“No.”

Maylin’s eyes narrow, “You are picking a fight you can’t win.”

“But you wouldn’t kill me Maylin,” Damian says and takes another step forward, but is stopped by a sword aimed at his chest, and he raises his hands.

“Maybe when I used the other name, but now you are an annoyance that can be replaced,” Maylin says, and stands up straight and tall.

“You wound me,” Damian says, and sighs, “give my regards to Di--”

Maylin charges, blind rage flooding her as she comes at him, her hand bursting through the other side of his chest before he got the words out, and he spits blood up and laughs when she pulls her hand free and watches him fall to the ground.

“I knew you didn’t have a heart,” Maylin says, and turns to go inside, as Geralt watches the body turn to dust, and disappear int eh breeze.

Geralt quickly moves to follow Maylin inside, and gently touches her shoulder, “Maylin?”

Maylin shakes head to toe, and tears brim on her lashes, and without a word she collapses into his chest, and starts to sob. Geralt lets his sword clamour to the floor, to wrap her up in his arms, and stroke her hair, putting the pieces together himself.

[friendoftwili]

Once a beast, always a beast (especially when tired)

Taking a break from my Re-write and decided to write something inspired by Linked Universe by @jojo56830

This was honestly so much fun to write! Being my first LU fic, I kind of experimented on how to write the dialogue between everyone to get their personalities right. So I hope you like it too, as much as i do. Wow look at that I made a rhyme. And any kind of feedback is appreciated.

Warning, contains some swear words and violence.

Words: 1 578

The week had been rough for Twilight. They had changed Hyrules at least three times and constantly battled monsters. Twilight had not been able to sleep. Nightmares from his past adventure had plagued him everytime he closed his eyes. So he decided to patrol camp instead. On top of that, Legend and Warriors had argued with each other all week about every little thing. It was irritating to say the least. The only thing that was worse than them two arguing, was Time not stopping them from argue like usually. Not once.

Today was not different. They were in Wild’s Hyrule, setting up camp in a place that Wild had deemed safer than other spots. Warriors had started complaining about how the humidity (you know, because of the constant raining) affected his hair. Legend, as usual, had sarcastically commented on that and the bickering had started. Time simply rolled his eye and continued setting up camp. It was worth noting that they had skipped breakfast and lunch.

“Of course I care about my hair, Legend! It’s important to take care of every part of your body, and that includes your hair!”

“Yes, I know, but it’s not like hair is fragile. And besides, it’s already pretty protected by that thick coat of hair products!”

Warriors gasped. “I’ll have you know that hair sensitivity vary from person to person. And my hair can’t stand humidity! It’ll get frizzy!”

“Your hair literally looks the same it did 5 minutes ago, you know, when you were busy checking it out in the mirror!”

Twilight had gradually become angrier and angrier, but tried to hide it. Maybe it would be over soon, he hoped.

It wasn’t.

Twilight clenched his fists and jaws. He was tired, he was hungry and he was angry. The quarrel had become louder and that’s when Twilight snapped. Quickly, he strode forward to the two bickering heroes.

“Would you just SHUT UP! You’ve been at it for the ENTIRE DAY!! WARRIORS, NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR HAIR!! LEGEND STOP COMMENTING ABOUT FUCKING EVERYTHING WARRIORS SAY!!” Twilight didn’t realise that he started yelling and had everyones attention. The group was kind of shocked that it was Twilight that had snapped.

Time approached his apprentice and put his hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

“Pup-“ Time began, but was interrupted by Twilight that quickly whipped around and smacked his hand away, pointing his finger accusingly at his mentor.

“And you! Goddamnit Time, You didn’t do anything to stop them from arguing!! Not in the entire week!” Time was taken back by this and stood there speechless. Everyone held their breath, they had never seen Twilight like this before. He had, unconsciously, bared his teeth, similar to an angry wolf that you do not want to get near. Hyrule tried to step in, to help calm him down.

“Hey, Twi, come on. Warriors and Legend fighting is nothing new-“ Twilight eyed him and physically growled. And his eyes, Hyrule couldn’t stop staring at those eyes. Instead of the calm and friendly blue eyes his companion usually had, they were harsh and cold, mirroring those of a beast you do no want to get close to. He instantly shut up.

Twilight was more than angry now, he was furious. He hadn’t intended to get so mad, but when he started to talk it was like all the frustration he carried was let out in a stream of anger directed towards his family. He couldn’t stay there, it would only get worse. He needed to do something, so without another word Twilight shifted into a wolf and ran into the forest.

----------

Instantly his animal instincts had taken over. He needed to kill something, feel his teeth sink into the flesh of his prey and feeling it’s life fade away. Soon Twilight had tracked a young boar and slowly creeped up on it. Unknowing of the danger, the boar happily pranced around eating insects. In a swift move, Twilight jumped forward setting his teeth into its neck, killing it.

A lone bokoblin had seen what happened and strode forward to attack the wolf. But Twilight was faster, he simply mauled it to death, getting bokoblin blood mixed with the boar blood all over him. He didn’t care, though. The adrenaline he had was starting to disappear, the tiredness slowly creeping back to him. Without a word Twilight shifted back to his Hylian form and started to haul the boar back to camp.

----------

It had been a couple of hours since Twilight left. The camp, normally bussing with voices, was now quiet instead. Everyone were minding their own business. Hyrule was reading a book, Wind was sitting down picking up grass, Four sharpened his sword, Legend and Warriors were sitting quietly by the fire, so was Time. Sky was carving some wood and Wild was cutting vegetables for dinner. It was the rustling that caught their attention. They were reaching for their swords when Twilight emerged from the forest, covered in dried blood and hauling a boar that he dropped by Wild. Hyrule, the ‘medic’ of the group, quickly stood on his feet to assess if Twilight had any injuries.

“I’m fine.” His answer was cold and Hyrule backed off. Wild, with nothing else to do, started taking care of the boar. Twilight then walked in the direction of the river to wash off. When he got back at camp dinner was ready and everybody ate in silence before going to bed. Twilight took the first watch, but didn’t bother to wake Four up when it was his turn to keep watch. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he stayed awake the whole night again.

In the morning it was still quiet when everybody packed up. Twilight was walking in the back of the group, doing everything not to drag his feet and show how tired he actually was. Nobody dared talk to him. He still gave off a dangerous aura that said ‘if you come near I’ll probably bite.’ Time still didn’t know what to do, what to say. The reason he didn’t tell Legend and Warriors off was that he knew the fighting would eventually tone down like it usually did. He didn’t expect the usually calm and collected Twilight to snap the way he did.

Suddenly the world morphed around them and they found themselves in Time’s Hyrule, near the ranch. So they made their way there. Out the door came Malon who had seen them approaching from the window. She also noticed that something was wrong. Not necessarily bad, but off. Malon ran towards them, a smile on her face, and kissed her husband. She took note of how stiff he was and then turned to the group.

“Oh how lovely y’all are here again. And what timing, I just put the pies in the oven.” Her eyes landed on Twilight who looked absolutely dreadful. Malon gasped, strode forward and took his face between her hands. “Oh you poor thing, you look absolutely exhausted!”

Time looked at Twilight and noticed that Malon was right. They had all been tired because of the constant changing of worlds and enemy fights, but Twilight looked worn out. He had big bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess and looked like he could collapse any minute. How had they not noticed that before?

Malon promptly decided that Twilight was going to take it easy and sleep, even though he insisted he was fine. So she dragged him with her into the house.

And while she did that, Time decided that working was better than feeling bad, so for the reminder of the day everyone, sans Twi and Malon, worked on the farm. Feeding the horses, cleaning the barn, etc. When they were done Malon treated them to some apple and rhubarb pie before going to bed.

----------

3 hours ago

Twilight basically collapsed on the bed. But he knew he couldn’t sleep, cause he would just wake up again. Plus, he felt guilty about what he had said to the others. Malon, sensing something was off, sat beside him on the bed.

“Are you alright darling?” She was obviously concerned

Twilight hesitated before telling Malon about his nightmares. Her face softened and she gently stroke his hair.

“Well then, how about I’ll stay here until you fall asleep, hmm? You’re safe here and nothing can ever harm you as long as I have something to say about it.”

Twilight returned her smile and mumbled a soft ‘thank you’ before closing his eyes. It took a minute, but he was soon fast asleep. Before exiting the room, Malon kissed his forehead.

“Good night Link, may you dream of happy memories.”

----------

Bonus:

“Warriors, Legend, Time... I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine. We were pretty annoying so it’s kinda our fault.” Legend said reassuringly.

“Yes, truly, it’s on us. It was childish of us to bicker about something as plain as hair... although it’s not plain.” Warriors mumbled that last part but they heard it anyway and snickered.

“Well, it’s my fault to for not doing anything.” Time said with a smug grin. “So, that’s why I’ve decided to punish them.”

“Wait, what?! What kind of punishment?”

“Gathering eggs from the cucoos of course!”

The look on their faces made Twilight laugh hard. They may have been irritating, but they were sure funny as well. But, that comes with being a family.

The end

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Have any soft FD HC’s/ scenarios when he would take care of them?

(Not actual scenes, because I know you you would end up writing something, just scenarios.)

(Bonus points if it includes the Burrito Bros…)

LOL you know me too well, I would probably write something. XD

Sky likes to wear the mask so Fierce can interact with the others (he tells Fierce that it isn't too painful for him personally, which is an absolute lie, but Fierce respects his privacy and doesn't read his mind after the first time so he doesn't know). He always does it when Time isn't around that way the elder doesn't get upset (Time wants to meet Fierce as much as the rest but he doesn't want Sky to get hurt/ill/drained from it). He talks to Fierce a fair amount to help him keep up with what's happening. So when one of the boys is hurt or ill beyond something a simple potion can fix, Fierce is usually fretting about it and Sky lets him come out.

One time Twilight pushes himself too far because he's still recovering from his Dink Disaster, and it happens because the group got separated. Sky, Twi, and Four are together at the moment, and Sky happens to have the mask because he was talking to Fierce when the ambush happened that got them split up. Fierce is worried as all get out, so Sky lets him take over because the deity has more experience in this sort of thing and is far more capable of fighting off the hordes that they know are lingering around. Four is overly stressed and freaking out because it's too soon from the last time Twi almost died, so Fierce soothes him and takes care of Twi and slaughters any monster that breathes within a ten mile radius. Twi tries to pull his weight and Fierce just ends up carrying him as they walk. Four loves doing storytelling with Fierce because he adores listening to his little rainbow fill him in on events in the world. Twi eventually settles into being cared for because he can't really argue about being a burden to a freaking godlike figure, and Fierce learns to his delight that Twi loves cuddling. Four does too.

When the trio finally reunites with another chunk of the Chain, it's Warriors and Wild, and oh boy because Fierce knows about Wars' PTSD and Four told him all about Wild's issues and this Mother Hen is going to town now because he can already see how stressed and worn out they are and he just sets to work calming them down and insisting everything and everyone is fine and gathering ingredients for Wild so he can stress cook and Fierce wants to taste everything because he hasn't eaten in millennia, and he senses when Warriors is going from normal to I have to take care of everything and everyone and I am spiraling mode, and he has Twilight basically tackle him as Wolfie before carrying Warriors over to the group wrapped in his scarf. Fierce showers Wild with praises because he knows he needs to hear it, Four does more story time (interspersed with Warriors and Twilight and Wild piping in) and the like.

After a few days, they reach civilization, and Fierce hesitates, knowing he'd be an intimidating sight in a town of Hylians who know nothing about him. He asks Wars what it was like when he took the mask off, and Wars tells him about the sensation. Fierce feels really awful, and he asks the boys to gather supplies for Sky and get a room at the inn ready for him. Fierce tries to mentally reach out to Sky and can't find him. Nervous, he takes the mask off, and Sky is a hot mess, but the boys take care of him.

The next time Sky tries to talk to the mask, Fierce won't reply until Sky almost puts it on. He asks Sky to not use the mask, and says he's content with just hearing about the boys. Sky can immediately hear the pain in his voice and knows he's lying, but he doesn't know what to do about it, so he decides to go to Legend and Hyrule, magic and artifact experts, to see if they can work something out.

Because by now, everyone wants to meet Grandpa Fierce.

[banana-fish]

The stars align between us

‘The heroes were looking for the newest hero while Wild was looking for a friend’

Wild meeting the linkeduniverse group for the first time. linkeduniverse created by @jojo56830

Word count:1919

After being transported to a new world the group of heroes walked endlessly for days trying to find some familiar place. Sadly to their dismay the Hyrule they were in was unlike the ones they lived in, familiar building and even entire villages were gone replace with rubble that litter the land like hollow shells of what they use to be now haunting the land it once occupied. But with that being said the Hyrule the group now wonder was not a wasteland by any means. The land was vast was forests and wildlife. Fruit trees and streams painted the land, too bad the lost band of heroes couldn't enjoy the beautiful sight as for them, their leader wish to find a village for them to rest in before they had to spend another night outside. Due to the vast opening of the land, there was more monster hiding out so there was no telling what a forest could be hiding in this world. 

 Unluckily for the youngest hero of the group these deep forests can make it very easy to get lost. Much to the dismay of him and his group Wind let his curiosity get the best of him when he saw sometimes strange moving behind the trees. 

 A quick look that all it was supposed to be, well until the mystery creature started to run faster and faster lead the child to an unrecognizable part of the land. He wandered aimlessly for a few minutes before deciding he was lost. Being lost deep in a forest in an unfamiliar place with no way of contacting his friends is an unforgivable thing Wind was now faced with.Walking out of the deep forest to a rocky cliff side. The river that coursed through its way through the rocky path laid way to ruins covered in a thick fog. Unlike the others, the Hyrule Wind grew up in was a flood land with small islands separated by an endless ocean. Wind was captured in awe at the ruins the group would come across while the other stood in silent horror.

 Feeling a tug he began to walk towards them, trying to make out what they use to be. The fog that covered the broken walls clear up in some part almost in was making a path. Without giving much thought to the strange place the young hero walks through the fog noticing some lamp with fire light up the forest. 

 The soft glow of the fire showed Wind trees that seemed to occupy the land. Old twisted up trees that seemed to give off the appearance of faces. The haunted looks mixed with the heavy fog left shivers down his spine.

 Turning foot Wind started to walk faster hoping to leave the old ruins, but before he could get far the fog began to get thicker. Almost like a warning that one wrong move and the child would be lost forever with no way of ever returning to his friends.

 With that thought now fresh in his mind he starts to look around hoping to find some sort of sign he was going the right way. Taking a shot into the dark he moved a few steps back, just hoping the goddess would guide him to safety. Sadly with how quickly the fog grew thick Wind realized how alone he was. 

 Fog started to surround him, blocking his vision as it dances around him. The feeling of helplessness flood back to him, oh how he hates that feeling.Just before he could be taken over with that feeling, he hears someone yell off in the distance.  Hope that he would be saved.  Before he could even think who's voice that belongs to, he felt a hand grab his arm pulling him away from the fog. Tumbling to the ground bring the mystery person down with him. 

 "You shouldn't be in here." he hears them say in a worried voice.

 Look up he sees a short hylian about the height of legends. They wear a blue tunic similar to his except for the black cloak that hides their face only let parts of their long blonde hair flow free. "Are you okay?" they ask obviously worried about the young hylian wandering alone through the lost woods. 

 The young one gave a small nod as answer seeming to satisfy the other. "These woods are unforgiving to those who wander" A small warning to the younger one's seeming reckless behavior before giving out their hand to help him up. "We should get out of here before we do anything else." The stranger said before quickly turning to lead Wind out of the fog leaving no time for questions. 

 "You want to tell me why a kid like you was wandering about in the lost woods?"

 Wind puffed up his cheeks at that remark, 'kid' he was a chosen hero thank you very much. "I'm not a kid! I'm almost 14!"

 Wind's small outburst cause the stranger to let out a small chuckle. "I was traveling with my friend but I ended up getting lost" Wind explained. The older hylian must have noticed the smaller one's concern about his group. "We should go back to where you last saw your friends."

Finally making it out of the fog and to the place where Wind first started. "By the way my name is Link." Link said in a quiet voice barely above a whisper. 'Link' could this stranger be the new hero the others were looking for? Taking a peek at the many weapons the other carried Wind saw a blade that looked strikingly similar to the master sword. Excitement started to grow inside the younger one, he couldn't wait to show the others who he just met! 

 "Last time I saw them they were in there!" Wind exclaimed pointing to the forest in front of them. "Let's go!" grabbing on the Links wrist pulling him to the forest barely noticing how much the other flinch when he touches him.

 Making their way to through the forest, they find a place less crowded by trees. "It should be easier to spot your friends here," Link said before sitting down and removing his pack. "Here you must be hungry." handing Wind a handful of wild berries, turning back to his bag taking out an assortment of fruits and placing them on a korok leaf before moving it towards the center of them. 

 "My friends call me Wind, you could call me that too if you want!" Wind told the other as he reached for another sweet tasting fruit. Link made a small noise of acknowledgment before taking another bit of his apple. 

 Not knowing long the two sat there in mostly silence but judging by how far the sun was setting and how the once blue sky now took a strong purple hue, it was pretty late. A sound of rustling through bushes and loud footsteps interrupted the two's mini feast. The pair turns their heads quickly to see something emerge from the bushes. A group of traveler makes their way out, blonde hair and a collection of weapons adored each one of them.

Placing his apple down on the leaf before running to the group. Excitement ran through the young one as threw himself onto the group. A slight short hylian in a long blue scarf caught him, tossing Wind up and down before pulling him into a bone crushing hug. 'must be his group’ the champagne of heroes thought to himself. Moving to put the fruit back into his pack, knowing he's needed anymore. Noticing the other’s movements to leave, Wind quickly moved to escape Warrior’s death grip. Running to the other before kneeling beside him.

 “Please don't go yet.” Wind turned to them as they stared at the stranger with uncertain looks. “Guy this is link.” Was all he said before the group broke out in quiet gasps. Someone of them looked down at Wind with shocked expressions. The chosen hero that the goddess sent them out here to find is right now sitting in front of them. The strange now aware of the watchful eyes surrounding, absent mindlessly warping himself in his hood desperate for comfort. 

 One of the members of the group finally stepped forward, sitting beside the newest hero. Twilight the most secretive of the group looked at the younger as if they met before. Reaching out to put a hand on him but only to stop when he noticed the young one tense up at the closes contact. 

"Hey now don't be afraid" Twi said in a soft voice almost like he was afraid if he talks too loud the other would run. "You have the master sword" it was Sky who said that, walking out from the to new hero his eyes glued to the sword the entire time. The younger gave a small nod confuse by the others actions. Why do these strangers now so much about him? Why are they so concerned about him being the champion of heroes? 

 Sky must have noticed the other confusion, "Don't be afraid the goddess brought us here so we can meet"

"The goddess?"

 "Yes, we're not from the time but wants us to met." Sky explained, "we all were once the chosen hero." Another one from the group walked out, this time it was Time. The oldest and wisest out of the group stood next to his protege. The newest looked up at the older one and let out a small gasp, quickly putting a hand on his face in pure excitement. 

 "We have the same scar" 

 Pulling off his hood for the first time pointing to a pink scar that laid over a close eye, mirroring the one on the older hero. Despite the scared up eye, the group of heroes was taken back by the myriad of scars that laid over the young hylian's face. Pink scars and puckered skin took over most of his face barely showing any of the pale skin that laid beneath. Too much of the heroes dismay the scars ran down the other neck showing that there's more hidden beneath their clothes. 

 Even with the scared up face, the kid had a smile that could rival Wind’s any day. The happy the younger one must have felt to find someone like him.

 “Wild” Suddenly all focus was now on Sky. “Hero of the Wild, that what she told me.” He elaborated more while his glaze still stuck to the sword on Wild's back. Wild moved to grasp the halt of the sword pulling it out from its sheath. With almost no hesitation he gave the sword to him, refusing to look at Sky. It was clear to the other that the newest hero feels some sort of disdain for the sword.

“So I'm like you guys?” Wild ask in a quiet voice, any happiness from his and Time interaction vanished. “It's a long story but if you come with us we'll explain it you,” Twilight spoke in a kind voice as he held out a hand to Wild. Wild looked up at Twilight and then to the others. A group of seven heroes stood behind him, despite some differences the blonde hair and strikingly similar facial structures made it obvious that the belonged together. ‘Belonging’, something Wild wished from for awhile is now standing in front of him.

 Hesitating for a second before grabbing the other’s hand.

 ‘Finally, I don't have to be alone’ the newest member of the group thought to himself.

[mlpdestinyverse]

“Dear Twilight...”

One late school night, a troubled Sunset Shimmer decides to write to her dear royal friend back in Equestria.

Story and Description Under The Cut

“Dear Twilight, Hey, sorry that my response is late! It’s like...almost midnight. Whoops. Gonna feel that in the morning. I guess I was just pretty tired out today. I mean, can you believe that today was the start of my third semester here at Uni? I wish I could say “time sure has passed!”, but it was a pretty dang slow year. OH, I handled it just fine, though! I mean, compared to my magical studies with Celestia, it’s not like the workload here is the most challenging. Research papers, equations, a couple of lab experiments. Nothing too crazy. Anyway, I’m going to miss summer break. It was nice not having such a hard time planning get togethers with the girls. You know, ones where we can ALL make it? Pinkie Pie threw the biggest party yesterday to celebrate all of us entering our new year, and she went all out! So many sweets (too many sweets...). And she somehow just kept tossing out more. Ha, speaking of, even after all this time I’m apparently still not used to our powers being gone. I practically juggled my cupcake around after Pinkie threw it at me. I was WAY too ready for some sprinkle explosions.”

Sunset Shimmer chuckled, tapping her pen against her magic journal. She fondly remembered the powers that once inhabited her necklace geode and that of her friends. To think that a year and a half ago, they would run into the villain that would allow their gifted abilities to serve their ultimate purpose. ‘Who knew that villain would be our last?’

Sunset mindlessly fiddled with the pendant hanging from her neck, now a decorative friendship momento. No one that day could have ever expected that their final battle would absorb almost all of the magic - corrupted or not - that had trickled over from Equestria. Aside from minor remnants of magic (thank goodness that the magic journals and portals still worked), it was almost like things had returned to how they were before she had put on Twilight’s crown that fateful day.

Sunset paused in her actions, quietly staring at the journal before her. A tight feeling that had become familiar to her now settled back into her chest.

‘It’s almost like how things were before. ...yet it feels so, so...unbearably different.’

Sunset took a moment to recollect her thoughts. She sure was glad that it was too late for Twilight to be awake to read her messages...maybe now, without that pressure, she could finally be honest with herself.

“Hey Twi? Is it weird that I can’t remember how I was able to deal with a magic-less world? You know, before you came over and all. Actually no, maybe I do. I had stupid goals and my dumb obsession drove me. I don’t have that anymore, thank Celestia…” …. “But readjusting to a non-magical universe after dealing with magic for years...it’s been really-” ….. “Well...difficult. And I feel horrible for saying that, because I should be glad that things are normal. Right? Everyone can just live normal, happy lives in this world without some corrupted magic cursing objects and people. That should be a wonderful thing. So then why-” ....... “Why do I feel so out of place?”

Sunset could feel anxiety creep in and fought the spontaneous urge to shove the journal away or rip out the page in hopes of erasing any inkling of what she had just written. But she had to keep going. She had kept her thoughts to herself for far too long, and if she didn’t do this now, she’d never find the right moment again. As she wrote, she pressed the tip of her pen firmly against the page.

“It’s so strange, Twilight. I was fine at first. The others missed their powers, but it didn’t take them long to move on. And it was the same for me. I thought maybe I could just focus on earning some fancy science degree and then move on with my life. But suddenly the days just kept dragging on. I complete my assignments, I study, I keep my grades up. But for a subject I usually enjoy, everything about it feels empty. Like something is missing. Like...this isn’t what I was really meant to do. All throughout high school I was so determined to study the workings of the magic in this world. What started out as something utterly frustrating became...well, a full-on adventure. It was a rough ride, but I would never trade away those days for anything. And it’s not just because I loved being with everyone back then. We’re still best friends and that will never change. I think magic is just a bigger part of me than I originally thought. I was born with it. It’s even how I gained my cutie mark back when I still lived in Equestria. And now that I’m trying to pursue a path without it-”

Sunset let out a deep sigh and roughly ran her fingers through her hair to calm her nerves. Suddenly it was becoming harder to form her thoughts into sentences....where exactly was she going with this?

….Sorry. I’m just trying to make sense of my feelings. You’re the first one I’ve told any of this to. I know, I know. I’m supposed to trust my friends. But how awful would it be for a friend to tell you that they practically preferred how messed up your home universe used to be?

I just feel like there’s so much more for me, Twilight. I can’t keep spending my days wandering blindly while wanting things to be different from how they are now. But I don’t even know where to start. Do I switch majors? Or dig deeper until I find some undiscovered passion? It’s okay if you don’t know either. This is a pretty big messy ball of I-don’t-even-know-what that I kinda just threw at you. I don’t expect you to have all the answers. I really hope you know that. But if you do have some insight, I’d appreciate any of it. Above anything, I’m grateful that I could just vent to you. Anyway, I should probably head to bed before I wake up a complete and utter zombie. Thanks so much Twilight, and again, sorry for my senseless ranting. Sunset Shimmer”

A deep breath of relief and the clatter of a pen on a desk broke the silence in the room. Sunset leaned back in her chair and dragged a hand down her face. Well, she did it. As much as her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest, and as much as her mind wanted to make her as paranoid as possible over her friend’s possible reaction, she had gotten it down and out of her head. Though a part of her felt like a small weight had lifted, now sheer anticipation took root in its place.

After closing her journal and turning off her lamp, Sunset buried herself deep within the warm cocoon that were her blankets. Minutes passed. She wasn’t sure how many, but despite the comfort of her bed, her thoughts buzzed loudly enough to keep her awake. She found herself glancing at the clock over and over until an hour had passed by. ‘UGH. It’s fine. It’s going to be fine...you’re going to sleep, check for a message in the morning, and not break from panic. It’ll be like any other day. It’s fine, Sunset, it’s fine. Everything’s fine-' At the sound of an overly familiar buzzing, Sunset yelped and nearly startled herself into rolling off the bed. With wide, disbelieving eyes, she watched as the journal on her table glowed and shook. Which could only mean... ‘No way. No no no, you’re kidding - of all days, she decided to stay up late NOW?' For a few more moments Sunset sat stiffly and stared at the glowing journal. She hadn’t prepared herself for an immediate response. Maybe she could let Twilight finish writing and then stick with reading it in the morning? ‘...who am I kidding. I’ll never get to sleep at this rate.’ At some unknown point, the magic journal finally sat still, although it glowed faintly as it waited for Sunset to open its pages. Though hesitant, her curiosity and dire need to get over her fears pushed her to walk back over to her desk and turn her lamp on. With a deep inhale, Sunset opened back up to the page where she had last left off. Just as she had expected, a new message followed her own;

“Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Please don’t worry about replying late! Getting to hear from you any time is always a delight. Also, I hope my replying doesn’t wake you! I tried waiting a bit, so I could collect my thoughts while you hopefully fell asleep.”

‘So far so good…’ she thought, struggling to keep reading without skimming or skipping ahead.

“I’m really glad you opened up to me about this. It sure does sound like a perplexing situation on your end, and I’m sorry to hear that things have been so confusing for you. At least know that I’d never judge you over your struggles. Your feelings are real, Sunset, and they’re valid. I’m sure the others would feel the same way, but of course you should talk to them when you feel you’re ready.”

Almost instantaneously, the heavy ball of emotions that had been weighing her down practically melted away. Of course Twilight would be...well, the best friend she had always been. How could she ever doubt her?

“As for a possible solution to your situation! Okay, bear with me-”

‘Oh boy…’ 

“Okay, here we go...” she murmured, bracing herself before continuing with her read;

“As you said, Sunset, magic clearly is and always has been an essential part of you. Things seemed to be working out just fine while you were figuring out your universe’s unpredictable magic. Now that it’s gone, it almost sounds like the “norm” of your world can’t compete with everything else you’ve ever been through. You’re lacking not only a challenge, but an essential component to those challenges; magic. So far it looks like magic won’t be returning to your side, at least any time soon if it ever does. I’m sorry to say that...but that leads me to my suggestion. Or well, it’s a question more than anything, but I really feel like it’s the best solution to this:”

Sunset’s gaze roamed over to the next line, and suddenly she found her head jerking back, a soft gasp escaping her. Her eyes darted over the line again. And then one more time. Just like that, any relief and peace she had previously found dissipated, and anxiety and doubt and every little bit of guilt she had ever felt returned to her. If she thought about it, it would’ve been such a clear-cut answer. Yet it was the last thing that Sunset had ever wanted to consider doing, let alone think about. After finding some semblance of composure, she was able to bring herself to read the line one more time;

“How would you feel about returning to Equestria?” 

One of the earliest events in Destinyverse.

This was greatly influenced by the deleted scenes from Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, as well as the deleted duet version of "What More Is Out There" between Sunset and SciTwi. Essentially those deleted scenes told a different story, where Sunset missed the magical challenges and adventures in Equestria compared to the unstable magic and mundane highschool activities in the mirror human world. Ultimately Sunset settled on studying the unstable magic, but in Destinyverse, what if that magic (for the most part) went away?

Princess Twilight tried suggesting that Sunset could try returning to Equestria to see if she could find that missing piece. But unlike the canon (where she returned to Equestria for a new journal without hesitation), Sunset understandably had reservations and fears. After all, she had shamed herself as Princess Celestia's former apprentice, and years had passed since she had last seen her homeland. Following this scene, stress and fear of facing her past led Sunset to hold off on her reply, taking a few days to clear her head. When she did finally respond and admit to her fears, Twilight assured Sunset that she had only ever seen Celestia worry for Sunset’s well being, and that she was sure Celestia would be relieved to see her. Though doubtful, Sunset decided to believe in Twilight’s word. Finishing that semester and taking a leave of absence from her college, Sunset proceeded to return to Equestria, where Twilight would happily accommodate her in her castle (practically having Sunset as her assistant - and then partner - in research and experiments) while Sunset rediscovered her place. Let's just say Sunset ended up very happy in Equestria and became closer than ever with Princess Twilight, who she ended up working with most of the time aside from her own personal projects. She later met a wonderful stallion and ended up with a family of her own (see Eventide Twister and Astral Dusk ).

[wherespacepooh]

Shae-lynn Bourne Interview at Y.H. 2017-18 Media Day

(Shae-lynn and Yuzuru’s ema at Seimei Shrine. Photo cr. misayuzulove@twi)

...I get goosebumps. He has a connection with the music and moves freely. He does everything, believing in what I say. He makes the process of choreography a really beautiful thing for me. ––– S.L.B.

Told from Shae-lynn Bourne’s perspective, a glimpse into Yuzuru the skater and Yuzuru the person. She also talks about choreographing for him and with him, and the bond they’ve forged. With her instinct to connect with both music and people, it’s clear how she and Yuzuru make a killer team. Alternatively––SLB is such a romantic (in the best way possible). She made the jump landings in SEIMEI 2 really hard. She confirms he grew taller. - Gladi :P

SLB spoke with the press on Day 1 of the 2017-18 Season Media Day. The 15-minute interview in its almost-entirety was edited by Figure Skate Magazine (B.B.Mook 1383). Repeated QA’s were omitted. 

Translated by gladi. Please do not repost without permission.  Photos below were taken by Ryosuke Menjyu and belong to B.B.Mook.

A new SEIMEI with increased charm The year of reaching new heights

Although SEIMEI isn’t a completely new program, we’ve made modifications and added new appeal. It’s an improved, new SEIMEI. Of course the order of the elements has changed, so have the entries and difficulty of the elements, as well as the level of the content. It is Version 2, so to speak. I think this will become the final version.

I believe it was about a month after the World Championships. I wrote a message suggesting, “How about skating to SEIMEI?” I thought it was such a perfect fit for the Olympics. Afterwards, I was very glad when I learned of his choice.  I think it is the right plan.

I have always been deeply impressed by his performance. It is not a simple thing. Winning the Olympics and still continuing to grow even now, four years later. Winning a medal––while it’s normal to think that is enough, [Yuzu] has lifted limits and pushed boundaries. I think he has raised the entire sport. The level of competition has gone up considerably since he spurred the other men into action. At the 2015-16 season's NHK Trophy, he lit a fire in the people who saw his performance. After that, it was the Grand Prix Final. Everyone was thinking, “Surely, such a feat can no longer be accomplished.” But, with even better performances, he rewrote the record once again. He brought power to his skate and obliterated his limits. I believe that was what lit the fires in his rivals. Compared to the past, everyone, myself included, has become more excited when we watch skating. I am deeply moved by his unrelenting efforts to keep growing, even in mental strength.

I wasn’t able to see his performance live at Helsinki. I wanted to see it though. Since it’s completely different from watching it on the television or on video sites. But, I was so proud, and very happy. Last year, we created a program that was technically very difficult. I think he felt a need to push himself on. And then he carried it through. So this year, he knows he can do it. He jumps perfect quads, right? Artistically too, he is advancing. He continues to mature. It’s like he is riding on an upward current, I think this will be the year [when he is really ready to reach new heights].

First off, mentally he has become very mature, and he has broadened his own boundaries. He can probably jump many quads alone, but can he succeed in times of pressure, those moments when this is it? It is very difficult. I can’t even imagine the level he’s trying to accomplish and reach.

He has grown as a person as well. All the different situations [he faced] in life have helped his growth. I remember when he went through that difficult season two years ago. That collision on ice, and afterwards, undergoing surgery too. Going through so many difficulties, challenges and obstacles brought about his growth as a person, as a man, as a performer.

Although I am older than he is, I’m still growing each day. What I’ve noticed from practicing together is that I’m opening up to him. In part, I feel comfortable and that we understanding each other. It is that feeling of relating with someone. I feel the growth in the way he stands and moves. He’s gotten taller and he has opened up his heart as well. His self-confidence has increased, and he knows himself well. Such growth is bringing forth an entirely different performance.

Through efforts over the past year Yuzu’s raised level of performance

Since he's already skated to SEIMEI for a season, it has accumulated inside of him. Additionally, I think he himself loves performing this program. When the skater himself is excited [about the program], it communicates. When you like the music and the story, the movements become a thing of your own. The program’s character––he feels so real to him, and he relates to him. In the past year, he skated to something new and different, improving technically. In fact, the level of his performance has gone up. That’s why, it’s great that he returns to a program he dearly loves and integrates the familiar with difficult elements. If he were to choose a completely different program, there would be a lot of new things he’d have to do. Choosing a program he likes is a strategically sound plan. In doing so, there is a fire in him and he can skate with passion. And that affords him some ease with the elements; he could add difficult elements to the program later. He can probably do better if he feels good and relaxed, as opposed to when he is nervous. I’ve repeated show programs a year after, and because I knew the music well, I did very well. Making use of his own experience, I’m sure he can skate this program even better.

When I first choreographed SEIMEI, he entrusted it entirely to me. Before beginning choreography, before entering the rink, we had an openhearted discussion about the music, about the story of the movie. He told me why he liked this music. I always ask about that sort of thing. There must be a reason for choosing [a particular piece], because that is important. Without a reason, there is no way to put in any emotions either. After we listened to the music and watched the film, I found a unique way of understanding him. Through discussion, the two of us decided on the right direction of the story. That was what we did before choreography. When we get on the ice, he’s open to trying out anything I suggest.

Because he will say so if he thinks something is wrong, we communicate well. Although he trusted me right away, I think he chooses me because he feels that what we’re doing is right. I think this is a great relationship. As I’ve said earlier, I feel that the heart and soul of this piece really resemble him. And that’s why, it wasn’t so difficult to put together this piece. Yuzu always has his opinions ready, and I think that is a really fantastic aspect of him. He has his own view of what he wants to do, and I think it's great if my suggestions can help him towards the right choices. During our practice, I suggested to him––"Will you meet with the actor [of Abe no Seimei]? It would be great if you could try acting together." It would be a wonderful collaboration, and he would learn more about his own internal preferences and what the piece means to him. It’s helpful to do things with remarkable people.

I think last season’s Hope & Legacy wasn’t an easy piece to skate to. Musically, it didn't have the power that SEIMEI has. It also wasn't something romantic, but there was a soft lyrical quality to it. I think he thought intensively about the movements of his own body, the musicality of the piece, and the flow when he goes from one movement to another and so forth.

So, I think it became good training that showed off a different side of him. What matters was that he’d brought and integrated everything into the second half of the program, that he added to the quads, and that he had continued to express the music even as he was executing such difficult elements. At World’s, he had carried all of this, everything, through.

It was a really wonderful moment when he first told me that he wanted to work together. He is a rare, spectacular skater. It's a very fortunate thing when a choreographer gets the chance to work with a high-level skater.  And when I first met him, I was instantly, strongly captivated. Choreographing the program, he would just jump a few triples and quads. This wasn’t ever the case with anyone. He was serious in looking at how it would be [with the elements inserted. I felt his deep respect for the ice, me, the coaches, his family. It was a true sense of respect. I feel his recognition and gratitude, so it’s amazing to be part of the team, and I think he was definitely evaluating [how the program looked] in earnest. He showed that he was grateful, but it was such a wonderful thing, so much that I wanted other skaters who were training together to see it as well. He always evaluates [the choreography] properly and expresses his thankfulness.

At times, when someone becomes a champion, you lose sight of such a side, but he is a real champion even as a person. Speaking of why SEIMEI is a good fit for him, it’s because the character has an extraordinarily strong mind. Someone who surmounts chaos and confusion through his frame of mind. On the one hand, Yuzu is so sweet, funny, and charming。Yet on the other hand, he is really strong. Working together with him, I see it––his true nature. The more I got to know him, the more he opened up to me as a person. I think that’s maturity, and also trust.

Not only that we were able to work together, that I was able to see the way he mastered and skated so skillfully to this program and fought––it was a marvelous experience beyond all description. There are skaters in this who stiffen, tense up, and feel stressed when the time comes for competition. Although there were good days and bad days, he just keeps making progress. That is why it was so great to become part of his team, and I can’t wait to see how he performs his next program.

What I want to emphasize in particular with this program are the landings of his jumps. Because they are very difficult… although that is my fault (laughs). Thanks to him––that is to say, because he has raised the technical level––the competition on the whole has become very tough. Everyone is going all out to defeat him, or to catch up with him. So he works hard to get to a place out of anyone’s reach. That is why I think he is successful.

The fact that he really feels the music, his ability to execute everything effortlessly, his inherent strength… considering all of this, he is going to come out even stronger. The SEIMEI this time comes backed by the experience from last year, because hard training pays off.  Practice brings confidence, no matter when. This year, I don’t think he needs to attend the first competition, but to him, furthering his growth is a necessity. The Olympic stage––is where he must be at his best condition.  

It’s hard to pick one of Yuzu’s greatest strengths. He is strong as a whole. He has the ability to perform, he can also jump without under-rotation. But he doesn’t just complete his rotations, when he soars into a quad, it is as though you're looking at a double. You feel his composure and confidence from the ease and the flow in and out of his jumps. That is why he is special compared to other skaters.

Physical matters aside, his mental strength is number one, the best thing, out of all his strong points. No matter how much you work hard and train, it is probably 90% a mental problem. Not only that, his physical ability now has also gone up, he knows his body well, and his body has matured. On top of being mentally tough, he is also training his muscles––I think this is his biggest strength.

When practicing parts with Yuzu, I always feel like my hair stand on end and I get goosebumps. He has a connection with the music, and he moves freely. He does everything, believing in what I say. He makes the process of choreography a really beautiful thing for me. That’s why, it is always a pleasure to enter the rink with him and collaborate together.

(fin)

Figure Skate Magazine (B.B.Mook 1383) on Amazon.co.jp: This magazine tends to be text-heavy but detailed. Yamaguchi and the rest of the editorial team did a great job bringing to life what Team Yuzu was like during Media Day in the current issue. Please consider supporting them.

(Caption: Sharpening skate and mind.)

(These two photos from Day 1 weren’t with the piece, but I thought they fit? In a weird way? Fierce Yuzu and RAWR-RAWR Yuzu? XD)

[jcmorrigan]

So if you're still taking questions, which if you're not then just ignore me, what were your plans for the Little Mermaid arc? And what world, was going to come after it?

The Mane Six strike a deal with Ursula to become sea ponies so they can go underwater and chase down the Evil Manta, who damaged the Starlight. They called Tony Stark and he said he’d send a drone to that world with repair materials for the ship, but it might take a few days. 

When underwater, the ponies run into Gabriella (from the animated series - a lot of characters from extended canon turn up here), who guides them to Atlantica. There, they see Sebastian taking auditions from various characters (Ariel, her sisters and friends) for a musical revue. The ponies try out.

Meanwhile, Ursula forms an evil alliance of herself, Evil Manta (who is her father), Morgana, Flotsam, Jetsam, Undertow, Cloak, Dagger, Marina Del Rey, Benjamin, Lobster Mobster, and Shrimp. The latter four have to be broken out of jail by Morgana.

 Little Evil sees the jailbreak and swimming off to see what all the hullabaloo is about, since he recognizes his sister Morgana in it. When the villain entourage arrives at Ursula’s grotto, everyone gets acquainted. Ursula is less than thrilled to know she’s working with Lobster Mobster, but the tone of the room completely changes when Ursula and Morgana ask how their little brother has been and Little Evil is, well, Little Evil, calling his dad “Popsie” and not being evil at all. Evil Manta is sheepish and tries to defend his parenting tactics, as he loves his son whether he’s evil or not. Ursula gives Evil Manta some shit about his previous schemes, that now it will require a little more than complimenting people to spread prejudice. She also brings up the boot.

The villains’ overall plan is to spread prejudice throughout all the Seven Seas by having Evil Manta go between the various nations and spread tidings of war, namely telling each nation that all the others are out to get it. Nations include Atlantica, Olympia, Valhalla, the Chasm (“Charmed”), Ablow Kadablow (“Giggles”), Sharkania, and I think there were some more in there that I’m forgetting. The goal is to get them all to go to war against each other and destroy each other, particularly Atlantica so Triton will leave the throne clear for Ursula to take over.

The Atlantican squadron figures this out. Triton takes a small delegation - Attina, Urchin, and a couple of the sea ponies - with him to one of the affected nations for a peace talk. He cautions Ariel to please, please, PLEASE stay out of this one and remain at home where it’s safe. She of course doesn’t listen and takes her own faction, which would have had Pinkie Pie, at least one other pony, and probably Gabriella and Arista, to another nation. As you can probably guess, this was my big chance to give all Ariel’s sisters actual screen time. Like they DIDN’T really get in Ariel’s Beginning. I was also going to play things up between the sisters, Urchin, Gabriella, Pearl, and Little Evil for ships to see if anything stuck. I currently don’t know what the most likely candidates were for those ships. I do know the one big endgame ship I wanted to play for was Marina/Lobster Mobster. Which I’m slightly trash for. Anyway, a delegation of the Atlantica contingent plus the remaining ponies (Twilight is in this group) remains home at Atlantica just in time for a big invasion - this one I KNOW was by the blowfish of Ablow Kadablow - forcing them to try diplomatic tactics early.

I think Triton’s faction went to Valhalla. That or Sharkania. A few interesting things go on in that faction. Attina informs Urchin that one of the biggest reasons Triton took such a shine to him is because of an older brother the sisters had who apparently died. As you can guess, this is Myde, who would later become Demyx, and he didn’t die; he ran away from home. Anyway, Triton sees Urchin as a chance to get the bonding he lost when Myde disappeared. Marina and Lobster Mobster are dispatched to take care of Triton during this bit, and they use the youth spell from “Red” to turn Triton into a baby, which they then kidnap. This results in shenanigans of the two of them acting as the worst parents ever (in a reference to “Double Bubble,” where LM gets a soft spot for two royal baby hostages). That leaves the other members of his faction to try and rescue him.

In Ariel’s faction, she and Pinkie Pie bond the most.

In the stay-at-home faction, Twilight tries a drastic move to seal away the Evil Manta with magic when next he comes around. Under some circumstance or another, the Manta DOES come to Atlantica to try and attack it, and Twilight attempts to seal him in the volcano all by herself. She fails and the Manta breaks free. This activates the clause in Ursula’s contract where Twilight doesn’t get to keep her sea pony form if she tries and fails to subdue the Manta, and she turns back into a human. She quickly hides before anyone can see her, using magic to conjure up air to breathe. Everyone thinks she died or disappeared somehow in the conflict against the Manta, except for whatever other pony stayed in this faction, who just gets super worried.

I didn’t know what was going to happen to resolve the Triton conflict or what happened with Ariel’s faction at all. That was going to be me making it up as I went along. I only knew I had to hit up all the nations and send delegates from each to Atlantica due to the peace talks. Twilight’s storyline was the one I fleshed out most. Now a human, Twilight makes her way back to Ursula’s grotto on foot on the seabed, remembering that the sea witch offered her hospitality if something like this ever happened. On the way, she passes through Shark Canyon (“Trident True”) and uses the glowing shells to form a light rainbow that she uses to Iris-Message Mozenrath. She catches him in the middle of a quest that would become a later interlude focused on him; all the conversations would be replayed from his POV at that time. Basically, once again, while the Mane Six have a year plus’ worth of adventures, only three or so days pass for him. Anyway, he briefly mentions that he and Hecate are out on a mission against someone named “Nasira.” Mozenrath and Twilight exchange some pleasantries and build the ship, but then Twilight has to be on her way. The next place she ends up is the ship of Archimedes (“Metal Fish”). Archimedes, being the only merperson besides Ariel to sympathize with humans, offers Twilight guidance and escorts her to Ursula’s grotto. Now, Evan brought up to me when I was piecing this whole thing together that Archimedes was almost certainly dead by the time TLM1 happens, or else Ariel would have brought the Dinglehopper to him instead of Scuttle. While I don’t normally kill characters in EoH, this was a perfect opportunity to give the Manta some street cred. Twilight and Archimedes arrive at Ursula’s grotto to find the Manta chillin’ with the villains there, and Twilight realizes she’s been taken for a ride. Evil Manta kills Archimedes; Little Evil sees this and is horrified. Ursula then turns Twilight into a sea worm for her garden.

Meanwhile, delegates from all the various nations gather in Atlantica and get over their differences. Pinkie Pie and Ariel figure out that the way to end Evil Manta’s reign of terror is with a song. They set up a plan of attack. When the Manta next arrives in Atlantica, wanting to know why the hell war hasn’t broken out over the entire Seven Seas, he’s met by a choir of merfolk and fish singing “No One Together” by Kansas, which you saw in the revue rehearsal scene. This is enough to chase him back to the volcano and seal it over with magic without using the Elements of Harmony at all!

Back in the grotto, Little Evil feels bad for what happened to Twilight, and he takes a potion from Ursula’s cabinet and uses it to restore Twilight’s sea pony form. They race to Atlantica as fast as they can. On the way, Little Evil talks about how much he loves his dad, and Twilight begins to wonder if sealing the Evil Manta away is the right thing after all. But by the time they get to Atlantica, it’s too late. The Manta is already back inside the volcano, and Little Evil is devastated. It comes out around this time that Ariel was the one who sicced the Brain Sponge on the Manta in “A Little Evil,” which Little Evil canonically never saw happen. Feeling betrayed by everyone he considered friend, Little Evil flees. Twilight chases him to comfort him. He tells her that while everyone is probably expecting him to go evil over this, he doesn’t really want to. He just needs to take some time to himself to think everything over. Twilight lets him go, and he begins soul-searching across the seas.

Triton and Ursula have a face-off, but Triton ultimately lets her go free and unpunished due to lingering feelings he has for her. He believes deep down that she can change, which is sadly his mistake.

The musical revue might go on, or it might just get replaced by everyone singing the Manta away and we call that a performance.

A definite scrapped subplot involved having Daniel (“Island of Fear”) mutate into a crab person because of Vile’s experiment hitting him latently, and him going underwater to join the main crew of heroes. Ultimately, I decided to keep Daniel human and on land; he would become more relevant on the return trip during the Kingdom Hearts run.

When the Mane Six get back to shore, they find that Tony Stark didn’t send a drone to fix the ship after all. He came in person on a ship of his own. He just got done repairing the Starlight, and the Mane Six decide to let him tag along on the next adventure. When they take off, it’s with Tony Stark in tow.

The last scene of the storylet catches up with a now-human Myde playing in a troop of street musicians in a square in Ashmark. He is approached by two strange women, who turn out to be Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) and Midna (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess). The two of them tell him he’s who they’ve been looking for. He’s afraid they’re Atlanticans who came to drag him back home - he left and stole potions from Ursula to become human because he wanted to evade that kind of responsibility, and Ursula forever resents him for being able to steal from her and get away with it alive - but he soon realizes they’re there for an entirely different reason, one that would be revealed in a later interlude.

This catches up the Mane Six’s timeline with that of the Overtakers.

The next world would have been from the young adult book series “Maximum Ride.”

[isa-in-accra]

Orientation Day 3

The third day of orientation opened with one of my favorite activities so far: a Twi class. Although English is the official language of Ghana, Twi is one of the most common languages the country. It uses the same alphabet as English with a few additional letters, but many of the sounds and pronunciations are quite different. The class was taught by University of Ghana and NYU adjunct professor Kofi Saah, who will also be my professor for the semester-long Twi class I am taking at the University of Ghana. We were also given a presentation on IT at NYU Accra and technology in general in Ghana, during which I was informed that if I continued to plug my phone directly into the wall to charge it may one day explode. I have since started using a converter.

The last morning session of Day 3 was a “Cultural Do’s and Don’ts” presentation, where we learned that using your left hand for certain gestures such as pointing and waving is extremely rude, and that casual marriage proposals to women are often simply a means of starting conversation. I have not received any yet, but I will be sure to write a post about it if I do. We were also taught about Adinkra symbols, which are visual representations of mantras and ideas originally created by the Ashanti people. They are beautiful and profound, and I plan to dedicate a separate post to go into more detail about them.

Everyone wanted to try more local food for lunch, so we headed to a cheap and popular restaurant that is about halfway between our dorms and the academic center called Didi Pa. My housemate Imani and I decided to split an order of Jollof rice and fufu with goat meat. Fufu is a popular Ghanaian dish that is typically made of cassava and plantains. It is very soft and doughy. The customary way to eat fufu is to rip some off with one’s right hand (NOT left), roll the piece into a ball, and dip it in the soup that is also served alongside it. It sounds simple enough, but Imani and I managed to completely botch the process by ripping pieces off the top, which formed holes in the main piece. Instead, as some University of Ghana students who accompanied us to lunch explained, the pieces should be ripped from the side.

What I found most interesting about the dish was how similar it felt to eating Sri Lankan food. Most Sri Lankan food is eaten with one’s hands, and as a result, finger bowls at restaurants are common. The bowl that was brought to us was much larger, however, and included soap. Sri Lankan food also follows a similar format of combining a starchy food item (rice, hoppers, godhamba roti) with accompaniments like curry. In this case, the starch was the fufu and the accompaniment was a spicy soup. I have always found it fascinating how different cultures around the world interpret and execute this simple combination.

After lunch, I and a few other girls went to a nearby shopping center to get SIM cards for our phones. This was my first experience with negotiating a taxi. In Accra, the common practice with taxi drivers is to tell them where you need to go, then haggle over the price they set until it goes down to about half (or less) than the original value. For example, if a taxi driver attempts to charge 20 cedis for a ride from our dorm to this shopping center, we would attempt to get it down to anywhere between 8 and 5 cedis. We settled on 10 yesterday and agreed that our skills would improve throughout the semester.

All of that is done before even setting foot in the car. If the driver refuses, you simply seek out another one, which is almost never difficult to find. In fact, drivers may even pull up alongside you or stop and honk in an attempt to get you to take their taxi. Another difference between American and Ghanaian taxi drivers is that unlike in the States, where the driver expects to be given a specific location or cross-streets, Ghanaian taxi drivers use landmarks to reach their destinations. Giving the address of our dorm or academic center to a taxi driver would get us nowhere, but telling him the name of a nearby bank, school, or popular restaurant would.

In the evening, our CRAs took us on a walking tour of the neighborhood we live in, which is called Labone. The tour included stops at two separate seamstresses, from whom we can purchase fabric and commission dresses, tops, shorts, and anything else we may want. All of us are already planning our new wardrobes! We arrived back at the dorm right at sunset, which made for some beautiful photos. Dinner was at the second restaurant in our meal plan, a Ghanaian restaurant called Buka. The design of the restaurant was very cool, with wooden stairs leading us up to the dining area and a chair made of recycled tires in the front. The food was fantastic there as well! We left full, happy, and exhausted, but the latter did not stop me and my housemates from having a dance party in the living room to some West African music.

[marauder-level-chaos]

In A World Like That Ch. 5

Magnus and Alec have been pushed into their TWI roles by a meddling demon who feeds on their happiness. It puts them in a deep sleep and the only way to get out there is to find each other in TWI and fall in love. If they can do that, they will automatically fall out of the magical slumber the demon has placed them under. Otherwise, they fall into an eternal sleep. It’s upto Malec to find their way back to each other. It is set after the TWI episode in the show, so they have met each other once already. Here is the masterlist. My AO3: malecplusotherthings

A/N: This is a parallel for the wedding scene because I need that joy in my life

Warnings: swearing, TWI characters, angst obviously, some fluff, slight show divergence, suggestive dialogue

Magnus was nervous as all fuck. More than he had ever been in his life before. He took long deep breaths to steady himself. I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready. The reason for this nervousness was the fact that Magnus had planned to finally ask out Alexander. He had never actually asked anyone out before. People usually approached him. Mostly because, well, he never actually believed that anyone would want to go out with him in the first place. Ever since he had met Alexander, however, that had changed. Alec had given him a new sort of confidence. He made Magnus believe in himself. And so, Magnus was determined to fight for this man. With Catarina’s skills, he had managed to throw together an outfit consisting of black ripped jeans and a sky blue sweater. It matches his eyes. He also let Catarina convince him to paint his nails with a color that matched his sweater. With all that done, Magnus was now standing in front of the large doors of the Institute.

As Magnus entered the Institute, he heard a lot of loud chatter. People seemed to be busy with something - he couldn’t quite tell what. He stood in the lobby, scanning the room for those familiar blue eyes. Unfortunately, Alexander could not be seen anywhere. Dejected, Magnus decided to leave. Perhaps, he should just try again later. However, he heard a voice that changed his mind. Alexander’s voice. Magnus turned his head in the direction of the sound, and saw Alec walking with a woman he recognized from the local business magazine. He even recognized a few of Alec’s friends. They were all very immaculately dressed, and so of course, was Alec. He was dressed in a button-down shirt with gold lining around the cuffs and the collar. The black pants and the black and gold dress shoes made Alec look a lot taller than Magnus had remembered. Not that he was complaining in any way. Magnus could spend an eternity admiring Alec and his tall frame. Magnus quickly ran a hand through his hair as he saw the group of people walking toward him. Hello, Alexander. Magnus’ breath hitched as he locked eyes with Alec, before he went back to his guests.

“Alexander.” Magnus called out. He knew he probably shouldn’t interrupt Alec, but he couldn’t help himself. Gulping down his nervousness, he tried once again.

“Alexander, I love you. I’m sorry for everything I said but I am hopelessly in love with you and I don’t think I can live without you anymore.” Magnus saw Alec’s body tense up as he said that. Magnus could feel his heart pounding in his throat. When Alec turned toward Magnus again, he could see the blaze in his eyes. As Alec began marching directly toward the golden-eyed boy, Magnus could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Before Magnus had the chance to calm himself, he realised that Alec was just a few inches from his face.

“What did you say?” He demanded in a hushed voice. The deep blue in Alec’s seemed to calm Magnus down a little bit.

“I said I love you.”

Alec responded by grabbing Magnus’ collar and smashing his mouth down onto the shorter man’s. Magnus felt himself succumb to the kiss as he slowly wrapped his hands around Alec’s neck. When Alec slowly broke off the kiss, Magnus tried to lean back in for more.

“I love you, too.” Alexander whispered hoarsely against his mouth, before he sealed the gap once again.

***

It had been about a week since Alec had last seen Magnus, but thankfully, he had plenty to distract him from those golden eyes. His sister, Simon, and himself had spent the last few days decorating and redesigning the Institute. They had received a lucrative offer from one of the leading businesspersons of New York, Jia Penhallow. Her daughter, Aline, had gone to school with Alec so he had managed to secure an appointment with Ms. Penhallow for today. She was coming to see the Institute, which means Alec couldn’t afford to be distracted. By anything. He checked his phone to find that both Izzy and Simon had prepared the lobby and were waiting for him. He got dressed in a black button-down with gold lining along the cuffs and collar, smart black dress pants, and beautiful gold and black shoes. Stop thinking about Magnus’ eyes. Stop thinking about Magnus.

Burying his emotions deep down, Alec made his way to the lobby. Simon and Izzy had really done an amazing job decorating the hotel. He smiled as he made his way over to them. They were already talking to Jia. Alec introduced himself to her and asked Simon to give her a quick brief of themselves as well as the Institute. As Simon was talking, Alec’s gaze fell on one of the little trinkets that lay on the table beside them. A trinket that he had purchased from Magnus’ store. Alec, no. Don’t let this distract you. But the more Alec tried to block his thoughts of Magnus, the deeper they got. As Izzy and Simon led Ms. Penhallow on a tour of the Institute, all Alec could do was nod occasionally. As the tour ended and they reached the lobby again, Alec noticed somebody out of the corner of his eye. A rather familiar figure leaning against the wall by the front door. Magnus. Alec’s heart began to race a little quicker and his breath got caught in his throat. Magnus must have noticed Alec looking at him because he saw Magnus smile. Alec quickly turned his head away, not allowing the distraction to get through to him.

“Alexander.” Magnus’ voice was soft. Alec had missed it, and him, so much. “Alexander, I love you. I’m sorry for everything I said but I am hopelessly in love with you and I don’t think I can live without you anymore.”

Every muscle in Alec’s body tensed. Holy fuck, what did he say? Alec made his way toward Magnus. As he walked over, he was determined to tell Magnus off for interrupting his meeting with Jia Penhallow, but the sincerity in Magnus’ eyes changed that. His golden eyes were soft, full of hope. As Alec held Magnus’ gaze he realised that he was no more than a few inches away from Magnus’ face.

“What did you say?” He asked, trying to mask the panic in his voice with a tone of authority.

“I said I love you.” All Alec could do was smash his mouth on Magnus’. After a few seconds, when he felt Magnus respond to the kiss, he slowly broke away.

“I love you, too.” He whispered soft enough for just Magnus to hear, before kissing Magnus once again. Apart from the high-pitched screams from Simon in the background, it was everything Alec had dreamed it would be.

Malec Taglist (please let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@thatwinchestergirl67 @quickbright @julialightbane @bestieswithmydarkthoughts @plaggherondale @textrovert-01