#and i get you anon!!! i also really wish we could call out our companions & npcs

[messiahzzz]

When I came across that "joke" from Tav to Quill and Z'rell's comment (plus Halsin), I had to take a minute to process what happened. Gale might be a bit silly and eccentric but he's the kindest, sweetest and most passionate character in that party. No wonder the poor man has deep insecurities to solve, so many people reduce him to an easy target! Ofc one of the side effects would be overconfidence and ambition as a defense mechanism. He's obv lonely; only Tara and Morena ever loved him for him.

his eccentric nature might be a part of it. he is loquacious, outgoing, and doesn’t see the point in hiding his enthusiasm. he is considered to be the weird one. naturally, wizards in general being seen as somewhat squishy and physically weak might also add to it.

personally, i really don’t like the implications of the (widely considered) autistic-coded character being the one who faces the most ridicule by far by other characters and fans (and larian) alike.

some might disagree with me on that, but i don’t find it funny by any means either. mostly it just makes me feel bad. “he deserves it. cocky, arrogant, hubris-ridden wizard needs to be taken down a peg” like he isn’t… y’know… already at his lowest. it also disregards the fact that much of his bravado is part of his carefully curated Great Wizard of Waterdeep™ persona that he has skillfully adopted to mask his general feeling of being defective. being fiercely proud of your skill and knowledge and being doubtful of having something truly worthwhile to offer are mindsets that can coexist. according to fandom, gale is either secret hubris incarnate that is only waiting to be unleashed upon the world or pure baby that can do no wrong. instead of a character that is just as flawed and traumatized as all the others, but no less deserving of genuine love.

to me, the constant ridicule just reads as further feeding into his deep-rooted insecurities and his belief that he (as gale, the person) isn’t someone who holds inherent worth. it really, really doesn’t sit well with me.

[sehunniepotwrites]

for sehunniepotwrites’ #9yearswithexo celebration

requested by: @heartyyjeno​ & anon!  pairing: oh sehun x reader genre: fluff, college!au, soulmate!au prompt: “am i your lockscreen?”  wc: 673

You loved being in university—it gave you the freedom you never experienced when you lived at home. It gave you the chance to really explore and find yourself.

It also gave you the opportunity to meet some of the greatest people in existence. Your tightly-knit friend group was filled with all kinds of personalities and you loved them all but the one you adored the most was the one who was currently bothering you while you attempted to get some studying done. 

“Oh Sehun, poke my side one more time and I’ll rip your ear off,” you hissed as you saw your friend’s finger in your peripherals. 

Sad he was caught in the action, Sehun scrunched his nose and pouted. His slim and tall build slide down into his uncomfortable library chair, neck settling onto the back of his seat. His belongings were already packed into his bag; the boy was long done with his studying. You, on the other hand, preferred to keep going. 

The boy was not a new addition to your usual group of companions, in fact, he was one of the original members. You always felt drawn to him, for some unknown reason, causing him to be your closest friend. But as of recently, your feelings for him had transitioned from friendship to something more than that. You fell gradually, little by little each day. One day, you were smiling at the way his eyes curved up with his lips. The next, you wished you could hear his laugh at any moment of every day. 

You soon realized that the connection was not a coincidence and the identical marks you shared proved that you were indeed soulmates. 

And suddenly, Oh Sehun had been the only thing occupying your brain. Since all your thoughts were drifting to him, you had to study even harder than before—that itself was a challenge and with the attention-deprived boy next to you, the task at hand was almost impossible. 

“Babe, we’ve been at this for hours now, I think it’s time we called it quits,” Sehun groaned, butting his forehead into your shoulder. 

Babe. The new nickname and you blooming relationship with your friend always gave you a tingly feeling on the inside. He was now more than a friend. Sehun was the boy that held your hand and walked you to your class even though his next lecture was across campus. He was the boy that spoiled you with displays of affection that would make your heartbeat as fast as a drum—you couldn’t quite get used to it. It made you feel lightheaded and yet, you wanted more of it. 

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “my phone died and I forgot my charger.”

Sighing, you gestured to your phone that was placed face down at the end of the table. “Check mine.”

Sehun easily reached across the table and flipped your phone over. Instead of answering you right away, he paused as your screen lit up. Noticing he was silent for a little too long, you looked up at him to find his brown eyes glued to your screen, his orbs sparkling with amusement. 

“What?” you asked.

With a teasing smile, Sehun turned the phone to face you. “I’m your lockscreen.”

“Oh my god,” you squeaked, quickly snatching your phone from his strong grip. He chuckled as you clutched the device to your chest with an embarrassed look on his face. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

Sehun let out another laugh and it was a sound you adored. You just hated he was laughing at you and not with you. “When did you take this?”

“Our first date,” you murmured, voice too low for him to hear. 

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Sehun reassured you as he tugged you into his hold. Your bottom left your chair and settled on his lap. Snuggling your head into his chest, you averted your eyes away from him. He kissed the crown of your head before whispering, “You’re my lockscreen, too.”

© sehunniepotwrites, 2021

[sevenspecialidiots]

Hi can I request a scenario where the MC shares half of the power of dia's dad ? I would like to see how they react ! ALSO CONGRATS ON YOUR BLOG

❤️❤️❤️❤️

hello my lovely anon!

THANK YOU SO MUCH AKDFHKAS❤️❤️and thank u for sending this in!! ur my first official req and im very excited ♡︎ since this is my first headcannon please bare (bear?) with me, and if there’s anything you think i can improve feel free to send me a message! i’m all about feedback and how i can make things better :D

a/n: I’m only going to do the brothers (+Diavolo) right now while I get a feel for my writing style, although in the future I may add the undateables :3 (newly dateables?? what are they called now? side characters??????)

MC shares half the Demon King’s powers (Brothers + Diavolo react)

~~~~~ Warnings: Minor spoilers for Lesson 16 for Bell pepper Belphegor. M i n o r. (Please let me know if I should add anything)

Word Count: 2473 ~~~~~

The moment you landed in the Devildom, literally everyone knew there was something up with you.

You radiated powerful energy, but since you weren’t supposed to have magic, no one could exactly place why you felt so familiar. It wasn’t until you were sitting in a student council meeting talking about budgets this and politics that when Diavolo had an “Aha!” moment.

“I’ve figured it out! All this time, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but then I did!” Of course, he sounds like a kid on Christmas and he is so excited. “Your power feels like my father's!”

After some digging, Barbatos finds this: When the Demon King went into his deep, eon-long slumber, the curse used to put him under had some unexpected side affects that Barbatos is still struggling to explain (please be patient with him, he’s not used to be oblivious). This caused some of the King’s powers to transmit away from his body. The power needed a host to survive… and that host happened to be you.

But since you’re supposed to be the human who doesn’t have magic, you get mixed reactions.

Lucifer

Obviously, he was ecstatic. Another headache! Yippee!

Okay listen, the Demon King is like the most powerful demon that exists, so the fact that you share his power means that you too have incredible power.

This man mostly feels frustrated, and he mentally kicks himself for not having caught that minor (major) detail that could possibly change the entire course of the rest of the exchange program if not managed correctly.

Did you know about your power? Do you know how to control it? What if you try to use your magic without supervision and end up burning the House of Lamentation down? What if you hurt somebody? Hakljdhflkasd, what if you hurt yourself?

All these questions are racing through detail-oriented first-born’s head and this is one of the rare times he wishes it were a Mammon-money issue instead.

After doing some digging, it is indeed found that you share power with the Demon King.

He won’t leave you alone, especially with his brothers.

No, Mammon, you can’t use MC’s powers to help your next money-making scheme. And no one is allowed to try and use MC’s powers to play a cursed prank on a certain overly-stressed prideful demon bby. I’m looking at you, Satan.

If you chose to ask him to help you control your newfound power, he might try and downplay how excited he is but nonetheless he is elated and his pride has gone through the roof that you chose him.

Training with him will be efficient. Although it will probably be a little grueling, Lucifer swears it’s only because he sees how great you can become once you’ve master your skills. But, uh… you might wanna use that pact of yours after a couple hours because the words “take a break” are not in Lucifer’s vocabulary.

Mammon

Of course his human shares power with the Demon King! He knows this how? B-Because this is MC we’re talking about! Obviously his MC is super powerful and amazing to the ends of the Earth and-

For a split second, he literally sees dollar signs. You now have MAGIC and with a good ol’ fashion magic show comes MONEY. Even before Diavolo and Barbatos look into it for sure, Mammon is formulating plan after plan.

“We could use this to our advantage! Next time I go to the casino, you could charm people into letting me win! You could put on shows and stuff and show off this awesome new stuff ya got. Imagine the millions that’ll roll in! We’ll be richer than Diavolo himself, and all thanks to the Great Mammon!”

*Casually ignoring that you would technically be doing all the work*

If he does end up dragging you into his one of money-making schemes, you’re in for some fun.

You explode a slot machine that Mammon was trying to get you to curse into giving up the moolah. You accidentally charm Mammon into showing his cards in a poker game instead of the dude next to him and now you’re both in debt. (Or in Mammon’s case, more so).

The next thing you know, you’re in Lucifer’s office getting scolded for handing him another bill on a silver platter.

If for some reason you do chose to ask Mammon for help to control your power, he will be incredibly excited (and then be a total tsundere about it). "Y-You actually want my help? Pfft, oF cOuRsE yOu'D wAnT hELp fRoM tHe GrEaT mAmMoN-!"

Despite being everyone’s favourite adorable doofus, Mammon is still the second-born brother and is still crazy powerful himself.

However, you two will make no progress in learning and will spend most of your time laughing and goofing around until you earn yourselves yet another lecture from Lucifer.

But who wants to be responsible when you have your very own cute demon dork, anyway?

Leviathan

HIS HENRY- HE KNEW HIS HENRY WAS AMAZING…!

B-But what if you don’t want to be his friend anymore after this? Why would someone so strong and powerful and amazing still want to be friends with a gross otaku like him…

….Y-You still want to come to his room tonight to watch My Best Friend Was A Simple Human For A Few Months And We Were Totally Cool With It But One Day The Demon Prince RealIzed They Actually Share The Same Power As The Demon King Himself and Now They’re Really Powerful And We’re Conquering The World And Going On Cool Adventures Together with him?!

Wait, this totally reminds him of that one anime My Friend And I Were Chilling Like Normal People But Then They Found Out That They’re Like Super Powerful But They Still Want To Be My Friend!!!

After some reassurance that you are still his Henry and he will always be your Lord of Shadows, Levi starts to feel better.

M-MC, do you think you could use your powers to give Henry 2.0 an endless food supply…?

If he's being entirely honest, it doesn't take long for the excitement to wear off and he retreats back into his comfort zone. Do you wanna play video games with him? He just bought this new one he thinks you’ll like.

If you ask him to help you control your powers, Levi will be so. dang. happy. Happy, and a little bit conflicted. Why would you want a yucky otaku like him to help you with such an important responsibility?!

Just remind him he's doing the whole putting-himself-down thing again and remind him he's beautiful and that you love him always.

S-sorry MC! Of course he’ll help his Henry! What sort of Lord of Shadows would he be if he didn’t aid his companion, his true friend

He will be completely nervous the entire time and will be able to focus better when he is near water, so practicing what he teaches you will most commonly happen in his room or the bathroom.

Satan

He already knew. How did he know? I don’t know. He just did. Satan is a knowledgeable person, so if he wants to know, he will. So he knows. Periodt.

Once Barbatos and Diavolo confirm his theory is correct, Satan is only more curious than before.

This is quite incredible, MC. Were you able to feel the power before this? How do you think they’ll work going forward? Would you like to try them out with him? Hm, you’d like to pull some cursed pranks on Lucifer with them? He thinks that’s quite the idea and he’d be honored. Oh, that’s not what you said? How unfortunate, you’re joining him anyways.

Everything this man does from here on out relating to your power is driven by his curiosity and drive for knowledge. Congratulations! You’re his personal guinea pig.

Despite the few times you do get dragged into one of Satan’s cursed pranks, he is mostly just curious to know the extent of your abilities. He will spend hours on end observing you and scribbling in a little notebook he bought specifically for the occasion.

He will try to help you learn to control your new power whether you ask him or not, but if you ask him before he offers, he will become elated.

His methods of teaching are quite similar to Lucifer’s (but don’t you dare ever say that to his face). He may push you for hours on end, but only because he’s curious to see if your magic effects your endurance.

Despite this, he does allow breaks! Would you like to go to a cat cafe with him in your spare time?

Asmodus

Ah! Just when he doesn’t think his beautiful MC could get any more amazing, they just have to go blow his mind all over again 💖

He is literally ecstatic when he finds out. Just imagine how many views he’ll get on Devilgram with you! His following might even grow bigger than it already is. Hm? Oh, he knows everyone already loves him. He just needs to reach the stubborn people have brains too small to comprehend what they're missing. ♡︎

He will also be another brother who is curious about the extent of your ability. Not in the same depth as Satan, but he will want to scratch the surface and get to know more about his wonderful MC.

Overall, he doesn’t mind all that much, but he is curious to see if your newfound power could speed up his morning skincare routine.

He always gets at least eight hours of sleep, or his perfect complexion would be completely ruined! But imagine if he were able to sleep in in the mornings, MC. He skin would glow! You’ll help him out, won’t you?

*Insert Asmo trying to charm you into doing it*

What’s that, sweetie? You want his help to learn how to control it? He’d be delighted! Where do you even begin? You could start with ways to speed up that skincare routine…

Oh dear, this may be more stressful than he thought. He might have to hand you over to Satan for this one, he would be much better suited to help you, sweetie.

But don’t worry, MC, he’ll be there the entire time support you through whatever hectic journey you’ve started on… from across the room. We can’t have any of that pretty magic of yours accidentally ruining his new outfit now, can we?

Beelzebub

I cannon that Beelzebub is one of those characters that understands more of what happens around him than he lets on.

That being said, Beel heard Lord Diavolo loud and clear, but these sour hellsting tarantula leg fries are starting to run low and he doesn’t have any more food left to get him through the rest of this student council meeting. He’s sure you’ll understand that this is a very big issue and he needs to prioritize it.

Nonetheless, only when the meeting is over and you, Belphie, and he head over to Hell’s Kitchen afterwards (only for Beel to order their entire stock and nearly run them out of business (again)) does Beel pay mind to your newest situation (MC seems to have a lot of those).

Beel has probably the most mellow reaction of all the brothers. There’s nothing Beel could ever want from you other than your endless love and affection (and maybe some food, but who’s counting?), so nothing in your relationship really changes. Of course he’s happy for you, but other than that he doesn’t really care. (He’s just hungry, man, go buy this big beautiful boi some more of those fries he was eating-)

If you ask him to help you learn to control your new abilities, he will actually be confused. a) He rarely uses his own powers, and he hardly ever needs them because he avoids drama and eats all day and b) if he were to teach you, he’d probably get hungry within the first ten minutes and stop for a snack break and you’d be back at square one.

If you persist, Beel will try to pull himself together to help you. As I said, lots of snack breaks, but Beel is very patient and if there’s anything you don’t understand, he will do his best to push past his hunger to sit down and explain it to you.

Bell pepper Belphegor

(im so sorry every time i see his name i think “bell pepper” please forgive me-)

Belphie was asleep during the revelation, but he heard it. He didn’t open his eyes, but he was aware.

For the rest of the meeting, he was no longer listening to anyone else and instead retreated to his own mind.

Could you feel your powers before Diavolo said anything? Would you have told him? Could you control it? Could you have stopped him from hurting you? Did you know how?

When Barbatos confirms that Diavolo is correct and explains the little he knows, Belphie wishes he could fall into NREM sleep so he can block everything out.

Like Beel, Belphie would also have a more mellow reaction. Aside from his guilt, he is mostly thinking about you're doing. How are you taking this? You guys can still nap together, right? He’ll still be able to visit you in your dreams and show you whatever if you want, if it's okay with you.

If you ask Belphie to help you control your powers, he will actually fly through the roof. This demon boi doesn’t even have wings, but he will fly. You actually want his help? Really? Don’t worry, MC, by the time he’s done with you, you’ll be in better control of it than the man those powers came from.

But listen, first you two need to take an eight hour nap. You can’t give it your all and stay completely focused if you’re totally wiped, can you?

Diavolo

When he figures it out, it hits him like a brick in the head and he is impatient to let his friends know of his new discovery. He blurts out, “Your power feels like my fathers!” and then immediately does that super excited, deep, and hearty laugh that he has.

Why, isn’t this fantastic, MC?! Imagine the fun you could have now. Perhaps you’re even related!

Oh… you’re not related? There goes Barbatos again, leveling his fun… Nonetheless! Diavolo is through the roof and is going on and on about all the exciting ways you and he could play with your newfound powers.

Perhaps you could build a stone golem together dripping with molten iron…! Or you can summon Lucifer a unicorn! Or, or - what if you changed the whole color theme of the castle to… purple and green?! (Lucifer and Barbatos beg you, please do not indulge the Young Lord in his childish antics)

If you so chose to “indulge the Young Lord in his childish antics”, expect a grouchy Lucifer and a Barbatos thin on patience until you return the castle back to its normal colors and get rid of that damn unicorn (please, it’s driving Lucifer up a wall).

If you ask Diavolo to help you learn to control your newfound power, he will be more proud than the Avatar of Pride himself (and that speaks blow horns since we all know how Lucifer can be). If anyone knows how the Demon King’s powers would work, it would be his son. Diavolo is honored that you chose him to mentor you.

When you two actually make progress, Diavolo is a good, thorough teacher who hits all the right marks.

However, your sessions will end much like Mammon’s would - you usually end up falling off track and giggling about something one of you saw on Devilgram. With the inconsistency in your progress, you experience lectures from both Barbatos and Lucifer, but the fun you always have with Diavolo is worth it.

~~~~~ Woahhh okay !! That took me like two days but it was so fun to write!! i hadn't meant for it to be so long but i hope it was what u were looking for :3 thank u ❤️❤️❤️❤️anon for sending it in ♡︎ ♡︎ p.s. i think im getting a feel for how i want to write things so im ready for future posts. i have my bag of skittles and some coffee and im prepared for the next one😎

[astro-pioneer]

hey I love ur work also Idk if ur taking request at this time but I was wondering if u had time that if u could maybe make a second part to the red string fic about childe cause wow 😩angst is so good

In Another, Maybe 『Childe』

➽ Part two of Broken String | Taking care of Teucer wasn't something (Y/N) had on their schedule for the day, but with the begging golden eyes of the traveller and hopeful blue eyes of the child, who were they to refuse? If only they were informed on who Teucer was related to before making a promise. | Small spoilers for Childe's story quest | The beginning sounds like a platonic Teucer story but we need development so sorry </3

Hi hi anon! I almost cried when I saw your request oml. I'm so glad you like what I write and thank you for the support!! My requests are indeed open (I call them new expeditions in my bio) but I'm glad you asked about it :D I hope this is what you expected but if not send me a message and I can possibly do a third part with an alternate ending.

The child looked familiar, that much (Y/N) knew, but couldn't pinpoint where from. What they didn't know was how the traveller knew where they lived. "Uh, hello?" Right away they knew trouble was in their future. Aether's nervous smile said it all. Teucer knew them just like he knew who the traveller was, especially when his big sister Tonia fawned after reading that part of the letter.

"Hi (Y/N)! We're sorry to bother you, but Zhongli told us you weren't busy and that you could help us!" Ah, so that's how the trio found them. They loved Zhongli dearly, don't get them wrong, but sometimes he shares a little too much information to the ones he trusts. "He told us you're really good with kids, and we usually see you playing pirates with a group on some days."

(Y/N) sighed, seeing that there was no way out of this situation, and almost stepped back in to grab some Mora before the child (who still has yet to be introduced) stopped them. "Oh, it's okay! My big brother already gave us money to spend. Now, come on!" The tiny hands latched onto a bigger right one, the pulling of the limb making the tied string sway lightly.

The nod was small but seen nonetheless, making Paimon sigh in relief. Teucer dragged (Y/N) away before they could close their front door, making the travelling duo do it. Aether cringed at the quick glance inside. It was so cold and depressingly empty. "Maybe it's because they're usually out?" Not even Paimon herself sounded sure about her reasoning.

"Anyway, my name's Teucer! I came from Sneznhaya! What about you?"

The older person blinked, not expecting the kid to not even know their name (even after Paimon said it). "Oh, I'm (Y/N), and I moved to Liyue from Inazuma." He awed; it was very easy to amaze the child, they mused. A small gasp came from Teucer before they were dragged away, the traveller struggling to keep up with the excited kid.

"Oooh, c'mon (Y/N)! Let's go to the wharf! I was never able to see it when I got here! You too, Mr. Nice Guy!" Their right hand was finally released and the string touched the ground once more. The kid ran off but was always in the watchful sight of the trio as they caught up to him.

"Teucer, please try not to run off anymore."

He didn't respond, too amazed with the view and size of the wharf to care. "Woah! Look at the waves! Do they ever freeze?" Aether and Paimon stood back from (Y/N) and Teucer, talking amongt themselves.

"Is it just Paimon, or does it feel like we're just awkward third wheels?" Seeing the nod from her companion, Paimon nodded with crossed arms in satisfaction before floating over after seeing the kid go to the anchor. "This is an anchor. Ships use it to stop the wind from blowing them away."

Teucer pondered for a bit before nodding, 'An anchor...got it. I might get it confused with Commodore Hook though..." The three echoed the name in confusion, prompting him to explain. "My brother always sends me a big present for my birthday. Commodore Hook, Blacksteel Jack, Iron Tony, they all stay in our backyard!"

(Y/N) kept their shock hidden well. "That's very kind of your brother. Are they as big as the anchor?" He nodded as an answer before seeing the stall selling fish, running off yet again. An acquaintance from their work waved in greeting, (Y/N) reciprocating the action with their right hand. The string no longer brushed the ground.

They came back to the group, hearing Uncle Gao, the owner of the fish stall, get mad at Teucer for innocently comparing the fish in Liyue to what he's used to back in his homeland. "That's no way to talk to a child now, is it, sir? There's no reason to get worked up over regional differences." Their face was passive but anyone with a keen enough eye could see the threat behind their façade. Paimon herself even got angry at the stall owner.

"There's legends about these big fish back at home! I told my brother about it and a few days later, he came back with a big fish slung over his shoulder!" He exaggerated 'big' to get his point across, which was cute. "Mr. Nice Guy, (Y/N), let's go see the boats." He grabbed both of their hands this time.

The quick walk ended when they reached a small but intricately designed boat. Teucer signed dejectedly. "I miss my brother..." His palms pressed to his eyes. Paimon was shocked, pointing out the fact that they (minus (Y/N)) just saw him. "That doesn't count! It was for such a short time! Take me to see my brother, I don't want to play anymore!"

The trip to Qingxu Pool's nearby river was a long distance away, especially in Teucer's eyes. Not even halfway through did he ask (Y/N) to give him a piggyback ride, who just sighed and accepted the request. The incline as well as Aether and Paimon blocked their view of Teucer's brother, but they paused at Paimon's declaration. "Found him! There's Childe! Wait..." Teucer didn't notice the faltered step.

Shimmying off their back, Teucer ran toward the taller ginger. Oh, dear. If (Y/N) knew who Teucer's brother was, they would've stayed home and completed upcoming paperwork. Their eyes quickly looked to his left hand, the matching, dull string also tied to his pinkie. At the mention of selling toys, (Y/N) looked at their soulmate suspiciously. "Fatui scum don't sell toys though..." They kept their mouth shut at the pleading eyes of the travelling duo.

The trio stood back, watching the scene unfold in front of them concerning Childe's "toy selling business", as Teucer called it. Another Fatui member, a subordinate, appeared right after, informing the ginger about new recruits. The blond then turned to (Y/N). "Also, Mr. Zhongli asked me to inform you about an urgent matter that he didn't go into details about. However, he requests that you make haste to meet him." They clicked their tongue, still hating how the Fatui are still associates of the funeral parlour.

"Aw, really? Both of you are leaving? Do you have to?" The small smile make Childe's heart squeeze.

"Apologies Teucer, but I know I speak for both your brother and I when I say that it's important for us to keep working. You're always welcome to find me when you want to though, alright?" A nod was shared between the two broken soulmates before (Y/N) turned, heading back to the harbour.

Aether didn't miss the longing stare Childe had before he snapped out of it, answering Teucer's question his own way, laced with lies that'll only harm himself in the end. Paimon didn't miss it either, but she was more vocal until he covered her mouth.

The next time (Y/N) saw Teucer and Co. was when they came barging into their office. "We're going to the Institute of Toy Research! Come.on, I want you to come with us!" They had no choice but to go. Watching the lengths Childe would go just to make his brother happy struck something inside of them. Not deep enough to make them love him but to see him in a new light.

(Y/N) got to the worn down harbinger before anyone else, squatting down in front of him. "I wish we met under different circumstances, Mr. Soulmate." He cracked a grin.

"I'd ask if there would be any chance where we could change the outcome, but-" he raised his left hand, where the string was nothing but the knot, "-seems as though it's a little too late, huh?"

They shared sad smiles to each other, (Y/N) giving the traveller a signal to get Teucer's attention for a while. "Possibly... In another life, maybe we could've been together. In this run, however, it was sadly not meant to be." They linked their tied hands together, both witnessing the last piece of their connection as soulmates diminish away before their eyes. "I'm glad to have been able to witness that you're more than just a mindless pawn to the Tsaritsa... Hearing what you do for your siblings and even now proved that."

Aether and Paimon came over after (Y/N) stood up, going back to Teucer as they talked. "Did you find your brother yet?" They played along with the "game" of hide and seek. But yet, their thoughts were far away, thinking of an alternative time where the two of them met under different circumstances. What would've happened to the soulmates if they never met in Liyue and witnessed what happened with their beloved? No one knows, not even the gods themselves...

[disenchantedfaerie]

So many things to say and so many things not to say.

Fandom: This fandom is toxic. There is no other way to put it. It’s toxic from top to bottom, left to right, diagonally. My partners and I discussed this today because we were bored. We whole heartedly believe it starts at the top and by top I mean her majesty of the written word. Of course, now that’s she’s dropped the self diagnosis of “somewhat autistic,” you really can’t say anything because then you’re a horrible person. But she uses that as an excuse for her snark and condescending attitude. Hey. Whatever lady. I don’t follow you, I don’t read your books and aside from the few things I see, you’re no better than the leads. The difference is you’ve been milking the fandom for 30 years; people are waiting for you to finish and you can’t even complete the one that was supposed to be done last year. Yet you continue to yak about this side thing or that side thing and really, I don’t need a JF origin story. We’ve gotten that enough in the 9 other flipping books. You see the pattern here tho folks?

The female lead: She has done her share of being flippant and rude to people on her SM. She becomes sweet as pecan pie on Thanksgiving when she wants to want to launch something though. She was the one who wanted to end the shipper rumors and so IFH happened but sadly when you skirt around a subject and don’t say your partner’s name or take photos of them/with them and only take photos with your male lead in what could be construed as compromising positions - yeah. People will continue to buy what you sell to them. I’ve said it time and again, they are the biggest trolls in the fandom and do more to fuel the ship, even now that she is married to another man who is not the male lead, than anyone else. That’s all I have to say about her. She doesn’t owe anyone anything, none of them do actually, but sometimes being kind goes out the window with the lot of them.

His highness: Where to begin? His “fans” come all the way over here to our little corner of tumblr to hide behind Anon Asks to spew their hate and vitriol to those of us who seem to have opinions that differ from theirs. Namely, he is not a god. He is not someone we worship. We simply come together over coffee and tea and trade stories of current events and talk about the what if’s. My opinion of him is based on his own actions. Maybe all these “fans” want to blur the timeline of events and take it as gospel from his highness that he went on his luxury vacation before the travel ban while the rest of us cancelled ours and many lost jobs and incomes. Well that’s simply untrue. When he was called out, knowing he was wrong, instead of being the sweet, humble, normal guy that everyone says he is, he doubled down, became rude, flippant, went on a blocking spree, posting articles about COVID being no worse than the flu. Did his traveling companion get serious threats. I believe so. I believe he has as well from the same kind of people that come here to our little corner of tumblr, keyboard warriors that hide behind their anonymity and spew hate and vitriol. I also believe that people have gone to Glasgow and stalked his flat, which, come on people. That’s wrong on so many levels. I lived in LA for many years. It never occurred to me to drive to Malibu, Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon to actually stalk the celebs. Why? What’s the point? So I can see them in their grungy clothes looking like real people? No thanks. I don’t have that kind of time or energy. Thus the 4 page rant. Hey good for you dude. It’s about time you grew a pair actually but what did it accomplish? Nothing really except people stopped talking about his covidiocy. Why? Not because he wasn’t a covidiot and quite frankly still is (remember, he’s the king of “it’s not worse than the flu”) but because he pulled the mental health card. I think he does have mental health issues. I still have high hopes that some day he will realize this himself and seek the help he needs.

Now these Anons come to our little corner of tumblr and drop their comments saying things like “I hope you get COVID and die. It’s because of you he did his 4 page rant. The people you call mommies are his real fans.” Mmmkay. I used to blindly defend him. I used to buy into his shilling and his ever so sweet exterior, I even bought into the “best fans ever” bullshit. You want to blame us who never name him, her or the one who “writes” in any blog, never hashtag him, her, or the other one or the show, never interact with any of them on other platforms of SM for his 4 page rant, his mental illness, all of his flaws and accuse us of not being fans - fine. He who is without sin, cast the first stone. Perhaps you need to sit back and take a long look at yourself in the mirror as well. Wishing a deadly disease on people, making threats, spewing hatred - isn’t this the exact same thing that was done to his highness and you were all up in arms about it, yet you come here and do it to others and think that’s okay. What makes it okay? Because you’re defending your favorite star? If this is what it means to part of this fandom, part of his fandom specifically, no thank you. When y’all can walk on water, then you can judge me. Until then, judge not lest ye be judged.

I walked away long ago but I’m still human and still have an opinion, everyone does. If he’s your favorite celeb then perhaps you should follow his advice the next time you see something you don’t agree with - suggest you ignore. He’s the one that started the entire “be kind” campaign right? Or does that only apply when it’s comvenient? If you think this is the sort of behavior that will get you on his Christmas card list or the top of his potential list of never ending “girlfriends” - well, good luck. At some point this man (again, he’s a man, he’s flawed, he makes mistakes and he’s not perfect) will fall from the pedestal his fandom have put him on and then where will you all be? He has been unapologetic for all the things he’s done. He continues to shill his swill and all his other crap when a lot people can’t make ends meet. He continues to ask for donations to HIS causes instead of asking people to take care of themselves or their own communities. I love Scotland as much as anyone but my money right now is better served in my community. I ignore most of what they all do, following his own suggestion of ignoring, but things cross my dash and I do not condone or appreciate threats. I didn’t condone it when the threats were directed at him, his traveling companion, or anyone else nor have I ever made a threat against anyone.

I wish to be treated the way I treat others and if you can’t do the same, if you can’t engage with me in a calm, adult manner, I don’t have time for you. You can have a differing opinion than me. It’s okay. We don’t have to agree but we can respectfully disagree and discuss, not argue, about who’s right and who’s wrong. It isn’t cut and dry, black and white. We can agree to disagree and still be civil and still be friends.

My Scotsman added this: When will the games end, when will the games stop? I had high hopes for his highness to lead by example and be better but he’s a follower and he followers her majesty’s lead. He follows his business partner’s lead. He sees her milk the fandom, so why can’t he and he does an excellent job of it. His fandom vote for meaningless awards until their fingers bleed, buy all of his merchandise, buy anything he sells up to and including the ship. Is there an ounce of him being a genuine person left? Yes. He gives us a glimpse now and again but make no mistake, he will take you for what you’re worth. Maybe one day he’ll change and we’ll follow him again. Until then, I’ll be watching like my partner. I’ll be around.

I guess at the end of the day my point is this, the fandom made itself toxic and I highly doubt at this point it can or will turn around. Why would it? All we can do is choose to be part of the toxicity and contribute to it and pass it forward like these precious anons have been doing or we can choose to walk away, scroll on by, try to make the world or at least our little corner of it better.

I’m still disenchanted. I hope one day my wings turn white again with the promise of a better time and place. Until then, take care my friends. I’ll be watching and I’ll be blogging.

[lesbiancarat]

Haha its fine! Im book anon for a reason so take all the time you need! Before I start, I wanna apologize for the possible asks you got about the merch and hybe in general. I didn't intend to cause stress and need to be careful bdjahdsj so slap me with a fish!

Onto the ask! But agreed, I mean before the big kpop boom we saw, this was very common. Build a decent fanbase and then move to Japan or China. (Of course sometimes you see INSTANT movement in other countries but that depends on the company and such but you know what I mean) but since we do have the more global kpop era, we may see more companies do America which isn't a bad thing. It makes sense buisness wise so they will jump on it after debut or something. Thus I don't see it a bad thing for kpop groups to promote in America because hey, if in Korea they do sell western artist music who also tour there, kpop groups can also do the same ya know?

Now onto the hybe comment, I will try not to speak too much on it so I will try to summarize. I think my theory is due with merch from their main artist, they think maybe it could work with svt which maybe could but svt has a different fanbase so throwing on random merch won't make fans really want to buy (not saying some won't which kudos to you! As a fan you are allowed to consume what you please except not be a bad apple about it) so thus like the infamous water bottles which was done for bts, they thought why not do it for svt because bts fans sold it out apparently for a 2nd wave of it being sold again. (Which to this day idk why someone in the hybe team thought this was smart. Like...this is just in bad taste imo) I do wanna agree that it appears that hybe doesn't seem to have a proper art team for svt because while sometimes wild, I do know for their main artist they do have thoughtful merch based around say an album concept I recall. Kf course they will make mistakes i.e. the water bottles. I do wish it can improve because even though it is capitalism, I think fans do want decent merch. We have seen interesting ideas like svt making their own magazine and selling it lol. Of course it is hard to please because some fans want subtle merch ideas while others don't mind the vibrant pastel colors we got or some want wild ideas like svt figurines or something. Overall I hope I didn't drag this too much as I just wanted to respond back to you, I agree with many points you said so yeah cx I say let's also wait as this is barely what, a year or even less of svt being under hybe properly. Especially when hybe had its rebranding and expanding so things are being changed, I know fans are worried about this which is valid but let's not panic just yet. Let's come back in a year to this and see what has improved and what hasn't. (OK but peldis sold the boys rings!? :o since when!? I haven't heard of this actually, when did this happen if I may ask?)

Oof yeah sadly with streaming, many view "oh you don't stream it means you aren't a fan" when isn't the case (which is why I personally don't like when certain companies also do "listening parties" which seems a bit ???) I do remember this popped up big in 2017 but many fans called it out so it quiet down a bit. Like we didn't see it so often where fans were causing problems over it so idk why this returned nor what the cause of it was.

But thank you!! It really was a nice closing chapter, I think when I have personal stuff settled I will try maybe get a new bunny? And oohh congrats on the album! (Note to hybe or pledis. Please make the us store a more common thing, it makes things so much easier! Am happy it was at your place quick so kudos to the us store. Oohh wonderful choices! I think for many fans anyone or heaven's cloud seems to be the popular picks? For me, I may have to say game boi or heaven's cloud as well! Those songs make me just so happy? Like game boy is just so creative with the way it was made. As a video game nerd, it is perfection. I could make an essay about this song lol and heaven's cloud is just...wow. I feel so at ease with the song, comfortable and soothed. Like you are on a cloud lol. Also that is totally fine! Rtl was a grower for me (I blame the mv, it didn't do the song jusitice) but it is a bop and can't stop humming the chorus at random moments. Overall a great summer album. Just imagine any of these songs performed live ndjansns

lol don't feel too bad about it! honestly they weren't that bad + i can always delete asks if i really don't want to answer them, i just always get a bit paranoid that things will get out of hand so i may end up getting more serious in those situations OTL

and yeah i agree! i don't think it's a bad thing for groups to promote in the US, as you said, it's similar to groups expanding their fanbase by promoting in china or Japan or other asian counties, it makes sense from a business standpoint and there's nothing wrong with promoting in different countries. i just wish that some kpop stans understood that western and/or global popularity is a bonus and not a requirement for success. while they do have a global appeal, at the end of the day kpop's main audience is korea, and groups that achieve popularity in Korea have already achieved what they set out to do. but there's unfortunately a decent chunk of international fans that prioritize western popularity over anything and can't fathom that a group can be successful without being popular in the US. or they just talk as if their groups western achievements are more valuable than their Korean ones and to me that starts to look like xenophobia... (sorry if I'm repeating anything i said before in regards to this, i feel like i am but I'm too lazy to go back and check OTL)

since you sent this ask hybe released the caratland merch which was actually really nice, and today they also announced that there will be birthday merch for cheol (and presumably all members from here on out). we don't know what the bday merch is yet but some carats are already a bit miffed that hybe is even thinking to capitalize off the boys' birthdays... i bring both of these up bc i feel like the caratland merch proves your point that hybe is capable of designing good and thoughtful merch, and honestly this does reassure me a bit. but on the other hand them trying to capitalize off the boys' birthdays also proves that they still don't fully understand carats wants and priorities as a fanbase. which, if the future of seventeens merch is gonna be quality merch with some shitty cash grabs in between, i can live with that. I'm not gonna like the shitty cash grabs and i think it would be in our best interest as a fandom to not go crazy buying those shitty cash grabs, because if we don't then hybe will hopefully stop wasting their time and put more effort into /quality/. but if we get quality merch for important events like concerts and fanmeetings, i can live with it. as you said too, it can take time for these things to change, and we should all recognize that. but at the same time merch specifically is market driven, so i don't think it's a bad thing if people like @ hybe on twt about any bad merch that comes out in order to drive that change dhfkfj

but also on a maybe more fun note in regards to the merch... with some carats being upset about the bday merch i was thinking about what hybe could do for merch instead that would fill the niche of being at intervals throughout the year that could still be limited time drops but that carats wouldn't be mad at them capitalizing on and then i was like duh! they could literally just make merch off of going seventeen! honestly I'm surprised they haven't yet. maybe not merch for every episode, but they could have a line of permanent gose merch w a basic logo or something and then release limited time merch themed around some of the more popular episodes at various points during the year. I'm actually kind of obsessed with this idea now and for once I'm like hybe/pledis please capitalize off of this!! dhfkgjg

they never actually sold them, but for seventeens 3rd anniversary, pledis planned to sell replicas of seventeens rings. after it was announced carats were understandably upset since the boys worked so hard for those. luckily pledis heard carats concerns and put out an apology and didn't manufacture them in the end. I'm glad that at least they listened to carats even though it would have been better if they had never considered the idea in the first place :(

oh yeah listening parties are definitely just another marketing technique to boost streams. i think like with a lot of marketing techniques, it just depends on the execution. imo if they're done well it can be a good way for fans to connect while listening to an artists music, which is mutually beneficial for the company, but i can totally see a situation where companies get greedy and push it too hard. i don't know anything about what happened with them back in the day, but if you're curious why SVT had listening parties leading up to your choice, they were set up by UMG, the American distributor that SVT worked with for this cb. in this case the listening parties weren't just for boosting streams, but also likely for UMG to gauge interest. SVT isn't officially signed to a US label yet, but UMG's data from the listening parties could be used to show US labels whether or not there's enough interest for them to be signed. which if that happens we'd almost definitely see a more permanent US shop!

ahh yes, once you're ready I'm sure it would be great to have another bunny companion 🥺

yes! heavens cloud and gam3 bo1 are both such feel good songs! my sister actually added heavens cloud to their Spotify after i made them listen to the album in the car dhfkf it's now one of 6 kpop songs they have saved (4 of which are SVT... my influence 💅 DHFJFH) I'm certain we'll see some of the songs from your choice at caratland this year, hopefully it's all of them but I'd especially like to see heavens cloud and wave 👀 I'm also still crossing my fingers for an i wish live performance bc i can't believe my favorite SVT b-side is one of the TWO tracks they haven't performed live not including the new album (the other one being network love, which i would also like to see live!)

[dolamrothianlady]

Feels Like Home

Jim Kirk x Reader 1,621 words Unbeta’d cause I just wanted it out there, but @outside-the-government is the most amazing lady and and beta and I also wanted to surprise you with this one :)

---

Soulmate AU (touch): Captain Kirk wants to get to know his crew; you just want to tend to your plants.

Jeepers if you’ve got a better summary pls share it because just that took me so long and I’m still unhappy with it.

---

There had been rumours that Captain Kirk was making his way around the ship in his downtime, meeting all the new crewmen and taking the time to learn a bit about what their respective jobs were. Admittedly when you first heard them you had a bit of a laugh, but the rumours persisted, and it sounded like he really was. Not only that, but he was getting pretty close to your own small botany room.

You had no real idea what you were even supposed to say to Captain Kirk; you’d really only seen him from a distance during ceremonies and while boarding the ship. Of course you also noticed how unbelievably good looking he was, but protocol was first and foremost in your mind, and that sucked.

You were elbows deep in soil, trying to re-pot your latest acquisitions when you heard the door behind you quietly shoof open.

“Sorry, I’m a bit tied up here,” you called over your shoulder, hoping it didn’t come across as rude. “I’ll just be a moment.”

You were met only with silence, which was actually better than the alternative, and you finished up with ease, patting down and smoothing the soil around the base of the plant. It would probably need staking to help it grow but that was a problem for another day. You nodded your approval at your efforts as you brushed the soil from your hands, turned, and your greeting caught in your throat.

“Evening, Lieutenant.” Captain Kirk smiled companionably. “Spock said I’d find you back here.” He held his hand out for you to shake, and you felt your heart falter.

“Oh, I don’t…” You looked down at your hands and smiled awkwardly. “I’m all dirty, sorry. Can I shake your hand after? I’m just trying to re-pot a few things before the end of my shift.”

His smile didn’t waver; if anything it grew. “That works pretty well, actually. I’m guessing you know why I’m here?” “From what little I’ve heard you’re checking out all the departments and crewmen?”

“Spot on. I’d like to watch you work if that’s not too weird or anything.”

“Fancy becoming a botanist, Captain?”

"Oh I am more than happy to leave that in your capable hands. I just wanna learn about what you're doing, and watching you would be pretty interesting."

"Well alright then." You half turned towards the work bench behind you, gesturing towards the plants. "These ones we picked up on the last planet we visited, and the leaves and flowers seem to be fairly similar to tomatoes, and I'm hoping they'll fruit so that I can test my theory."

"And how are you proposing to test that?"

"I'll just eat one when nobody's looking."

Kirk nodded along, and you could pinpoint the exact second he realised what you'd said. He frowned, opened his mouth a couple times as if trying to figure out what to say in response, and then looked at you quizzically.

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm kidding! I'll run all my tests and see how it goes," you said seriously. "Then I'll eat it."

He narrowed his eyes a second before smiling back at you. "A sense of humour, I like it."

"It's about time someone other than the plants appreciated it. I make my best jokes when no one else is around."

"Joke away while I'm here if you want. I want to get to know you, not Lieutenant Botanist."

"Forgotten my name already or have you got a thing for nicknames?"

Kirk shrugged happily, giving away nothing. "Did you want a hand with the planting?"

"If you're willing to get dirty I won't say no."

His lips twitched and you could see the effort it took to let it go. “If you’re willing to teach I’m happy to learn.”

As it turns out, Captain Kirk was an excellent student. He followed your direction to the letter, and wasn’t at all the stern and serious captain that you had initially thought he would be. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what you did, as well as why and how you went about it, and it was nice to have someone so interested in what you spent your time doing.

You’d been casting him surreptitious glances every so often and it was while the two of you were washing your hands at the sinks that he sighed and asked you to spit it out.

“Spit what out?”

“Whatever it is that you’ve been stewing over while I’ve been here.”

You hesitated. As companionable as he had been, he was still your captain, and an afternoon of planting wasn’t going to change that.

“I’m serious. I can order you to tell me if that’ll make it easier for you.”

It would have, but you still mumbled an objection. “I’m just...I’m wondering why you’re here.”

“To get to know you,” he said simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“I suppose I must just be too accustomed to working under captains who leave most departments to do their thing.”

“You are, and it’s my opinion that a captain should know his ship and his people.”

“Most would prefer not to get too attached.”

Captain Kirk shrugged as he leaned back against the bench. “I don’t care for how others went about their duties. This is what feels right to me, so I’m gonna pursue it. I like learning new things, and I’ve met a lot of interesting people these last few months.”

You caught the twitch of his lips as he mentioned ‘interesting people’, and didn’t bother smothering your laugh. “Ensign Hale, right? He tell you about his penchant for singing?”

“Yeah is that a widely known thing?”

“You work down here long enough and you figure out when to avoid certain storage rooms. He belts out show tunes with enough enthusiasm that it takes a while to figure out he’s not as good a singer as he thinks he is.”

“Just for future reference that’s-”

“Storage room 84. Steer clear around dinnertime; he likes to get his practise in before he eats so he can work up an appetite.”

“I don’t think I wanna know how you got that information.”

“I won’t burden you with the knowledge. It came at a price.”

He laughed, and it struck you how easy it was to forget he was your captain. You chastised yourself, straightened up, and shook the pins and needles from your hands before grabbing for the cloth you needed to clean your counter down.

“Don’t do that,” he said softly, and you frowned down at the cloth in your hands.

“I can’t just leave a dirty bench-” you started, and cut yourself off when he took a step closer.

“That’s not what I mean. Don’t...hold yourself back. That’s not what I want. This- this easy friendship that we started, that we built, is what I want. I’m your captain, yes, but I want to get to know you. I can’t force you to be friends with me, but if you’re willing, I would like it.”

You rubbed your palms together absentmindedly as you considered his words. “I would like to. Be friends that is.”

He smiled, and then glanced down at your fidgeting hands. “Nervous tic?”

Looking down at them as well you shrugged, flexing your fingers and ignoring the odd, almost heat, that seemed to be fluttering through your joints. “Nah they just feel a bit weird. Perhaps I’m working too hard.”

“You and me both it seems. Bones keeps telling me I need to slow down; he’s even got Rand bringing me dinners with more vegetables than meat.”

“Well that’s- they’re not wrong.”

Kirk groaned exaggeratedly. “Not you, too. After I’ve spent all this time here with you you’re not even gonna side with me?”

“I’ll side with you when you’re right.”

“I could command you to.”

“You wouldn’t though. You’re too righteous.”

“I’ll do it out of spite.”

You stared each other down, and you couldn’t help but laugh at the way he narrowed his eyes at you. “Do it then.”

He held the stare a few moments longer before letting out another sigh and scrubbing a hand over his face. “Alright fine, you win. I’m not gonna command you. You knew I wouldn’t.”

“I did. It was fun to watch you try and glare at me.”

“Truce?” He held his hand out for you to shake. “No excuses now since we’ve washed our hands.”

You hesitated for only a scant second; long enough for you to rub your fingers together, hoping to rid yourself of the odd feelings still flittering through you.

It was only when he firmly clasped your hand in his that the strange feelings made sense. Made such perfectly wonderful sense that you wondered why it hadn’t occurred to you before.

“It seems we’re to be more than friends,” you whispered, your nervous laugh quickly dissolving into a sob, and his answering smile was brilliant.

His other hand came up to gently wipe your tears away before you took the extra steps forward that brought you over to him, sliding your hand out from his so that you could instead wrap them around him.

His arms immediately came around you, bringing you impossibly closer, and he nuzzled into your neck, breathing you in before letting out a shuddering breath. “You’re the one that I’ve been waiting for,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your neck.

You felt at peace, almost deliriously so, and wished you could hold onto this moment forever. When you shifted to kiss his cheek he turned, his lips meeting yours, and you sighed happily into it. He felt like home.

---

Tags List

@feelmyroarrrr @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @imagineangryspacegrump @8bit-arc-reactor @kaitymccoy123 @kat-cakes123-blog-blog @chook007 @resistance-is-futile81 @k-urbanfangirl

This was the product of little sleep and also perhaps a few too many love songs, special mention going to Nick Cave’s (Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For? because I got Kirk’s last line from that. I really do hope you enjoyed it - I’ve got a soft spot for Kirk and soulmates so this seemed a win-win

also, dear anon, I forgot to add in daisies somewhere, but hope that you enjoy it nonetheless :)

ps. ‘keep reading’ has been a little bitch during editing so please tell me if it has disappeared

[xhanisai]

Speak Now, Regret Later.

A/N: OKAY! So this anon sent an amazing ask to the terrible-akuma-ideas blog and I was instantly inspired to write something related to it- I legitimately burst out laughing and oh god I hope you all enjoy this! I think we all need a little breather from the Chat Blanc teasers. Without further ado, read on~

(Co-Posted on AO3 and FFN) ~(x)~

The silence has never been so loud. Not even a pin drop was to be heard in the park across the Dupain Cheng Bakery. The bespeckled couple along with their blonde companion stood as still as statues, arms stretched out and mouths gaping with fear and failure. They were too slow to save their friend...if only they were a second faster...if only one of them was even a smidge closer to the raven haired girl... Marinette could have sworn that her heart stopped beating, hands clamped against her mouth and eyes close to bulging out of their sockets. The cackling akuma before her, dressed in the most hideous attire ever since Le Bubbleur made his debut. The akuma's hands stop glowing in its sinister, gold colour along with Marinette's body. "Heh, now I wonder what interesting inner thoughts will escape you now, Class President!" The akuma- also self-claimed as 'Unprivatiser', cocked his head to the side in mock innocence. The akuma's power seems to have control over Marinette's hands as well from the way they were slipping down from her mouth despite her iron will. "Will they be as embarrassing as mine? Will they humiliate you just like the way everyone else humiliated me? Will we finally see if Miss Perfect of our collegé really is perfect?" 

Marinette naturally sunk her teeth into her lips, shaking and attempting everything to keep her mouth shut. One wrong move and she could blurt out her secret identity, dooming Paris along with her normal life and fail her partner. "Leave her alone!" Adrien bellowed, finally getting his legs to move and formed a human wall between the akuma and Marinette, arms spread wide. Nino and Alya yelled in agreement, forming the wall with him to protect their girl. "Why did you shoot her when she's the one who helped you back up? I thought you'd go for Chloe first!" The emerald eyed boy made subtle gestures to Alya and Nino, indicating that they take Marinette away whilst he stalls Unprivatiser for some time. Unknowingly to them, he was risking his secret identity too and judging with how Plagg's claws were digging into his chest through the inner pocket, he doesn't have much time and he better not mess this up. "That's the thing! Just because she helped me back up doesn't mean she didn't have any nasty thoughts running through her head. I want to know what she really was thinking when she supposedly helped me up. Did she think I was pitiful and gross? Did she think I was a tramp? It feels too good to be true for the school's sweetest girl in the world to help out a boy who pissed himself without any judgemental thinking, right?" Suddenly, Marinette's will completely shattered and her mouth opened without consent. "Oh my God, oh my God! If anyone finds out that I take bites out of Kit Kats, they'll have my head!" The girl grasped her hands back towards her mouth, oblivious to everyone else's dumbstruck faces and internally begged her body to listen to her mind. Her hand and mouth seemed to think otherwise. "I also like drinking ice cold water straight after brushing my teeth because the sting helps wake me up better than coffee!" Was the next thing Marinette blurted out. The only thing she could do was pace and her hands tugged on her twin tails. Nino and Alya exhaled in relief, thanking heaven for not ruining Mari's day. "Hey- Le Papillon? What the hell is this?" The butterfly silhouette appeared over Unprivatiser's face, irritation pumping through his veins. Thus, a one-sided argument was heard and Adrien took the opportunity to usher his friends out of the danger zone. He kept his hands behind Marinette's shoulders and nodded towards the others to follow him so that they can hide elsewhere. Much to his dismay, Alya had her phone whipped out to livestream the villain whilst Nino slumped to his knees in hopelessness. Once his girlfriend makes a decision, she sticks to it, no matter what. Shaking his head, he supposed that with them two out of the way, it would be easier to find a secluded place to transform. First, he needs to get Marinette to safety. "We'll head to your bakery, how does that sound?" Adrien asked gently and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly as he sped them towards her home. "N-N-No! Ack! Your father is supposed to be a fashion designer so what's with the revolting candy cane, white mocha frappuccino, whipped cream looking ass clothes he wears on a daily basis!?" The girl snapped her hands back against her mouth in horror, wishing for the ground to swallow her up. "White...mocha...frappuccino...?"

That's it... Forget about secret identities... She's clearly going to be hated by Adrien forever, never get married with him and have their three kids and a hamster, also get blacklisted from every fashion industry in Europe and die ALONE- "Pffft-" Her pitiful monologue within her chaotic mind was halted by an uncharacteristic snort from the blonde. That soon turned into laughter despite Adrien holding a fist against his lips. Before they knew it, he burst out laughing like no tomorrow, hooting against the wall and clutching his stomach. Tears streamed out of his eyes as he kept repeating what she said over and over again. Marinette didn't know whether to be embarrassed or savour this moment; it was the second time she's ever heard him laugh so freely ever since he gave her that umbrella in the rain.   "W-W-White mo-mocha frapp-frappuccino! Oh man! I can't unsee that now! Hahahah!" He collapsed on the floor, ignorant to any passerbyers' worried glances or mischievious expressions. "I can't believe it! Pffft!" "If you keep laughing like that, you'll make the sun envy you because of how much you shine compared to it..." Her tone was soft and loving at first but Marinette quickly gritted her teeth to prevent herself from saying anymore. Damn akuma...damn Adrien and his beautiful laugh! The boy appeared to be awestrucked from her words, clearing the laughter away from his system and butterflies erupted in his stomach. He lowered his eyes sweetly with a chortle, cupping one of her hands with his and beamed. "Thank you, that's very sweet of you, Marinette," He didn't mind the way his heart richotated against his chest like it usually does around Ladybug. He's already had his freakout from his sudden discovery of his growing feelings for his shy classmate, months ago. Or perhaps they were there all along? He's not going to admit it out loud to avoid a smug, insufferable kwami though. "Not as sweet as the three containers of sugar I devoured when I was five." The poor girl smacked her forehead and growled, cursing the akuma whilst it continued to argue with Le Papillon in the park. Adrien bit his lip to avoid laughing again. Though it was oh so tempting to tease her... It wouldn't harm anyone, would it? Just to let a bit of his Chat Noir side seep out? "Is that so~?" He smirked. Marinette instantly grasped his game, a cute scowl took over her face as she took a step back. Adrien took a large step forward in retaliation. He should go and transform right now...but teasing Marinette is so fun! Surely Ladybug won't mind if he's late for a minute or two, considering how harmless the akuma is? "When I first saw snow, I thought it was icing sugar and proceeded to try and eat it." Mari sucked her teeth in, walking backwards, trying to get away from the devious blonde. "How adorable, do tell more," He followed her steps, arms behind his back. He didn't care that they were headed to some random direction instead of the safe destination he wanted Marinette to be at earlier on. "Grrr- I freaked out when I visited a farm a couple of years ago because some chickens stole my crisps. They were roast chicken flavour and I thought they committed cannibalism!" "Oho?" "Turns out, they were only artificially flavoured." "Thank God for that," "I wish God was nice to me for once and allowed me a day where I don't embarrass myself." She systematically glared at the sky before back at the snickering model. "I wouldn't say that this is embarrassing," "Yeah you're right, not as embarrassing as when I accidentally called Monsieur. Damocles 'Papa' last week," "I think that's also very cute." Adrien's grin broadened when Marinette's back hit a lampost, leaving her no room to run now. The cat and mouse game has finally come to an end- an inside  joke he sadly couldn't say out loud despite how fitting it was for the situation due to secret identities. "Not as cute as that little baby with its parents over there, I hope one day my kids look as cute as them," Marinette was distracted by the family scurrying away from the park, a subtle smile rested on her lips. Adrien felt his heart skyrocket and let out an inaudible gasp. He leaned into her face, prompting her to flush and look away. She so was going to kill him after the akuma is purified. "They definitely will be since their mother is so beautiful," Boldly, Adrien brushed his knuckles against her fringe, gazing into her with such strong intensity that Marinette could have sworn that she was looking at... Chat Noir. "You remind me of a certain feline who made himself home with half of my heart," 

Sapphire orbs and emerald orbs widened simultaneously with matching gasps, inducing the former to dash off with a squeal and bidding goodbye to any potential romantic chances she had with Adrien. After all, who on earth compares their best friend to their crush when he's flirting with you? Why was he flirting with a klutz like her in the first place?! "You have terrible tastes in women!" Marinette cried out mournfully, not looking back to see Adrien's reaction. If she did, she would have seen how his face took on a raspberry hue, one hand grasping his face and eyes still wide. His heart thundered and his body shook ever so slightly. "Plagg...? Does that mean...she's still in love with Chat Noir?" The lazy God popped his head out of his safe pocket and narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "Ooooh? What's with that face? I thought Princess was 'just a friend' to you, kid." This caused the blood to flare up in Adrien's cheeks again. He could feel the vibrations of Plagg's quiet laughter for goodness sake! Swallowing down his pride, Adrien shook his head. "Don't tease me now...you're the first to point out my crazy crush on her anyways..." Plagg didn't get a chance to retort back as the sounds of the akuma yelling and the crowd scattering filled the air. "Anyone who disagrees with the fact that mayonnaise and pizza is a Godly combination, deserves to face my wrath! Especially the pineapple-stans!" "If I have to suffer with the fact that our intestines are basically eels in our body, so do you!" "I can't break the habit of dipping my fries in my milkshakes..." "My boss still hasn't realised that I'm the one who stole his donuts!" "I feel like pissing on the moon." "What is love~! Baby don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more~" "I don't know whether to be horrified or amused with how similar Gabriel Agreste's hair looks compared to a duck's ass- oH SHIT HIS SON HEARD ME-" Stifling another laughing fit, Adrien darted off to a remote alleyway to finally transform. Contrary to popular beliefs, everytime someone makes a dig or jab at his father, Adrien can't help but agree most of the time. There is no justification for such horrendous hair after all- and his daily clothing now that he thinks about it. "Heheh...mocha frappuccino though Plagg..." His snickers started to build up, regardless to his kwami's groans. Thankfully, he composed himself in a matter of seconds and transformed. ~(x)~ "Long time no see, My Lady!" Chat Noir performed a perfect acrobatic flip, landing elegantly on his feet and grinned with his iconic cheshire smirk. It was wiped off after Unprivatiser dodged another one of Ladybug's yoyo swings whilst she tried to clamp her mouth shut with her free hand. She leapt back so that she was by Noir's side, smiling painfully before smacking her hand back on her lips. Chat suddenly realised the severity of the issue, letting out a colourful swear for wasting time earlier on and was about to clasp his hands against her lips when her hands fell. Ladybug CANNOT reveal her identity! "It took you long enough you slowpoke! Any second later and I'd have blurted out how I fell asleep in my bowl of cereal this morning!" Well, too late for that. "Where were you? Busy flirting with other girls? Hmmph!" It was literally killing the boy to not laugh right now. "Just the one, Bugaboo~ You remind me of her a lot so I suppose I have a type?" Chat mused out loud, dodging the beams that Unprivatiser threw. Whilst the villain shrieked for their miraculouses, the black cat continued. "Jealous?" He twirled his baton to deflect more of the beams, in sync with Ladybug twirling her yoyo. "I shouldn't be but I bloody I am," Just like that, Chat Noir's whole world came to a halt and Ladybug's pride was finally tattered to smithereens. "W-What?" "Don't make me say how you've already infected half of my heart with your stupid gooey kitty eyes and dumb affections and annoying power of turning my heart into a jackhammer every time you're near!" The blonde teen couldn't believe his ears. "Holy shit..." He whispered softly. "This isn't real..." Their distraction costed them dearly. The duo was instantly engulfed in the akuma's golden beam, the boy admonishing for the jewels once again and made his displeasure of their 'flirting' clear. "Just hurry up and gimme! I have the most dumbest power ever and if I get those jewels, butterfly man will give me an upgrade so that I can finally teach Bourgeois a lesson!" Unprivatiser ignored the old villain's muttering of "It's Le Papillon you brat..." in his mind, getting ready to tackle the heroes. "I'm already a bit of a stereotypical blonde dummy and I don't need your dumb powers to dumb me down even further! Though to be fair the amount of anime I have watched has stunted my view on social norms-" Chat spluttered out without control, close to slapping his hand against his lips by instinct. However, he processed his words and hummed. "This isn't too bad, right Lovebug?" He cheekily elbowed her side with a wink, heart fluttering from her sudden confession and mind still trying to process that. "At least you didn't have to make a fool out of yourself in front of the two boys you love," She dragged them both away to another rooftop with the swing of her yoyo. She really wanted to just get rid of this akuma and run back home without a word but her mind was already combusting to the brim with unsaid words that desperately wanted to be spilled. "You love me too?!" Chat almost lost his footing. "B-B-But I think I love the other girl too-" "FANTASTIC! Perfect timing! The moment I lost my chance with the other dumbass and finally confess to you after so long-" "That long!?" "MISS WONDER GIRL decides to show up and now you're smitten with HER!" "To be fair, I was crushing on her ever since I met her-" "REMARKABLE! I really am destined to be alone! All cos I told him that he reminded me of you!" "Wait- WHAT-" Chat Noir didn't get a chance to comprehend the puzzle he's accidently solved. "JUST. GIVE. ME. YOUR. MIRACULOUSES!" Unprivatiser shot himself against the building the heroes were standing on like a bullet, demolishing it into pieces. He was fast but they were much faster. Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on the barren street. Their bodies seem to be on attack mode but their minds were still in a huge mess. "OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod-" Was all that Chat was able to muster, never letting his lovestruck eyes leave his Lady's form as she summoned her lucky charm. "I knew it, I called it, I KNEW THAT YOU'RE- wait...is that Lucky Charm..." . . . "...White mocha frappuccino? Like Gabriel Agreste's ugly clothes?" Neither her nor Unprivatiser were able to exchange anymore words as Chat Noir abruptly collapsed into a puddle of guffaws and laughter. His fists slammed against the floor and he was unable to stop the words from spilling his mouth over and over again. "Oh man...it was only ever one guy I made myself a fool of..." Ladybug sighed out, albeit fondly. She'll freak out later but for now, she's got a job to do. "N-Now, now! I recall mentioning that it was cute a few time, Princess," Chat heaved himself off the floor, leaning against his Lady's shoulder for support so that he doesn't fall into another laughing fit again. "...It's not fair that you've barely said any embarrassing things despite getting hit by the beam," Ladybug puffed a cheek out, tossing the frappuccino at the akuma's lower midriff when he tried to attack again, soaking him instantly. "That's because I am the incarnate of embarrassment anyways. Plus, I always say what's on my mind regardless. Like that one time I asked what Pere and Mere were doing in the dark when I stumbled into their room- I think I was five? Maybe four-" He softly cataclysmed the cloak that Unprivatiser wore, replaced by ashes and a fluttering corrupted butterfly. The magic wore off and in place was a timid looking boy wearing the spare clothes that the school gave him after his accident. "Weren't they hugging? That's what my parents always tell me every time I enter their room after hearing weird noises." She purified the butterfly and performed the miraculous cure. "Oh my God...are you really that innocent?!" Chat only received a confused blink from her. A blush took over his face and his need to protect her increased by tenfolds. ~(x)~

The dynamic duo comforted the poor boy for a bit, giving him an extra confidence boost before leaping away as their final minutes beeped in their miraculouses. Naturally, Ladybug and Chat Noir chose a deserted classroom in their school as their destination, considering how lunch time was almost over. A heavy silence was left in the air and the two couldn't help but look anywhere else but at each other's eyes. Their transformation crackled away in sync, leaving behind two astonished teenagers and their hungry companions (the kwamis dived into Marinette's purse to ensure that their charges had some privacy). It was one thing to know. It was another thing to see. Marinette connected her two pointer fingers, looking down at them as her cheeks pinkened into a delightful sakura shade, tempting Adrien to kiss them. The boy in question had a hand itching the back of his head but couldn't help but let a silly smile grow on his lips. One look at his face had Marinette's follow suit. They snickered at first, trying hard to stay composed but one more glance at each other caused them to break out into giggles. What an eventful day! "I can't believe I got outed by a frappuccino- heh!" Adrien joyfully opened his arms, inviting Marinette to step into them so that he could wrap her in an embrace. The girl wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing happily into his chest. "Don't know if it beats me getting outed by confessing that I confessed to you that I liked you...?" Her nose scrunched up charmingly. "That makes no sense." "You rejected me, for me, I rejected you, for you but fell in love with you despite you and you fell in love with me despite me, yes, ten out of ten sense in the romance department." Marinette rolled her eyes at Adrien's dramaticness. "All of this drama and heartache could have been resolved if it weren't for the identities, Chaton! Ugh!" "Please...my brain hurts too much already from all of this." "I want to go home and scream into my pillow, or devour every single pastry at the bakery...anything to keep my mouth busy," "Oh?" Slowly, Marinette pulled away, only getting as far as a few centimeters away due to the way Adrien's arms locked itself around her body. He didn't seem to intend on letting her go anytime soon. "You could..." She bit her lip, not missing the way his eyes flickered down there for a second. "Kiss me instead?" Adrien's eyes darkened at her request and brought his hands to cup her cheeks and tilt it upwards so that their eyes could meet. He moved closer with a careful procision. He tilted his head at a perfect angle and his fingers dug into her dark tresses. Their foreheads were now touching, letting their hair entangle with one another and their chests were pressed against the other. Marinette let her eyes flutter shut the moment she felt his warm breath hit her lips whilst her heart was close to exploding in anticipation. Their lips brushed every so softly and then- "You know, we still have to talk about your unlawful ways of eating a Kit Kat." The moment was gone. . . . ~(x)~ A/N: It's almost five in the morning... I hope you're all h a p p y .

[dreamcatcherfication]

Rotten to the Core

I really wish I had a better name for this fic, but this is the best I could do. (Also yes, I know this fic is messy, but I’m multitasking intensely so please cut me some slack).

Hello everyone! This fic was requested by an anon you can check out here, and this is my attempt at making that request a reality. This fic is supposed to be kind of “the calm before the storm” except we never actually see the storm and I’m never going to write it so HAHA SUCKERS. This piece is short and definitely not my best work, but I still hope you enjoy! If it’s unedited, it’s because I have a lot of stuff I need to get done right now. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, I forgot how to breath correctly.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

Prompts | More Prompts | The Trifecta of Prompts | Original Prompts

Trigger Warnings: References to violence (very very minimal)

There were many reasons for Catherine of Aragon to hate Anne Boleyn. Multiple times she had insulted Catherine, seeing her as old and unfit to rule. She had made Catherine seem unappealing in the eyes of the king, ruining her appearance. The most notable of all being how she had turned the king against Catherine, convincing the king to annul their marriage and send Catherine away for the rest of her life. She fought when she could, but ultimately it meant nothing. It was humiliating, but Catherine had bared it all like any respectable lady should. Like any respectable queen should. 

But now, in this new, modern world, Catherine was finding it hard to hold her tongue. There was no king who could hurt her, no country she had to protect. It was her, Anne, and four other women. There was no easy way for them to understand where they were, but one thing was clear - they were stuck together.

It tooks weeks to even get a place to stay, and even then it was small and crowded with the six queens. Everything was strange, and the queens chose to form smaller groups with those they felt comfortable with. Anne, Katherine, and Anna had grown close (although there was still an abundance of awkwardness) while Aragon and Parr chose to enjoy each other’s company. The only queen who didn’t seem to have any affiliation with one group was Jane, who split her time equally between both groups and herself. 

That didn’t mean there weren’t times when the different groups would interact. When the six first woke up in the foreign world, Aragon and Anne had settled on an agreement. They weren’t friendly with each other, but they drew a truce for the time being as they adjusted to things. Neither queen was ready to confront the past, so they did their best to ignore it at all times.

At least that’s what Aragon thought.

Sitting on the small couch in their apartment, Aragon flipped through an old newspaper, reading headlines from a time long past. She heard a shuffling to her side and turned her gaze, eyes landing on Katherine. The teen was shifting on her feet as she stared at the open spot next to Aragon on the couch.

Patting the spot next to her, Aragon scooted to the side and made room for the fifth queen. Hesitantly watching the spot, Katherine resisted for a moment before sitting down. Aragon made a grunt of approval and returned her attention to the newspaper.

They sat in companionable silence before Katherine cleared her throat. “Um… why haven’t you said anything?”

“What do you mean?” Aragon set down the newspaper and put on a soft smile. Aragon pitied Katherine, despite knowing that it was the wrong way to feel. She couldn’t imagine someone so soft and sweet having a story like she did.

Biting her lip, Katherine explained, “Well, Anne told me that you’re rude and uncaring. She said you would yell at me and hurt me for what happened.”

Shooting up off of the couch, Aragon clenched her fists. At the sudden movement, Katherine recoiled backwards. “I would never do that Katherine,” Aragon gritted through her teeth. Taking a moment to compose herself, Aragon let a short calmness wash over her. “I promise, I’m not going to yell at you or hurt you. Anne was lying.”

“But why would Anne lie?” Katherine asked, scratching the couch cushion.

“I don’t know,” Aragon replied. “I thought we had a truce.” She sighed, and put a hand on the couch next to Katherine’s. “I’m going to go talk to Anne. But don’t believe her, okay? I’m not a bad person.” Katherine furrowed her eyebrows, but then she nodded and got off the couch, disappearing into another room (probably to go find Anna).

Making her way around the apartment, Aragon zeroed in on Anne. She approached her successor and intensely galred at her. Anne was sitting in a desk chair, spinning around and playing with a multi-colored cube. For some reason, Anne had become obsessed with these children’s games since discovering them, and it wasn’t uncommon to find her with one. “Anne,” Aragon coughed and gained her attention.

“Catherine?” Anne stopped playing with the cube. “What do you want?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but she did seem annoyed that the older queen was talking to her.

“Why would you tell Howard that I would hurt her?” Aragon spoke levelly, controlling her internal frustration.

Shrugging, Anne returned her attention to the cube. Her fingers seemed to move faster. “I thought you would. You always were a massive bitch.”

Mouth dropping open, Aragon almost physically restrained herself from scolding Anne. It’s not the right thing to do, she told herself. Even if Anne was infuriating, Aragon would stay calm and collected. It wasn’t like her to lash out, so she would let Anne speak her mind all she wanted. “Anne, please don’t tell your cousin lies about me.”

“It’s the truth,” Anne replied, her voice flat. “You’ve always been uptight, and you’re only going to hurt us in the long run. I’m keeping us safe.”

“By pushing me out of the picture?” Aragon muttered. Before Anne could respond, Aragon had left the room, her body straight and still as she traversed the hallways. 

Without even acknowledging any of the other queens she passed, Aragon grabbed a coat and made her way out of the front door of the apartment. It was cold out, but that didn’t bother Aragon. What bothered her was Anne breaking their truce. Aragon never liked it - why would she? - but she still had the common decency to respect Anne as someone going through the exact same situation as her. Apparently, Anne did not have that. 

Aragon had no idea where she was going, but she needed to take a walk and let off some steam. There would be no yelling at Anne, instead silent frustration and betrayal. Why was it so hard to respect Aragon as a person? Shoving her hands in her pockets, Aragon let her feet carry her forward.

“Wait!” a voice called, stopping the queen in her tracks. Spinning around, Aragon allowed herself to relax when she saw it was only Cathy. The queen was huffing from exertion after sprinting from the house to catch up with Aragon’s brisk walk. “What’s wrong?”

Rolling her eyes and scoffing, Aragon controlled her face. “Boleyn’s convinced her cousin that I’m evil and going to hurt her.”

Cathy scrunched her eyebrows. “Why would she do that?”

Shooting Cathy a pointed look, Aragon replied, “She’s like an apple. Rotten to the core.”

Clicking her tongue, Cathy struggled for words. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

“And it’s fair for her to break our truce and lie about me to her impressionable cousin?” Aragon growled.

Clearly, Cathy was uncomfortable and had no idea how to handle the situation. “I don’t think it’s fair to say she’s bad all throughout. Anne’s confused and scared, and you’re the only person she can take her anger out on.”

“So we’re going to let her get away with it?” Aragon sighed.

Cathy’s mouth formed different words before any of them actually came out. “Well, no. But Anne won’t succeed, regardless of if we intervene or not. She’s lying, and the others know that.”

“But Katherine -”

“Has never interacted with you one on one,” Cathy explained. “She doesn’t know who to trust, and if you act like yourself… that girl’s got some great intuition from what I’ve seen. She’ll figure it out on her own. And Jane and Anna already know you aren’t a bad person. They’re smart enough not to believe everything Anne says.”

Watching Cathy, Aragon couldn’t help the pit in her stomach. “And what about Anne, will she hate me for eternity?” She knew it was wrong to ask Cathy for an answer she obviously didn’t have, but Aragon did it anyway.

“Anne doesn’t hate you,” Cathy told her. “I’ve seen the way she acts, and she doesn’t hate you. She’s intimidated by you, if anything.”

“What?”

Nodding, Cathy started motioning with her hands. “You were always more loved than she was. No matter how much she tries to bait you, you never fall for it. Or at least, you never let her see it. Anne isn’t a villian, she’s someone who’s been dropped in the middle of a strange new world, and she’s jealous of how composed you are. So she’s trying to tear you down as a defense mechanism.”

“How do you know all of this,” Aragon asked.

“Sometimes it’s better to watch than engage,” Cathy admitted. “I’ve learned a lot about all of you.”

A shiver went up Aragon’s spine, but she ignored it. “I suppose it’s time for us to go back and pretend like nothing happened,” she lamented.

Cathy shrugged. “We could.” At Aragon’s dejected face, she offered, “Or you could finish telling me what’s wrong. I know you’ve been keeping everything inside.”

“Another thing you’ve observed?” Cathy nodded. “There’s no fooling you.” There was a moment of silence as Aragon prepared her words. “It’s that… we’re here to work together, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then why are we always fighting?” Aragon took her hands out of her pockets. “Why is it so hard for us to work through the past? I don’t want to be at odds with Anne! I’m sick and tired of this.” At the end of her sentence, Aragon let out a big sigh. “We are worth so much more than fighting over some dead monarch who wasn’t even worth our time in the first place.”

When Aragon made eye contact with her goddaughter, she relished in the approval on her face. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Yes, but what are we going to do about it?” Aragon groaned and glanced up at the sky. “How are we supposed to move on from years of pain and trauma and abuse?”

Raising her eyebrows with a small smirk, Cathy replied, “We talk it out.”

Again, Aragon was confused by her goddaughter’s train of thought. “What do you mean? We’ve tried that before.”

“But this time,” Cathy put a finger up, “we all do it together. We sit down and force each other to confront everything. It’ll make things worse,” she shrugged, “but then things will get better. We have to try.”

Once more, Aragon sighed. She moved over to Cathy and pulled her into a side hug. “Can we just stand here for a moment before we talk with the others?”

“We can stand here for as long as you want.”

The two of them stood on the sidewalk, arm in arm, relishing in the short moment of peace. There would be a storm to come, and soon. But they were ready to face it. Together. 

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Tag List:

@radcowboyalmondtree @boleynhowards @annabanana2401 @babeebobo @dont-lose-your-queerhead @everything-insanity @mindless-pidgeon @i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six @thedemidisaster @its-totes-gods-will @thatbolxyngirl @thenameisnoone @sixqueendom

[theharellan]

101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS | not accepting

for the sake of reducing the number of ooc posts i’m answering these all in one and just @ing the people who asked the questions! thank you for them all!

if you sent me one of these btw and rbed this meme yourself and i didn’t send you something, please let me know! i want to send you things back and must have missed you reblogging the meme. this includes non-mutuals.

1. How did you get into Dragon Age? | asked by @kaaras-adaar & @dreamerlavellan���

Sort of by accident, actually. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in university (2011) and summertime is generally a time of inactivity and depression because I cannot tolerate the weather here. My dad happened to own Origins and I picked it up because??? Fantasy? RPG?

Starting the game I saw you could play as a dwarf, who have been my favourites in fantasy since a child as The Hobbit is among my favourite books. Then after that I fell in love with the worldbuilding for dwarves and Gorim, my first actual Dragon Age love. I was more or less hooked after that. DA was actually not my first Bioware game, I was obsessed with Jade Empire as a kid so like Origins appealed to me immediately despite being far less fun to play than literally any other Bioware game I’ve ever played. The characters and world more than made up for it.

I beat it relatively quickly and my dad bought Dragon Age II which had come out earlier that day, actually against my suggestion because I’d heard it wasn’t good. And in this instance my dad forgetting something I said turned out for the best because I ended up enjoying DAII more in some respects. While it took me a while to join the fandom as a content producer I was a consumer and certified DA trash from then on.

2. Have you finished all three games? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

Kskjdfs yes. I’ve beaten each at least 4 times, but probably more like 8. The only thing I haven’t played are some of the Origins DLC because as much as I enjoy my replays I am so ready to be out by the end of the game (and I have the worst luck with Awakening bugs) and I also don’t have Sebastians DLC b/c his never goes on sale individually and I refuse to spend more than like $4 on him.

3. How long did it take you to finish the series? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

I honestly don’t know. I think it took me like a week to beat Inquisition without 100%ing it, I’d say my first playthroughs all probably took about that long. I tend not to do everything in my first playthrough. Like shard collecting didn’t happen until round two, etc.

7. Favorite DA:O backstory? | asked by @dreamerlavellan & @fatefaulted

I’ve played through all of them and I enjoy them all except Cousland, but my favourite is Aeducan. I enjoy the politics, the culture, the aesthetic of Orzammar. I love Gorim Saelac and the surprising amount of depth to this character who is designed to be thrown away after the prologue. I love how it ties you to the Darkspawn threat in a bigger way than any of the origins accomplish. I love how it ties you to the Orzammar plot later in the game, and playing Aeducan first is probably one reason why I adore that branch of the game. It’s a good origin that establishes its world really well and has great characters to boot.

11. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game. | asked by @dreamerlavellan

I just want to share pics of my girl and Solas’ future husband.

Ian Lavellan, non-Inquisitor written by @theshirallen

Thora Cadash, dwarven Inquisitor and default Inquisitor for this blog written by... me lmao.

22. Favorite DA2 party combo? | asked by @fatefaulted

My main Hawke is a mage Hawke, so this party is horrendously imbalanced, but: Varric, Merrill, Isabela. They all just like each other and I think that’s neat. Although in act one my favourite is probably Carver, Merrill, Isabela / Varric. Unfortunately the game doesn’t want me to have a warrior in my party.

24. Favorite main-story quest from DA:I? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

It’s hard to pick between In Hushed Whispers and In Your Heart Shall Burn. I love seeing the red lyrium’d companions and the dark future of Thedas, and speculating on what happened in the intervening year. I love reflecting on what it must do for the Inquisitor to see that and have it be undone. I think it sets up the rest of the game really well, and in ways Champions of the Just doesn’t do quite as well.

In Your Heart Shall burn is a simpler quest but I think the power and emotions in the quest are so raw. Playing this the first time was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat. The triumph of closing the Breach, the strangeness of your first encounter with Cole (whose appearance at the gates is another reason I prefer IHW tbh, I think it’s more tension building than Dorian’s), Corypheus, crawling through the snow. Capping it off with The Dawn Will Come and the journey to Skyhold idk, it’s just such an emotional high point in the series that every time I replay I get goosebumps.

25. Favorite DA:I place? | asked by @fatefaulted

It’s a tie between the Frostback Basin and the Emerald Graves. I love the lore in both, as elf trash I prefer the lore in the graves especially if I can include the Din’an Hanin into that category. But the Avvar lore and Ameridan is also Very Good, and while I adore the giant trees of the graves the Frostback Basin clearly was able to have more resources poured into its design, and as a result the different sections of the map have so much more character.

A close runner-up is the Hinterlands, as I think the quests there are fun and it feels like home. I enjoy returning to it. Which is good, b/c I’ve played through it... a lot... I think loving it might be a coping mechanism, but also I love the vibe of the early game that’s best captured in the Hinterlands.

32. Favorite DLC mission overall? | asked by @fatefaulted

Trespasser is up there with Shivering Isles as my favourite DLC ever produced. Its hits every emotional beat I think it needed to hit, set up the next game with greater detail and intrigue than the initial epilogue, and I’m honestly dying to get to replay it again on Thora despite what it does to my nerves. The first time I played it I could feel my heart beating faster like wtf me.

37. Blood magic: yes or no? | asked by @hopewrought​

Would I use it myself? No. Morally I think it can be reprehensible but also neutral, much like any other magic in the game. In certain characters I think even if used for good it may encourage unhealthy habits, but I think it can be learned to be engaged with in better ways.

59. Who was written really poorly? | asked by @theshirallen you can’t hide behind anon I know it was you

Oghren fucking Kondrat. When I think about the reasons Origins is my least favourite game he is among them. With Oghren there was a really good chance to portray an alcoholic abuse victim, suffering from severe mental health issues, and still mourning his wife, with the respect it deserves. Instead he just... is a gross sexist dwarf and his alcoholism is mostly played for jokes. And then he comes back in Awakening and... continues to be a gross sexist dwarf whose alcoholism is mostly played for jokes.

There could have been some really interesting stuff with Oghren, the Warrior caste of dwarves I think would suffer from issues similar to qunari warriors, where when they can no longer fill the purpose society has dictated they must serve, what then? They can’t do anything but fight. There could be comradery with Sten, or perhaps Zevran or Alistair, or any of the companions who have had the path their lives took dictated to them by societal forces they had no say in (even if they are happy with that direction). There are snippets of good stuff in here, the line “let us show them our hearts, Warden, and then show them theirs” is one of the best of the good-byes the game offers us imo. It’s a shame about what came before.

Like there are other characters, such as Sera, who I think were done dirty by their writers, but Sera at least got some growth in the DLC and there were attempts to address criticism of her character. Oghren in Awakening was just kind of a take two of an already poorly-done arc.

60. Who do you wish had been given more story? | asked by @hopewrought​

I wish Briala had more, like that she had some impact on the story in universes where Gaspard isn’t crowned with her as his puppetmaster. She and the elves reappears in that but not if you reunite her with Celene or exile her, and I think it would’ve been neat. I also wish she’d had a chance to interact with Solas in some small way given how many parallels were drawn by one of his own agents during Masked Empire.

I also wish we had more about dwarves in general in 2 and Inquisition. We get some great lore in Inquisition that was set up in 2, but with our only dwarf companion being Varric, who honestly has a relationship with his race that at times is comparable to Sera’s, it pulls a few of its punches. I really think they have dwarves set up to be important players in the next game, with their architecture featuring heavily in the dev diary, buuut no dwarves to be seen. So who knows. Just give me dwarves in the next game who aren’t Varric Bioware pls. Let me kiss one maybe.

61. Favorite NPC? | asked by @kaaras-adaar​

I’m not going to count advisors even though they kinda are NPCs and I’m going to answer one for each game so uhh...

Origins - Anora

DA2 - Feynriel

DA:I - Krem

Bonus - Lord Woolsley, the only unproblematic DA character

63. Best story moment? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

It’s a tie between the journey to Skyhold and the talk with Solas at the end of Trespasser and the resulting disbanding of the Inquisition (if you so choose). I really can’t separate them because I think the reason Trespasser works so well is how it calls back to the very beginning of Inquisition and that moment with Solas in the snow. It’s triumphant and sad, something’s ending, the fellowship is breaking, but you know all of you will continue to work towards a better world apart.

In DA:O I think it’d be saying good-bye before the final battle and in DA2 I think the moment where you can tell the Arishok he was right to take in the elves who killed that guardmen is good. Probably one of the reasons why I think Hawke-Arishok work so well as a protagonist-antagonist combination.

81. Favorite fanfic? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​

I don’t read a lot of fanfic, actually. Save what I read on here, which I do count, but idk if other people do.

My favourite writers to read are @theshirallen​, obviously. Joly wants to tweakIan’s personal quest but I think the version they have written now is still very good and you can find it here. I love reading Peace’s stuff and find their smut especially spicy in the best possible way, you can find a Merrill/f!Mahariel piece here! Gaia doesn’t write on Tumblr much these days, but she wrote a wonderful Tug/Sketch (the companions from Leliana’s Song) that you can find here.

I follow so many talented writers and I can’t list them all but here are a few I can fire off real fast: @theshirallen / @ghilannainguideme / @seahaloed / @sabraelin / @valorcorrupt / @mercysought / @hopewrought / @ofrevas / @skyheld have all moved me with their words at some point, be it in fic or rp.

82. Favorite fanart/fanartist? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

Again I just can’t choose jsdfks.

The easiest way is to just link my Solas fanart tag. Obviously this favours Solas artists, however, so also here’s a link to thedaswlw where there’s a boatload of amazing fanart all of wlw.

Of people I’m mutuals with I know @abracafockyou, @kaaras-adaar, @dalathin (currently inactive but I gotta link them), and @syntharts​ are all very talented artists.  I’m also a big fan of destinyapostacy, nipuni, elbenherzart, starscollected (on twitter), and many more.

97. What’s your favorite DA mod? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​ & @hopewrought​

I’ll chose one as many as I want to apparently from each game again, b/c why not?

DA:O - I have to admit I find this game hard to mod because nothing can really salvage the gameplay or look of the game. I need Better Dwarf Model so I don’t have to look at the odd dwarf proportions in the game (the women have arms for days). Mostly I have armour mods. I like Grey Wardens of Ferelden so I can match Alistair in the final batte and have everyone in uniforms in Awakening. I do like Kirkwall Exports because I can put Zevran in the robes of the notorious pirate tho. I haven’t used this mod yet but I also love this mod I retweeted this morning.

DA2 - Again, I don’t mod 2 very much. You could probably make some kind of chart for correlating my enjoyment of a game versus my urge to mod it, with the more I love a game means I want to mod it more. With 2 I enjoy the combat and overall design of the characters more so I mostly use a couple of tweaks, my favourite is Ishs Scarf for Merrill which just adds a cute blue scarf to Merrill and hides the fact that elves in this game have weirdly long necks. Oh and a mod to fix the weird hand dirt.

DA:I - Equal Opportunity Solas mod, I bought the game again on PC just to use it. Being able to play Solas/Ian for screencaps was everything tbh. Other mods I enjoy are More Banter, which while I have better luck with banter it is nice to be able to count on it. I installed it this latest pt and I have heard location comments that have never triggered before. Black Hair for Everyone has changed my life because finally Thora doesn’t have grey hair. No Dirt Buildup is also amazing, as the dirt can cause some really weird blotting on PCs that’s especially noticeable on dark-skinned Inquisitors.

99. Where would you live (Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches etc?) | asked by @heysales​​

Probably Ferelden. It is fantasy England and hey if I make it past Inquisition maybe nothing will ever happen there again. Somewhere in the Free Marches might also be chill. Not Kirkwall. Maybe Starkhaven? Honestly tho I just want to live in the Frostback Basin. Have a spirit friend. Shake hands with nugs.

101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? | asked by @dreamerlavellan​

If I met Thora I’d tell her I’m proud of her. She’d be confused, but that’s ok.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #85:  One Unique Rose. What if...Ruby Rose is a direct descendant of the First Silver Eyed Warrior to walk Remnant?

Someone asked

“ OK HEAR ME OUT I got this crack ship between Ruby and Fox don't know what it's called in the fandom) that basically started with good ol Fake Dating because there was a special going on at a coffee shop during Remnant's equivalent of Valentine's so these two were just like "I like coffee, you like coffee, let's get coffee as Fake BF/GF" and that's the core of their "relationship" AND THIS IS ALL TO SAY what if Fox, self proclaimed Comic Relief of CFVY, is Oscar's "wise young fox"?

Ruby/Fox crack ship anon again and the previous ask probably goes too literally with the narrative but my other guess would be someone from RWBY or JNR who can play the “wise young fox” role

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Squiggles Answers:

Uhh well that’s certainly an interesting way to start liking a crack ship indeed anon-chan.

Is that like in canon with something? Like did Ruby and Fox pretend to be a couple in RWBY: After the Fall or something like that? I haven’t read it so any CFVY and RWBY flashback shenanigans that went down in that book, I’d have zero clue about so let me know if that was the case.

Anyways, you’re not the first person to suggest Fox Alistair being Oscar’s potential “wise fox” in his Little Prince story and as I’ve voiced before, I’m open to the concept since I dig the thought of Fox—a blind man teaching Oscar about seeing with his heart since it harkens back to the very message that the Fox imparted on the Prince.

So I’m cool with Fox being Oscar’s Fox. The one thing I’m uncertain of is the probability of Oscar encountering Fox (and essentially the rest of CFVY) during his Little Prince story.

The only way I can see Oscar meeting Fox is if CFVY were sent to Solitas along with SSSN. Since Tyrian teased the idea of General Ironwood calling upon aid from Vacuo back in V6 then I’m assuming that that’s the one way that our heroes’ allies from Shade Academy will get involved. If part of V8’s plotline highlights Ironwood finally coming to his senses and sending a distress signal out to Vacuo, leading to Headmaster Theodore sending some of his best huntsmen and huntresses across to help (inclusive of SSSN and CFVY) then that’s how I can picture Oscar and Fox finally meeting. But as of now, we have no clear indication of Ironwood even doing that given how things shaped up by the end of V7.

What would be interesting is if Oscar attempts to do that on his own somehow as part of his journey back to Atlas. It’d be interesting if Oscar somehow manages to do something to get in contact with Headmaster Theodore of Vacuo. But I’m not sure. For now I’ll safely leave it as a probability on the table of possibilities.

As for other Oscar’s Fox candidates, I toyed with Nora Valkyrie being Oscar’s Fox since her very relationship with Ren embodied the Fox’s lesson, at least in my opinion.

I also toyed with the possibility of Oscar’s Fox being a completely new character introduced for V8 or perhaps an old character reintroduced back into the story for Oscar to meet along the way as part of his separate arc (like for example: Klein Sieben).

But as of now, my key pick for Oscar’s Fox is Ozpin since he’s currently Oscar’s main companion.

Even though I more favour Oz as being Oscar’s Pilot; in a recent RWBY Musing I shared, I expressed my openness to the thought of Oz playing a double role as both Oscar’s pilot and his Fox since I have a Pinehead/Ozpinhead headcanon where Oz would teach Oscar the lesson that the Fox taught the Prince through an important memory he shared with him. A memory that was a secret that Oz had kept for many years out of a promise he made long ago to Summer Rose.

My theory is that Oz knows the full details of Summer Rose's death however it was a secret he kept out of a solemn vow he made to Summer before she died.

Since Qrow mentioned in V7 that Summer’s death was a “Summer Rose secret” while alluding that Oz might know something about it, I figured it might be just that.

Summer’s last mission was a personal secret that she entrusted only to Oz and probably made him swear not to tell a soul for reasons that probably made more sense to Summer Rose than anyone else.

But Oz was able to understand Summer and even empathize where she was coming from with her final choice since he had been in her shoes more times than the average person—all the more reason why Summer felt that she had chosen right by entrusting him with her secret.

From my perspective, I really like the idea of Oz making many, many mistakes in his lifetimes as he once told Ruby back in V1—he probably even broke a lot of promises once made to people who placed their full faith in him as we also saw from the events of V6 and V7.

However, if there is one promise that Oz hasn’t broken; it’s the one he made to Summer Rose. To Summer, Oz promised to withhold the truth of what truly happened to her. The truth of her greatest sacrifice and greatest failure.

I like the idea of Oz chosing to keep such a secret close to the chest out of loyalty and a solemn vow to a dear friend he once cared for, just as much as I love the idea of that secret ultimately being passed down to Oscar who will then go on to finally reveal it to the person who probably needs to hear about it the most out of everyone: Ruby.

I like the concept of the full truth about Summer’s death being told to Ruby by Oscar as Ozpin’s successor who shares a bond with Ruby who is essentially Summer’s successor as her daughter and the last of the Silver Eyed Warriors following her mother.

I have a theory that Oz secretly harbours remorse for what happened to Summer. Feeling like he had failed her in some way which was why he faithfully kept her secret. In his mind, it’s the one thing he hadn’t done to fail her. This for me, puts a bit more emphasis on the importance of the growing bond between Ruby and Oscar.

It is the Fox’s lesson that renewed the Prince’s belief in the meaning behind his love for his rose. Therefore, I really love the idea of Oz using his past with Summer; sharing in his feelings of thinking that he had failed someone he once loved like a daughter (maybe) to strengthen the resolve and feelings of his successor—Oscar—who shares his own relationship with the descendant of Summer Rose—Ruby.

Much like Summer was to Oz probably once upon a time, Ruby is important to Oscar for his own personal reasons.

While Ruby and Oscar are both heirs to Summer and Oz respectively, they both share their own story together.

While many characters (mainly Qrow Branwen) have commented on the similarities between Ruby and Summer both in appearance and personality—nevertheless, Ruby isn’t her mother. Just as how Oscar isn’t Oz. He may share in his memories and the memories of the past Wizards in Ozma’s lineage. However Oscar has his own life to live as he is, bottom-line, his own person as Ruby once rightfully told him.

Both Oscar and Ruby are their own individuals free to forge their own destinies and thus, make choices that may ultimately succeed where their predecessors didn’t.

But much like the two people before them, the Wizard of Light has shared a bond with a Silver Eyed Rose that has transcended two lifetimes (as far as I know).

Basically what I’m saying here is that I really dig the idea of Oz and Summer being bound together by a promise (i.e. Summer’s final wish) that is ultimately both broken and carried on by Ruby and Oscar who make their own promise to each other, in a way as part of their budding relationship.

Through Oscar ultimately sharing the truth about her mother, I can picture Ruby finally having a sense of closure about her mother since time and time again; the series has hinted how much Summer meant to Ruby.

We saw how Salem merely mentioning that she met (and probably killed) Summer crippled Ruby emotionally. For me, I think it could be cool if there’s another side to how Summer died. Like maybe Salem dealt a killing blow to Summer but not before she was able to perform a move that revealed something to her about Salem—like a weakness or something.

I know that Salem can’t be killed but a part of me still wishes to hold out for the belief that the key to destroying her isn’t killing her but permanently severing her link to the Realm of Darkness and thus the Creatures of Grimm.

My theory still remains that the key to stopping Salem is to purify her of her darkness. It was the God of Darkness’ Grimm Pools of Darkness that turned Salem and gave her sovereignty over the Grimm and it was the God of Light’s Fountain of Life and Creation that made Salem immortal in the first place.

I still wish to believe that there is a connection to that. And as of now, much like the Fountain of Life and Creation, the Silver Eyes are the closest thing to the power of the God of Light which made Salem immortal. Not to mention that the God of Light’s power is the only think that can stop his brother’s power. So I want to believe that Summer Rose’s death meant something in that way.

Maybe she learned something—a small potential weakness that could stop Salem that only a Rose can do?

I know that the Rose Family weren’t the only Silver Eyed Warriors to come out of Remnant. Just as how I know that Salem has spent years hunting and killing Silver Eyed Warriors.

That being said, imagine if…there is something special about Ruby’s family meaning hers and her mother’s family line that makes them unique even when compared to other Silver Eyed Warriors and their family lines.

What if…the Roses are special in general?

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The Legend of the Moon Rose

Here’s an idea. What if and this is a big IF…the Rose Family—Ruby’s bloodline—are descended from the very First Silver Eyed Warrior to walk in New Remnant whose origins are somehow connected to the Fountain of Life and Creation that as far as we know, has been lost to time.

I know that it was shown in the Lost Fable that Henkle—the fifth reincarnation of Ozma—bore children who were Silver Eyed Warriors (potentially—I think it was confirmed to be true in the RWBY V6 DVD Commentary).

However I personally DON’T think the Silver Eyed Warriors began with the Wizards.

This squiggle meister actually more likes the idea of the Silver Eye lineage starting with a Rose with all other Silver Eyes that succeeded them (like Henkle’s children and even Maria Calavera and her father) were spawns from centuries of crossbreeding within different family lines and all that jazz.

I found it weird but interesting all the same that both of Henkle’s kids had silver eyes but neither him nor his wife (whose eyes were blue) had silver Eyes. Kind of reminds me of how Muggleborns worked in the Harry Potter series. In that series, wizards and witches could be born to non-magical parents so I figured the same can work for Silver Eyed Warriors where they could be born to parents who aren’t Silver Eyed Warriors themselves but probably share ancestry that link them back the Silver Eyes bloodline.

I actually would love to think that the very First Silver Eyed Warrior was Ruby’s ancestor who stemmed from her family tree.

I know it sounds like a silly theory but for now I’ll hold onto it since I’m starting to really, really like it as a Little Red headcanon.

Imagine if…in the end it is revealed that Ruby descends from a more “powerful” line of Silver Eyed Warriors with a greater direct connection to the very First Silver Eyed Warrior in Remnant history who I will hereby dub the Moon Rose.

And in the end, it’s her light that will stop Salem since, as the last living direct descendant of the Moon Rose; Ruby is connected to the Fountain of Life and Creation and the God of Light and thus has the power to stop Salem. Or something like that, I dunno. Just me and my theories here.

Overall, what I’m trying to say with all of this jibber jab is since Summer’s death is a mystery the show has dragged out since the start of the series, I’m assuming it will mean something very important to the PLOT down the line. Probably.

That being said, I like the idea of Summer Rose’s death revealing or hinting a small minor weakness that could potentially turn the tides against Salem in a way. I’d like to think that of all the Silver Eyes that Salem had killed, Summer is the only one who had managed to truly “hurt her” in some way.

In the RWBY Theme: Red Like Roses Part II, the Summer part of the theme mentioned Summer being forced to make a sacrifice that ultimately resulted in her forcing a “bigger sacrifice” on Ruby. 

Like I imagined Summer chose to fight Salem because she believed she would be the Silver Eye to finally kill her. But of course, she failed and now because of this, Ruby is the one left with this destiny in her lap.

Nevertheless from this, I still want Summer to have entrusted Oz with the full truth behind why she left and as promised, the Wizard took that secret to his grave and into his next lifetime where Oscar will eventually tell it to Ruby on his behalf. 

I just like this idea since I can see it potentially leading to Ruby regaining her respect in Oz. It still bothers me that V7 didn’t highlight our heroes feeling any remorse for how they treated Oz in V6.

Who knows? Perhaps…if Ruby discovered that one of Ozpin’s lies and half-truths was one that he told out of a promise to hide her mother’s own secret, it may lead to Ruby gaining a newfound appreciation for her former headmaster; restoring her trust in him since her mother wouldn’t have trusted Oz with her secret if she didn’t fully believe in him too. So that’s an idea.

Not to mention that such a move could also help further solidify Oscar as a most trusted confidante and potential partner to Ruby since both smaller, more honest souls could finally share in some closure over the secrets of their precursors. Or something like that. Then again, these are only my theories but you get the picture.

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So in conclusion:

Anyways, I know I went off on another whole long tirade about Oz and Oscar and Summer and Ruby and Ruby and Oscar but bottom-line I hope I was able to actually answer your point anon-chan XD

As I’ll reiterate, I don’t mind Fox being Oscar’s Fox. It’s just that right now, my money is more on Oz since it could potentially help to a) deepen the bond between Oscar and Oz, b) reveal more on the truth of Summer Rose and c) deepen the bond between Oscar and Ruby by extension of their connection to Oz and Summer.

That’s my take on it.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[fanfics-of-marvel]

Hey! so I have this idea where bucky is in a desperate need of a haircut and someone forces him to go to a hairdressers (bcos hydra probably doesn’t have a stylist) and he goes reluctantly and falls for the hairdresser (the reader) :) it’s just a suggestion! ok ily 🥺💓

Hey there! Thank you for the great prompt! ♥ I’m really sorry it took forever (like 2 months or more) but for a while I was unable to deal with this blog. :( I really wish you weren’t anon, so I could properly tag you! I really hope that you’ll see it nonetheless and I hope you’ll like it if you do. I modified it a little and it’s Sam who's prompting Bucky into getting a hairstyle. :)

REQUESTS ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED

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Release date: 28/04/20

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Y/N: When Sam had enough of Bucky’s long hair her drags him to the nearest hairdressers salon which happens to be yours.

Words count: 2.6K

A/N: I completely made up the park mentioned. Even if it resembles an actual park I just made up the name and it’s a coincidence.

Warnings: None!

Requests | Masterlist

Taglist: @all-things-marvel-related ; @steeeeverogers ; @chipilerendi ; @starkershomelife ; @merlin-288 ; @nutellakirb ;

I’m not a native English speaker, so there might be spelling or grammatical mistakes.

This fic is my own work, it is not to be re-posted on this site or posted anywhere else without my knowledge and consent!

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“You need a haircut,” abruptly Sam said while reading his magazine.

Bucky put his ice-cream down. “No.”

Sam looked over his sunglasses. “No?”

They were sitting on a bench at the local park pretending to be two ordinary dudes while they were doing undercover work. Sam was pretending to be interested in a sports magazine while Bucky was enjoying a vanilla ice-cream.

“No,” Bucky repeated with an even tone and continued licking his ice-cream. “Man bun, it’s modern. Look around you. I’m cool,” he was convinced.

Sam’s eyes wandered around and saw two guys with longer hair that was held up in a bun. He winced.

“What do you care of being cool?” Sam asked.

“Why can’t I be?” Bucky was about to lick his ice-cream when the sudden wind brought part of his hair upon it.

“Hm,” Sam chuckled and unceremoniously continued reading his magazine.

“I don’t need a haircut,” Bucky was insistent while cleaning his fallen strand of hair.

“I’m sorry but you missed a target behind the rifle because the wind blew part of your hair in front of your face,” Sam reproached. “A target which we were chasing for months and which got away right under our noses,” he seemed irritated.

“I spent most of my life as The Winter Soldier with longer hair and fulfilled all of my missions!”

“Except that your hair now is much longer than then,” Sam barely held it in. “It’s getting ridiculous. You’re blocking the drain in the bathroom. It’s like I’m living with a woman!” Sam exclaimed. “And the other day I found a hair of yours in my pants! I don’t even want to know how it got there!”

Bucky was looking at Sam grumpily. “Is that your problem? That men can’t have long hairs, only women?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. But if you complain one more time that you need a moment to fix your hair from a bun to let it down, so you can put on a helmet for the mission I swear I’ll punch you in the nuts if they are still there!”

Bucky sighed annoyed. “I don’t mind it.”

“I do,” Sam fired. “Everyone else does.”

“They don’t understand fashion.”

“And you do?”

“Of course,” Bucky barely replied as that same strand of hair ferociously tickled his face due to the wind. He literally slapped himself trying to get rid of it.

“Alright, we’re going to the hairdressers,” Sam stood up.

“Um, we’re on a mission.”

“Base, there doesn’t seem to be any irregular activity at Jackson Park,” Sam spoke in his communication device.

“Roger that, Wilson. Hold on a moment,” a voice on the other side uttered. “You are free to go,” the same men added after a few seconds pause to consult with the commander.

“This is unprofessional,” Bucky protested. “I wouldn’t say our mission is over.”

“The vanilla in your hair kind of says it.”

The wind had released more hair from Bucky’s bun which had landed upon his ice-cream.

“You are in a desperate need of a haircut,” Sam said firmly.

“Why?” Bucky demanded a good reason.

“Because, Barnes, you cannot handle long hair. Admit it. Whether you look cool or not, you’re not made for maintaining long hair. Look at your split ends! It’s a disgrace!”

Bucky looked offended. He didn’t want to cut his hair but he yielded under Sam’s pressure, so shortly after they found themselves in the nearest hairdresser’s salon.

**

You heard the door opening and looked at the direction expecting to see Mrs. Jones who had an appointment soon. Instead you saw two burly men trying really hard to look cool and natural.

“Hello, may I help you?” you asked them.

“Hi, yes,” one of them replied. “My friend here needs a haircut. Could you help with that?”

Your eyes moved to the man pointed. You couldn’t help noticing he was staring at you with his eyes wide opened.

“Is he alright?” you asked feeling a little uncomfortable.

“Bucky?” the man asked after noticing his friend. “Hello, Bucky?” he waved his hand in front of him.

Suddenly, Bucky looked at him shocked. “Sam, I forgot how to do this.”

“Do what?” Sam was confused.

“I’ll leave you two for whatever there is to… you know,” you said turning around. “I’ll be over there if after all there’ll be a haircut.”

“Bucky, are you alright?” Sam asked concerned.

“I forgot how to talk to pretty women,” Bucky muttered. “And I was so good at it.”

Sam giggled. “Wow, really?”

“Yes!” Bucky was offended. “I was a real beast before the fall! I’d just got to a woman, curve my smile and say ‘hello, doll’ and they’d fall for me.”

“And you can’t do that now?”

“I don’t know… I’m not… I’m not the same person as before. I feel like it wouldn’t work out now.”

“And why is that?”

“I don’t know that women like nowadays.”

“Man bun maybe?” Sam teased him.

You approached the two strangers. “Okay, so my client just called to cancel her appointment due to personal reason, so you’re lucky. I can take you now.”

“Perfect,” the companion seemed very happy about it.

“Okay, follow me here.”

You stood behind the chair and waited for your client. A few seconds later you turned around only to find him motionless still staring at you.

“Bucky, sit on the chair,” the companion quietly said to his friend.

No reaction.

“Barnes!” he yelled.

“Huh?” the other man finally moved his eyes from you.

“The chair! Sit on it! Haircut! Now!”

You observed the two men. There was something widely ridiculous about them.

Sam grabbed Bucky’s right arm and dragged him to the chair.

“Excuse us, ma’am, he recently hit his head and is still recovering,” said the companion.

“No, I didn’t,” your client protested.

“He doesn’t remember,” he smiled at you. “I’ll sit over there until you are done with my friend over here.”

You took a deep breath thinking your next 15 minutes might be amusing. You also observed the man had part of his hair up, so you reached your hands forward to undo his bun. You suddenly stopped.

“Is that ice-cream in your hair?” you needed to ask.

“Vanilla,” the companion uttered from across the salon.

“It’s windy outside!” your client exclaimed.

“Well, you didn’t do your bun very well, so it couldn’t hold your hair well,” you lectured him.

“Hm,” the companion chuckled.

You didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, so you just walked to the shower system.

“Come here, I need to wash your hair first,” you told your client.

He stared at you for a moment again and then cautiously approached you. After he made himself comfortable you undid his bun and turned on the water.

“How’s that?” you asked him.

“How’s what?” he seemed confused.

“The water,” you replied. “Is it warm enough?”

“You’re perfect,” abruptly the man said. “Oh… um… I mean, um… I meant it is perfect… the water… yes, um… the water is perfect,” he was stammering.

You couldn’t help noticing the way his companion was barely holding his hysterical laughter. You ignored both of them and washed his hair with shampoo. For a moment everyone was silent.

“So who are you?” suddenly, you asked.

“Sorry?” your client asked.

“Who are you? Your name? I like getting to know the person whose hair I’m cutting.”

The man froze in terror. You felt really uncomfortable asking that question. You thought he was a second away to stand up and walk out of your salon.

“Anyway,” you didn’t want to lose your client. “I’ll just wash off the shampoo and we can move to the cutting part.”

He seemed relieved that you didn’t ask more. You wondered what was so secret about him. You couldn’t deny it made you a little excited. He was nonetheless an attractive man.

“And we’re done here,” you wiped your hands and told him to sit in the chair.

You quickly glance at his companion. He was deeply gone into a magazine.

“So how short do you want it?” you asked your client.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Sam?”

“Hm?” the companion replied distracted.

“How short should my hair be?”

“As short as possible,” was the answer.

You remained motionless for a few seconds thinking that probably those two men were a couple. What a shame, he was quite handsome.

“I can shave it if you like,” you said.

The man looked at you in the mirror and you felt your knees weakening. He had the most beautiful blue eyes you’d ever seen.

“How do you think it would look best?” he suddenly asked you.

“Oh, um…” now you were stuttering. “You know… like…” you were twisting your hands in the air trying to explain unable to find words.

“That sounds great,” he replied with a smile that took your breath away.

You looked away, so you could pull yourself together to do your work.

“Are you alright?” he asked you turning towards you.

“Yes,” you replied sounding as convincing as possible. “I just need those scissors,” you said as you took them. You didn’t need them at all.

The man turned towards the mirror again still observing you with his sparkling blue eyes. You noticed your hands were slightly shaking from excitement. How were you to operate like this?

You took a deep breath and reached your arms forward. With unsteady hands you approached your client’s hair.

“Please, don’t behead him,” suddenly his companion  said.

You jumped startled towards him with a quiet whimper. Your breathing and heartbeat got irregular.

The man looked at you strangely. “Are you alright? Are you competent for the job? I do need him whole.”

You took a deep breath and pulled yourself together. You were more than certain that these two men were dating, so you took your most handsome and intriguing client as nothing more than that – just another client.

You completely excluded the companion’s existence from the salon and didn’t look at your client in the mirror for a single moment. All you saw from him was his horrible hair while you were taking care of it.

Due to this you didn’t notice that the companion sank into the magazine again and you didn’t even realize that he spent a good deal of time laughing over some funny article. But you also didn’t feel the glimmering blue eyes that didn’t move from your face even for a second.

The only time that you looked forward and into the mirror was to check the work you’ve done and what was your client’s opinion.

“Well, how is it?” you asked indifferent but still eager. You loved getting feedback from your clients.

The companion also looked up from his magazine. He needed to give a check, as well.

But your client’s eyes were still fixed on you. As if his reflection didn’t exist in front of him.

“He looks great,” the companion uttered throwing the magazine aside with such indifference like he didn’t just enjoy it for 15 minutes. He got up and walked towards you two. “It makes my eyes watery seeing the long hair is gone,” he sounded genuine.

You smiled warmly. “I’m sure it was bothering you.”

“Girl, you have no idea,” he replied. “It really pissed me off.”

“Yeah, I kind of know what you mean,” you continued. “My ex-boyfriend had a really big problem. It got everywhere. Even when I had my hair up somehow always there was at least 1 hair that was free to tickle him in the face. He used to scream ‘I’ll never make out with you ever again’ and I laughed and laughed because usually 2 seconds later he grabbed me again,” you giggled remembering of your ex.

“Make out?” the man seemed confused and slightly surprised. “We don’t make out.”

“Oh?” you felt awkward. Probably you shouldn’t have said that. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“We no gay!” he felt the need to clarify as soon as possible.

“Oh?” you felt even more awkward and embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. You just seemed… well, you were telling him what to do like one partner would do to another and-”

“That’s because he’s an idiot.”

You looked at your client to see his reaction but he remained motionless the whole time still staring at you.

“Oh, right…,” you said insecurely. “The head trauma,” you whispered.

“No. I’m afraid is by birth,” he looked at your client and snapped his fingers at his face. “Come on, Bucky. Pay the good lady for her work and let’s go home.”

The man in the chair jumped startled at the sudden sound next to his head. It’s like he snapped out of trance.

“Bucky?” you asked with a smile. So that was his name.

He looked back at the mirror. This time you were looking there as well. The sudden discovery that he was not gay brought your spirits up. Now you looked like an idiot as well.

“I’m out,” suddenly the companion said. Then he leaned towards Bucky and whispered. “Do what you gotta do, tiger. If you need the apartment tonight just give a call in advance,” then he stood up and gave you small bow with his head. “Good day, ma’am,” he added and left your salon.

You looked back in the mirror into Bucky’s eyes. “Wanna get out of here as well? There’s a nice restaurant near?”

He smiled at you. Inside his head he cheered ‘I still got it’.

——————————————————

Thank you for reading! If you liked it please react - reply/like/reblog! Your support is appreciated!

This fic is my own work, it is not to be re-posted on this site or posted anywhere else without my knowledge and consent!

[inmytaste-blog]

Irreplaceable

Word count: 5k

Warnings: Swearing, anticipation and salvation.

A/N: Another update! Sorry for taking a while to complete and post this but I was extremely busy. This piece is inspired by this request and I hope I lived up to the anon’s expectations! Once again, feedback is very much appreciated and I would be more than happy to hear what you want me to write next! Till next time, happy reading! x

____________________________________________________

‘’Shawn Mendes and Y/N Y/L/N’s relationship is thriving and we couldn’t be more happy’’. That was what all the famous tabloids were saying about yours and Shawn’s relationship but it was pretty much expected since he was the worldwide phenomenon of pop music and you were a very big name in the industry of acting with over ten movies in your history.

The thing with Shawn came as something completely unplanned and unexpected which turned out to be beautiful and priceless. He had attended one of your movie’s premieres and he was congratulating on you and your acting abilities all night long being the gentleman you were soon about to find out he was. You had hit it off pretty well even from that very first introduction to one another. You were familiar with his music and his touring and you had always wanted to meet him in person. So when that happened you couldn’t help but feel yourself explode with happiness and a little bit of fangirling. He was a heartthrob for God’s sake.

The thing is that he was also a fan of your own work and career and he would be pleased if he had the chance to chat with you and perhaps catch your number in order to keep in touch. His friends would make fun of him telling him that he was being crushing on you and even stalking your Instagram account behind their backs which was partly the truth. He was stalking your Instagram account even when they were in his close proximity with no shame whatsoever. So when he saw your post that you would be attempting both the premiere and the after party for your movie he knew this was his chance to make a good first impression to you and chat you up.

And this is exactly what had happened that night. He had made his way towards you and started with his good words and his wishes for your future in the industry, something you gladly welcomed and appreciated. He made it his mission to keep the conversation going that night and he succeeded since you were stuck to the hip throughout the after party as well, sharing glances and drinks along with funny stories about what made you choose acting as your profession and how Shawn had eaten all of his sister’s birthday cake, on her birthday.

Things were pretty easy from there. It was pretty visible he fancied you and you fancied him and many people even urged you to get together since they couldn’t handle the mystified glances and the romantic activities you two shared together. At first, you would laugh at their efforts and tried to cut them off by telling them that you weren’t Shawn’s type and that he had no time for romances since he was working on his upcoming album at that time. Deep down, you were only saying those things in order to persuade your own self that maybe Shawn hadn’t properly asked you out yet because he was so caught up in his work and his music.

This was soon to be changed though when he had asked you to go to his place to run movie marathons with lots of candy and beers. You had thought nothing of it when this proposal was aimed at you since this was something very normal and ordinary for you. What you hadn’t expected though was the fact that Shawn had thought everything through and he was about to ask you to be his girlfriend that night. Something that indeed happened. And something you eagerly accepted. You had waited far too long for this moment to finally arrive and when it did, you thought that everything made sense.

Shawn was over the moon when you had announced your decision to his proposal, which wasn’t very difficult to be made anyway. He was the definition of boyfriend material and you wanted to be the only one who got to experience it.

‘’I can’t stand you anymore guys. You are always so lovey dovey and you make nothing to hide it. Yuk!’’ Brian had playfully commented on your sitting on Shawn’s lap when you were all together one night in Shawn’s place.

‘’You are only jealous because you don’t have what we have mate. And especially, you don’t have her’’ Shawn replied to his friend and averted his gaze to you, kissing you gently on your lips.

‘’I love you’’ you had truthfully said and his smile lit up the whole room.

‘’And I you’’ Shawn had confessed and continued to hold you tight to his chest, his heartbeat being your favourite soundtrack.

Everything seemed perfect and ideal and you couldn’t ask for more. Shawn’s fans were somewhat encouraging your relationship with their idol but there were also the ones who made everything in their power to bring you down and make you feel insignificant next to Shawn. Comments like these made you want to call it quits with him and exit his life thinking it would be for the better but then Shawn would come along and reassure you that you were giving him the strength to move on and keep going with his music. You were his muse and he would be damned if he let you go.

Apart from the hurtful fans though, many other obstacles started to appear in your relationship with Shawn such as his management and their plans to grow his fame and his streams. One particular plan which was employed for those reasons was the promotional stunts with famous models and singers that Shawn was made to commit to and pull off. He knew this was something you deeply despised because it made you feel like you were coming second in his heart even when he was just pretending.

He had spent countless nights explaining to you that you owned something that no one could ever own even if they tried and that something was his heart. You knew Shawn was trustworthy and faithful to whoever was by his side. Besides, he had never showed anything to you to make you question his loyalty and his devotion to you but it weren’t Shawn you were afraid of; it was all the other girls seen with him. You feared they wouldn’t pay attention to his companion-you-and that they would make a move nonetheless. That is what bothered you.

Shawn always had an ear for your darkest fears and worries and he made sure all those thoughts were erased from your mind before they took their toll further on you. But the glass was already fragile and unfortunately Shawn was the one to break it even though he tried to assure you he would never do something to hurt your or your relationship.

You had arranged a peaceful night at the pool Shawn had in his mansion with two glasses of white wine and some of your favourite snacks in order to celebrate your one year anniversary. Minutes kept ticking by and Shawn was nowhere to be seen until the front door was opened and closed almost immediately. You waited for Shawn to spot you by the pool and when he did you really wished he hadn’t. He was wasted out of his logical mind, his appearance was muffled and his clothes messily put together.

You didn’t want to believe that your boyfriend of one year had forgotten all about your anniversary but more importantly you didn’t want to believe that he had preferred a packed club to an affectionate night with his girlfriend. Just when you thought you had seen it all, your attention was casted upon his shirt’s collar which had a pinkish hue onto it. Just then, the whole yard started spinning and you swore you could faint any time.

How did that spot make its way there? Who got too close to your Shawn? But above all, how did Shawn allow it to get this far? So many unanswered questions were swirling in your mind and your tried to stop the tears which had already made their way down in your eyes threatening to spill right now and then.

‘’Really Shawn? After all we’ve discussed and solved? You just go ahead and crush it all just like that?’’ you had risen from your previous spot by now and you were walking towards him, wanting to rip that disgusting laugh from his lips.

‘’What are you talking about baby?’’ he said, briefly slurring and tripping.

‘’This! This is what I am talking about!’’ you frantically moved your hands around including your surroundings and raising your voice.

‘’I don’t think I understand Y/N. Had you been drinking?’’ Shawn had the nerve to joke around and you had just enough.

‘’What is this? Who was this close to you and why didn’t you push her off of you Shawn? Goddammit!’’ you screeched and turned your back to Shawn after tilting his shirt towards him showing the rosy mark.

‘’Ohhhhh you’re talking about this one!’’ Shawn stressed but you wanted to hear nothing.

‘’Yes this and the fact that on our one year anniversary you decide to go out, have fun doing God knows what and who knows with whom and leave me waiting here looking like a complete idiot for trusting you completely ignorant’’ your tears were spilling now and you cared less how defenseless you were appearing. You just wanted all of this to be a bad dream which would come to an end with Shawn cuddling you in your sleep.

But no. Shawn was standing right in front of you, grinning like a child and watching become smaller and smaller in a matter of seconds.

‘’You know what? I think I am going to head outside for a little while. Clear my mind of this… new you. I hope she deserved it Shawn’’ you said, putting on your coat and going inside the house, ready to storm off.

‘’Baby wait, I don’t underst-‘’ Shawn started to chase after you but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the front door being slammed at him. He took a seat on his sofa and tried to call your number before collapsing and passing out right there with his clothes on.

The next morning found him in the same spot he chose the previous night but instead of being greeted with your warm and gentle kisses he was met with a cold and a disheartening silence that tore his ears apart. He tried to stand and cursed at himself when he felt his head spinning and ready to explode, being unable to fully concentrate on what happened yesterday. The only thing he saw were the two wine glasses standing by the pool along with some snacks. He tried to connect the dots while climbing up the stairs to your bedroom, hoping he would see you peacefully sleeping, wiping all of his building worries and questions off his mind.

When he made it in your shared bedroom though, he was disappointed to discover that the sheets were covered in rose petals but you were missing. Going into the bathroom in a final attempt to find you there, he came across his awful state in the mirror and his eyes moved to his collar which was still marked by some rosy shades of lipstick. Instantly, he put the pieces together and he saw everything clear as day.

‘’Shit, shit, shit. No please no’’ he frantically pleaded while looking for his phone, ready to dial your number and spill his guts about what really happened the night before. No matter how many times he tried to contact you, his calls went straight to voicemail not giving him the chance to explain himself.

‘’Fuck! This isn’t supposed to end and it won’t! Please!’’ he desperately cried at an invisible friend in the living room as if trying to make him help him fix the mess he had made.

‘’Y/N please, give me the chance to explain. I know it seems like I fucked up big time but it is not what it seems. Please. Answer my calls and you’ll see I’m still your Shawn please’’ he cried through his speaker, leaving what felt like the hundredth voicemail to your number.

Part of you wanted to give in to his pleas and hear him out but the other part of you felt humiliated and stepped upon. How could the one you were helplessly in love with treat you like this? It was just too much to take in and you knew that if you heard his voice, your walls would come crushing down one by one. However, you felt it was unfair not letting him voice his opinion on the matter no matter what difference it would make if it would make any concerning your feelings.

-Meet me in the park in one hour.

Was the only thing you allowed yourself to send him and tried to collect yourself and prepare mentally for what was to come out of this meeting. Deep down, your decision had been made and you weren’t exactly sure if Shawn would be able to get out of this that easily. Your heart was aching at what happened and you wished it hadn’t happened but reality was there to make you see things objectively and clearly.

After one agonizing hour of thinking and crying in the depths of your bed sheets, you reminded yourself of the meeting you had arranged with Shawn in the park. The walk there was filled with anxiety, nervousness and nerves ready to snap at any given moment. You had to make sure not to let your feelings overflow and just listen to what he had to say on the situation. You wanted to make clear that he hurt you and that he cut too deep with his actions and his behavior afterwards.

Your steps came to a halt when you saw a familiar mop of curls waiting patiently under an oak tree, ready to be faced with truth and facts. You made your way to where he was standing and you cleared your throat to let him know that you had arrived.

‘’Y/N you came’’ he said letting out a breath of relief seeing you standing before him.

‘’Yes, I am curious about what you have to say so desperately’’

Shawn’s face clouded at your harsh statement but you couldn’t help how shattered you felt inside. This was something beyond your powers as it was so he needed to make it easier for both of you.

‘’I see. Y/N please I know I messed up but I want you to know that nothing happened that night at the club’’ Shawn started and you folded your arms in front of your chest in an attempt to keep yourself together.

‘’It seemed more than something to me. I can’t believe you let that happen to us Shawn’’

‘’Y/N please let me be clear. This is not what you think it is. I was at the club with the boys and then all of a sudden a girl approached me and tried to reach my neck for some reason but the boys stopped her before she could go away further. I was shocked at first but I tried to get her off of me which worked. But it was too late because she had already marked the shirt with her lipstick. I swear nothing else happened and I can get the boys here to confirm that too!’’ Shawn said all in one breath and you tried to process all the new information.

‘’And what do you have to say about being outside and having fun with your friends on our one year anniversary Shawn? You don’t know how it felt to see you coming home drunk while I was waiting for something good to celebrate back home. I felt… stupid’’ you said looking down but immediately looking at his hooded eyes.

‘’It totally slipped my mind Y/N. You know that I would cancel everything if I remembered’’

‘’That’s the thing Shawn. That you forgot. Maybe I am an obstacle in your career after all. So I’m making it easier. I will walk away so that you can be free to do whatever you want and continue with your career. Besides I have a career I need to take care of myself’’ you said and Shawn felt his heart clenching at your words. Never had he imagined that you would ask him to part and live separate lives.

‘’Y/N please don’t do this. You know you are all I need and I will make it up to you every day for the rest of my life. Just… stay’’ he pleaded and if you weren’t so hurt and damaged you would have said yes in a heartbeat. But all the hurtful comments, the stunts and Shawn’s pressuring career made you stern and cold.

‘’I am sorry Shawn but I don’t think it will work. I wish you all the best’’ you said and with that you exited a world you thought it was yours as well.

What you hadn’t thought about was the aftermath of your breakup with Shawn. Somehow, the news had leaked and all of the Instagram, the Twitter, the Pinterest and every single platform was posting things about your split up with the dearest boy of pop. You decided it was best if you just disappeared from all the social media for a little while since it wouldn’t do you any good seeing pictures of him pop up every single time of the day. You wanted to forget or at least numb the pain you were feeling and shutting off for a while seemed like the best option.

That little while lasted more than you expected however and even after two months after your parting with Shawn, you couldn’t stand seeing his face being plastered all across your account or even in the TV and the newspapers. Your social life had come down to the minimum and the only thing that kept you sane was your job on a new movie you were currently finishing. To say that your job worked as an antidote to all the aching you had built up inside of you was an understatement. It even made you more passionate in the character you had to impersonate for the movie resulting in a better outcome for the movie.

‘’Okay guys. In five days we have the grand premiere of the movie and I want you all to be there. There is going to be an after party as well but I cannot expect from all of you to be there. It would be a pleasant surprise if you did though. So clear up your schedules from now in order to be free in five days’’ the director told to the crew of the movie and everybody cheered that their newest work would be published soon, except from you.

You loved your job, you really did but the only thing your head wrapped around were the words premiere and after party remembering damn well that those were the circumstances under which you had met Shawn and started talking and hanging out. You didn’t think you had the strength to come to terms with seeing him again, let alone converse with him. Trying to push those thoughts aside, you decided it was best if you just kept your focus solemnly on your new movie and the work you had so passionately invested in it.

‘’Hey don’t you hear me girl? Wait up!’’ you suddenly heard your colleague call after you and you waited for her to catch up with you.

‘’Sorry didn’t hear you. Everything okay?’’ you asked her once she was walking beside you towards the exit of the building you were currently shooting at and offered her a small smile.

‘’I am good I wanted to ask you how you are doing though’’

‘’What do you mean?’’ you were a bit lost and you wanted to make sure you understood completely before providing your answer.

‘’I mean how are you handling your break up? I know it’s been two months but it must be hard seeing it everywhere’’ your friend explained and you were more confused than before.

‘’Can you be more specific please? I don’t think I am following’’ you honestly replied and you saw your friend fishing her mobile phone out of her pocket showing you a picture.

Just when your eyes landed on the picture held in front of your very own eyes, your breath caught in your throat and you felt like the walls were closing in on you. You felt like someone was playing tricks with your mind and just wanted to see you suffering. All of this time, you thought you had made a good job at getting over Shawn or at least trying to escape the aching feeling in your chest but this picture was the proof that you were nowhere near that point.

Right in front of you was Shawn in one of the most attractive suits you had ever seen worn by him hugging and smiling to a very pretty lady. You thought you knew she was Hailee Baldwin from what you had heard before but the sight in front of you pained you.

‘’Oh’’ was all that you said and your vision got blurry. You weren’t ready to face and accept the fact that Shawn had moved on so quickly and so effortlessly like you meant nothing to him.

‘’I thought you knew that’s why I asked you’’ your friend said feeling guilty looking at your saddened gaze.

‘’Well, it’s good I found out this way I guess. No worries though. He belongs in the past and that’s where I intend on keeping him’’ you said more to yourself than to your friend, unable to identify where this certainty came from. Was it sadness? Was it anger? Whatever it was, it hurt. A lot.

‘’I think I’m gonna head home for now. Gotta start getting ready for our movie’’ you said fake-excited and exited the building with hot tears cascading down your cheeks. You didn’t want to accept that Shawn was over you with a snap of his fingers while you were still struggling to make the day without breaking at least one vase in your apartment. Maybe you were never good enough for him and you breaking up with him was the perfect opportunity for him to be freed from you. You didn’t know what to believe anymore. All you knew was that you had to prepare for a premiere which was coming closer and closer.

What you really wished for was for Shawn to be absent and especially unaccompanied by his new lover. You couldn’t have him ruining you both with his physical appearance which was always tempting and pleasant to have around but with this Hailee girl with him as well. You were just human after all and you wanted to finally find some peace. The only thing close to peace you could find was shopping your dress for the big night and that’s exactly how you decided to spend your day.

Walking through busy streets and gazing at beautiful pieces of clothing outside of big windows till a particular one would catch your eye. Just when you were ready to enter a shop, you saw a familiar face coming towards you to greet you. It was Josh, another one of your coworkers who was very friendly and extremely funny to be around.

‘’Y/N! What a coincidence! Shopping for the premiere night aye?’’ he said after giving you a warm hug which you gladly accepted.

‘’Of course. You too?’’ you said giggling.

‘’I have to find a suitable suit I guess. Hey, I wanted to ask you something now that I have you here’’ he said and he grew hesitant by the minute.

‘’Yes of course, go on’’ you encouraged and you sensed him getting nervous.

‘’I was wondering if you’d like to go together to the premiere. Unless of course you have other plans’’ he quickly said and you contemplated your answer for a minute. If you had to endure Shawn coming with his girlfriend, you surely wouldn’t be able to get it through the night alone. Plus, it would be good to finally socialize with someone else rather than your mom and your fridge.

‘’Well, I’d love to’’ you finally agreed and he smiled up at you.

‘’Great. Pick you up at nine then?’’ he asked.

‘’Sounds good to me. See you then!’’ you said and entered the shop, wanting to buy a dress you had been eyeing for far too long.

You weren’t really sure whether what you had just gotten yourself into was for the better or for the worse but the premiere night was finally here and there was no going back now. The only thing remaining was you having fun with Josh and enjoying the thing you had poured your heart and soul into.

Josh was punctual and you both made your way to the crowded venue in which the premiere was going to take place. Arriving there, the flashes of the cameras were blinding as always and you felt thankful that you had Josh to rely upon while trying to get out of the car, ready to answer some of the paparazzis’ questions. You knew there would be a lot of Shawn related questions and you knew you had to answer them no matter what you felt inside.

What you couldn’t handle at all though was seeing him getting out of a car and waving at the screaming crowds like he was born to do this. You wanted if not needed to turn your head elsewhere but Shawn beat you to it and turned his head around first searching for someone and locking his eyes with yours when he found that someone. When your eyes locked, you saw some things that you knew he covered very well even though everyone thought he was ok. You saw sadness, despair and hope. Not wanting to ruin the night further, you averted your gaze towards Josh telling him to move in the building.

Shawn saw that your arm was locked with another guy’s and he felt like the earth was shaking and he was going to collapse at any second. He had come all the way to the premiere because he wanted to have a word with you about your relationship. For him, it was far from over and he wanted to give it another shot no matter the cost. He missed waking up next to you, hearing your steady breathing when he felt like panicking but most importantly he missed how you could keep him down to earth when everything felt a little too much. And he wasn’t willing to lose that.

The movie went smoothly and everyone was congratulating you and all the other actors on the perfect job you had done. You were proud with the outcome and you felt like something was finally going well. Up until Shawn was up next to come and speak to you.

‘’Awesome movie. Congratulations Y/N’’ he said and he shook your hand a little bit longer than necessary. His touch felt warm against your cold skin and for a moment it took you back to the days when you got to experience this every single day. But this was now and he had no right to come here and manipulate you.

‘’Thanks Shawn’’ you replied trying to keep the conversation as small as possible but Shawn had other plans. Gently, he grabbed you by the hand and guided you a bit further from the people in order to be able to talk.

‘’Shawn what are you doing? I need to speak to those people’’ you said and he wasted no time.

‘’Y/N I miss you. Us. And I know you do too. You also know that I am innocent and that nothing happened in the club that night. Please. Look what has become of me. I am half without you’’ Shawn said not caring if people could hear him and he searched in your eyes for any hint of forgiveness or consent.

‘’Who do you think you are Shawn? Coming here and telling me all this stuff while your girlfriend is patiently waiting on you in your house? Please, let me be’’ you said and Shawn was taken aback.

‘’What girlfriend? Y/N I can barely write any music or sleep for that matter and you think I replaced you? I could never do that. You are you Y/N and there is no one else I’d rather be with’’ Shawn tried one last time but you were more determined this time.

‘’Bye Shawn’’. Deep down, you were happy that he didn’t find anyone else and that he was in the same condition as you. It is not that you didn’t want to see him happy, it was just that seeing happy with someone else pained you. Even now. You wanted to jump up in his arms and forgive his stupid mistake of forgetting your anniversary but something was stopping you.

‘’Nothing is stopping you. You have to acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes and that since he didn’t cheat on you, he deeply means all that he is saying’’ you heard a voice from beside you and jumped a little.

‘’I was thinking out loud, wasn’t I?’’ you facepalmed and Josh nodded his head in agreement.

‘’I say you go over there and give him another chance. I feel sorry for him’’ he tried to joke but you knew he was right. You missed him like crazy as well. You missed how goofy he was first thing in the morning or how serious he became when he sensed that something was off with you and wanted to help. You missed how precious he made you feel without really trying or how many times he made you feel loved just by looking at you.

‘’Ugh, I love him so much but-‘’

‘’But what? Y/N I know you miss me baby. I just heard you’’ Shawn said appearing from behind you and you turned crimson red in a matter of seconds.

‘’I could always say you’re crazy and that you misheard’’ you thought for a while and he placed his strong arms around your small frame.

‘’I am crazy but only for you. Let’s go home babygirl. We waited long enough’’.

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Parental adjustments; 13th doctor x teen reader

*Author’s note*

Okay gang now this request also came from a million years ago so this will be my last update cause this weekend I’m going camping with some friends and of course no service so I’ll be internet free till I come back sunday afternoon where I can get to work on the remaining requests I’ve got then I’ll start opening up to the newer ones you all have for me. Hope you guys like this one and I apologize for the shortness of it but I hope you all still like it anyway.

It’s different than the one I had last time of our 13th doctor but I hope I did the anon requestor proud of this fic. Not really any warnings persay just some swearing, mild angst and a dash of fluff. Enjoy my lovelies :)

___________________________________________________________

This wasn’t supposed to happen.  None of this was supposed to happen.  He had prepared me for this day to come, the day when all of his lives would be spent and then he told me to continue the work that he started, protecting the galaxies and keeping the TARDIS out of threatening hands.

But that night, something happened.  He had regenerated once more, this time as a woman. I had not expected this because he’s always once told me that a Time Lord only has 12 regenerations, it could never go past that, ever.  But yet he was a special case and he had turned into a woman.  A woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes.

Another thing that bothered me about this new form was that she was so overprotective. I mean sure dad was protective over me in all his various forms and stages throughout his life, but now as a woman she won’t even let me in on most missions anymore.  She just brings in the three companions that we’ve picked up and puts them at risk on some cases.

I don’t get why she allows them to go with her but not her own child.  So I decided to work my own mission.  Apparently there was a hint of a Vampire attack in 1348 England so against and unbeknownst to my ‘mom’ knowing, I used my time-travel watch to go there and figure out just what was going on.

But I guess I got a little too cocky or reckless but there was more to these Vampires than meets the eye.  The vampires weren’t just the basic space vampires but a half breed of both vampire and sirens.  If you know the tale of your basic earth sirens, space sirens are about three times as cunning and dangerous.

I ended up down on the ground with a broken ankle as a siren vampire came over to me baring his fangs at me, it’s long snake-like tongue poking out to try and get a taste of me.  I knew that if I let even a drop of it touch me, I would be under its spell and that’s when I heard her.

“Get away from my daughter!” I turned and there she stood along with the newest companions, Yaz, Graham and Ryan. Together they helped me fight off the siren vampires and we managed to save the Princess of England.  

After the fight, I turned to see my ‘mum’ who was glaring at me disappointedly.  As we all headed back to the TARDIS all was quiet and extremely awkward.  I refused to look her in the eye as I walked ahead of everyone else and I could hear Graham try to lighten the mood.

“Well never imagined to see vampires up close.”

“Graham not now.” Ryan said.

“(Y/n), stop right there!” I heard her say, but I refused to stop walking.  “(Y/n) I order you to stop right now!” I stopped walking as I heard her yell at me. I sighed heavily and turned around glaring at her.

“What?!”

“I’m not liking this new attitude of yours. Just what were you thinking going off on your own like that eh?! Do you have any idea how worried I was!?” She said as she came up and finally stood in front of me.

“Doctor uhh—maybe we could take this in the TARDIS?” suggested Yaz.

“Yaz why don’t you and the lads get into the TARDIS? Seems my daughter and I need to have a bit of a chat.” I glared at her; my breathing deepened.  Yaz nodded and escorted the lads away.  Graham came up and said to her,

“Go easy on her Doctor. I’ve been in this situation with Ryan before, try not to get too angry with her.”  He then walked away and soon we were both left alone out in the middle of the field.

“Do you want to explain to me why you did what you did?” she asked me.

“I don’t have to explain to you.” I sneered.

“Well I demand an explanation anyway. You could’ve been killed. You deliberately disobeyed me! And do you know what’s worse? You could’ve put Princess Elizabeth in danger!”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Well it seems like you didn’t. (Y/n) this is why we stick together as a team. This is why I don’t allow you to go solo on your own because you can’t seem to fight anything without causing trouble!”

“You used to allow me out on solo missions all the time!”

“Times have changed. I see now that that was irresponsible of me. From now on you’re not allowed to go anywhere without me by your side. And I’m taking your time jumper.”

“What?! That’s not fair!”

“I’m doing this for your own good….”

“No you’re not!” I snapped at her. “Ever since your miracle regenerations you’ve changed completely. I have been there with you since the beginning, you’ve always allowed me to have the freedom to do what I wanted so long as it was for the galaxies best interest but now you hardly let me out at all. If I hadn’t come here then there would be no Elizabeth the 1st! You’re always hovering over me like a parasite and I’m sick of it! I hate you! I wish you had died instead of becoming this!” I then raced off and came into the TARDIS.

“Should we—” Ryan started but one glare at him made him shut up as I went to my room and slammed my door hard and loud as tears welled up in my eyes.  I raced over to my bed and collapsed into it and wept into my pillow.

I don’t know how long it was before I heard a soft knock at the door and I heard her voice say.

“Hey love,” I sniffled and turned away from her. I felt my bed dip and she continued, “I’m sorry. It’s just that—ever since the change there’s a whole new perspective on parenting that I’ve never experienced. And in my previous life I let you down so many times I guess in this new body I—I just wanted to keep you safe. But I guess all I did was make you despise me.” I sighed heavily and sat up and said.

“I didn’t use that word.”

“You know I know when you say something you actually mean it a different way. I know my girl too well.”

“If anyone should be apologizing its me.” I admitted.  “It’s just that—you had told me your whole life, through every regenerations that we can only live up to 12 life spans, then by the end of it all it was over. But seeing you like this it just…..took me by a huge surprise. I’ll admit some of your parenting now sucks like not letting me go out with you in the field.” She softly smiled but I continued, “But I was ready to say goodbye to you, now that this has happened…..how do we know how many lives you can fully extent to before you finally reach your limit? Not knowing—it scares me dad.”  She stroked my hair out of my face and said.

“I know. I’ve never even heard of something like this before either, if I had you know I would tell you about it, right?” I nodded as tears kept slipping down my face every now and then.  She gently wiped them away as she continued, “But I can tell you this, when the day does come, I know that the galaxy will be safe because it’s being protected by the strongest woman I know. And I am honored and proud to call that woman my daughter.” I smiled at her and said.

“But until then, it’s got one other badass woman defending the earth till my time comes.” She grinned at me and for the first time since the regeneration, we both hugged each other tightly.  

“I love you my darling.” She whispered.

“I love you too…..” I paused before I had to say, “God I really wanna say dad but I can’t because now it’s just too weird.” We both laughed softly as we separated and I continued on, “It’s definitely gonna take some getting use to.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll work on it together. But now I know how you felt going through all those Victorian ages when it came to the men.”

“I know right!?” We both smiled and embraced each other once more.  Yeah it’ll take some time to get used to this new face, and with the future uncertain on how many lives she’ll live now, but like she once said a few stages ago, “The future is not set in stone. And have the fun is not knowing what lies ahead.”

[kmomof4]

Well, I did it again...

I wrote another fic... 

Well, here we are again. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever write another fic, and I still can’t believe I did it, but when I finally bought and downloaded one of my youngest’s favorite movies, the ending gave me massive CS feels. So after plenty of hand-holding, encouragement, cheerleading, and brilliantly executed beta duties from none other than @hollyethecurious, @winterbaby89, and @shireness-says, I present to you my second CS fic. I hope you all like it. There are two instances of strong language and the fic is rated T because of that. Many thanks to @winterbaby89 for the use of her original character from The Red Dress Affair. This is an unapologetically stupid disaster movie fic, based on the 1997 Tommy Lee Jones movie Volcano. I have taken a massive amount of liberties with LA geography, field trip protocol, and established scientific fact to fit the purposes of the fic. Apologies to anyone who lives in the area and/or cares.

Tagging some folks who might be interested in reading something else from me. @artistic-writer @ilovemesomekillianjones @doodlelolly0910 @let-it-raines @profdanglaisstuff @resident-of-storybrooke @seriouslyhooked @branlovestowrite @flslp87 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @searchingwardrobes @pocket-anon @donteattheappleshook @kymbersmith-90 @snowbellewells @sherlockianwhovian @teamhook

Read more line after the first scene unless Tumblr ate it. Part 2 will be up on Tuesday.

State of Emergency ao3 link

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Emma Swan stood at the stove listening to the morning news in the background while scrambling eggs for herself and her son, Henry, before she sent him off to school. He had a big day ahead of him with his Kindergarten Buddy Field Trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. As a “senior” at his school, the entire sixth grade class had been assigned an upcoming kindergartener as a “buddy” to help them adjust to full day elementary school. There had been many functions and events over the course of the school year to foster the relationships between the seniors and their buddies, but this was the first field trip away from the school. Henry and his buddy, Roland Loxley, were very excited because of their shared love of fossils and anything prehistoric. And the fact that Roland was going to be spending the weekend with them while his parents were out of town didn’t hurt either. Emma turned toward her son as he sat himself down at the table. “Nothing better than a good breakfast, kid.”

“Yeah, yeah Mom. I know.” The signature eye roll complete with shrugged shoulders made its way across the face of the twelve year old.

“Most of you probably didn’t even notice, but we had a small earthquake this morning. The US Geological Survey reported a 2.8 magnitude earthquake centered under Beverly Hills at 4:37am.”

“Why are they even talking about this? It didn’t even wake me up! Think fast Henry! What do you do in an earthquake?” Emma asked him, placing his plate in front of him.

“Get under a door frame, put my head between my legs, and kiss my ass goodbye.” Henry then dug in to his eggs and toast with all the gusto of a teen boy who hadn’t been fed in 8 hours or more. Emma rolled her eyes as she sat down to her own plate, deciding the argument over his language wasn’t worth having this morning. The eggs and the rest of his breakfast were soon gone and she wondered if the clothes she’d bought him for this spring would still fit him come the end of March.

“Gotta go Mom. I’ll call you when Roland and I get home from the field trip.” Henry grabbed his bookbag from where it was hung on his chair and made his way toward the door, opening it to find his friends waiting to walk to the bus with him.

“Bye, kid. Have fun and make sure to keep track of Roland!” she shouted as she heard him greet them before they headed down the hallway.

Gulping down the rest of her coffee, Emma got up from the table and thought about the day she had ahead of her at the Office of Emergency Management; the next-to-last day before a two week long vacation that she and Henry had been looking forward to for months. Putting the dirty dishes in the sink - They can wait to go in the dishwasher - Emma grabbed her purse and phone just as it started ringing. Emma’s best friend and assistant Ruby’s name flashed on the screen before she swiped across it.

“What’s up Rubes? Isn’t it a little early for you to be calling me?” Emma shut and locked the door behind her as she walked down the hall toward the elevator. “I’m getting in the elevator, so I’m gonna lose you here in a second. I’ll call you when I get in the car.” Emma hung up as Ruby sputtered. Once in her car and headed toward downtown, she dialed Ruby back.

“Emma,” Ruby didn’t even say hello, and the urgency in her voice was very apparent as Emma sped down the I-10. “There’s some kind of leak near the intersection of Wilshire and Fairfax. Where they’re working on the red line. Paramedics are on their way, but the supervisor of the work crew is saying that 2 men have very serious burns. He’s pretty shaken up Ems.”

Ruby’s words trailed off and Emma heard a disturbing sound coming from the other end of the line. “What’s that sound?”

“The supervisor,” Ruby replied with a tone of disgust. “Expelling what was left of his breakfast.”

Emma frowned. “I’ll be to the Fairfax exit in about 10 minutes. Load up WOLF and meet me there.”

“You got it boss,” Ruby replied before hanging up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What’s going on?” Emma shouted as she got out, slamming the door of her vintage yellow bug behind her.

Ruby pulled up right behind her in their equipment truck, affectionately nicknamed WOLF. Jumping out and taking long strides to catch up, Ruby commented, “Just before the call came in, the Geological Survey measured a 2.2 earthquake centered under the tar pits.”

Emma stopped, startled at what she had just said. “What? The tar pits?”

“Yeah,” Ruby replied. “Not enough to be felt, but close enough to here that maybe they’re connected?” Emma could feel the blood drain from her face, and based on the way Ruby was looking at her the she noticed it, too. Grabbing her arm, Ruby asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“What?” Emma shook her head. “Oh, Henry is going on his Kindergarten Buddy field trip to the pits today. An earthquake underneath them isn’t exactly what a mother wants to hear.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” her friend said. “I mean, after all, if we discover that there is any real danger to the public, we’ll shut down both the pits and museum. Come on. Let’s see if we can figure out what happened here.”

Emma and Ruby made their way to the crest of the hill where they saw orange work crew tape around the open maw of the entrance to the sewer and subway workstations down below. Off to the side they also saw emergency vehicles and paramedics working feverishly over a body that, from this distance, was unrecognizable as human. As they ran down the hill, they could already see a black body bag being zipped up. Just catching a glimpse of the charred body within was enough for Emma’s breakfast to roll in her stomach and for Ruby to lose hers completely. Swallowing down the bile, Emma asked, “What happened here?”

The white-as-a-sheet man wearing a supervisor’s vest turned toward her and seeing her department issued jacket, swallowed heavily before answering. “We’re doing routine maintenance on the red line. Munk, Ham, and Foster over there were down there with Ramirez and Franks.” If possible, the man before her went even more pale as he gestured toward the paramedics. “Kitchens and I were up here.” The man gulped again. “W-w-we could hear the screams from here.”

“I’m so sorry.” Emma laid her hand on the shaken man’s shoulder. “I truly am, but I have to figure out what happened here so I can direct city resources if need be.”

“You’d best talk to one of them then,” he replied, lifting his chin in the direction of the men he’d just mentioned. His wide, frightened eyes made their way back to where one of the paramedics was sitting back on her haunches.

“Time of death,” she said, glancing at her watch, “8:22 am.”

Emma made her way over to the men the supervisor had pointed out. “I’m Emma Swan from the Office of Emergency Management. Can you tell me what happened?”

The tall, sandy haired man pointed to himself then his companions, “Mark Munk, Hollis Ham, Sam Foster.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” She grimaced, looking away. “Wish it was under better circumstances. What happened down there?”

“We were heading toward to maintenance platform. Franks and Ramirez were in front, then Ham and Foster, then me. It was hot. So hot.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if he was relishing the cool morning air. “We couldn’t see much. All we had were our flashlights and helmets,” he trailed away, turning toward his companions.

Foster picked up the story then. “It was hot, but once we felt the earthquake stop, the heat was much worse.”

“You felt the earthquake? It was only 2.2!” Emma exclaimed.

“Yeah, we could feel it. Nothing major, but enough. Once it stopped, the heat really intensified. Franks and Ramirez were really having a hard time with it. It sounded like they were having trouble breathing, gasping and stuff, then they were hollering and fell down. It looked like they were trying to rip their clothes off. Ham and I grabbed them under their arms and dragged them back toward the ladder. It was so hot by then, none of us could hardly breathe.”

“We got back up topside,” Ham continued, “Hernandez had already called the paramedics.” His eyes widened as he saw the second body bag being zipped up over his coworker. “I’ve… I’ve never seen…” He turned away, hunched over as a barking sob escaped him.

Ruby had returned from cleaning herself up by this time, just as Ham finished his part of the tale. Emma turned toward her. “Ok, we need PPE and the thermal radiation temperature gun. We’ve got to go down there and see what’s what.”

“On it,” Ruby replied turning back toward the truck.

“Thank you very much gentlemen. You’ve been a great help.” She looked at each of them in turn. “I’m very sorry for the loss of your coworkers.”

Turning away from them, Emma headed back toward Ruby and WOLF. Arriving at the truck, Emma climbed in after Ruby as she was getting down the Personal Protection Equipment they’d need before they went underground. “It sounds like the earthquake may have had something to do with it, but whether it did or not, what those men felt down there, and was enough to kill two of them, certainly needs to be looked at.”

“Oh, you’re not gonna get any argument out of me, Emma.” The fear that Emma was also feeling was well banked behind the determination in the brunette’s eyes. Determination that Emma felt as well. “We can’t let this happen to anybody else.” Ruby took down the thermal radiation gun as she spoke, turning toward her friend.

“Agreed,” she said, “let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Damn! They weren’t kidding! What’s the temperature down here?” Emma shouted at Ruby as she made it to the bottom of the ladder.

“117° according to the gun,” Ruby hollered back.

“Ok, let’s go. I don’t know how far we can go before we have to turn back. This is something else!”

“No kidding! 132° and climbing fast!” Ruby shouted. She took a few steps forward. “I’ve got a reading here!” Shaking her head while studying the screen intently, Ruby said, “There’s some sort of fissure here. Gas and… something… I can’t tell what exactly… 748°!” Ruby’s eyes went as round as saucers. Her mouth falling open in an ‘o’. “EMMA! Back! Get back!” Ruby screamed, “Your suit is melting!”

Upon hearing Ruby’s scream, she noticed the smoke rising from both suits. “So is yours! We’ve gotta get out of here!” They both took off running toward the ladder; neither of them had realized they had moved about 15 feet away from its rungs. Reaching it, they both clamored to the top, collapsing onto the grass around the workstation.

Gulping in huge gasps of air as they tore off their helmets and suits, both women stared at each other wide eyed as Hernandez ran up toward them. “What?! What did you find? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah we’re fine,” Emma answered, still breathing heavily. “There’s a fissure down there. Hot gas and something else coming up out of it.” Raising herself onto her elbows, she started pointing all around the park they were in. “This Park needs to be evacuated. The red line needs to be shut down from South La Brea Avenue to South Crescent Heights. And get me the Geological Survey on the line. A geologist. Someone who can tell me what the hell is going on down there!”

Ruby scrambled away down the hill as soon as she was recovered enough to move. “Yes ma'am!”

Emma collapsed back on to the grass, before making her way to her feet and down the hill herself. Emma shook her head. Well, my day just got about a hundred times more crazy. Henry and the group should be at the tar pits by now. Should we shut them down? No. We’re far enough away from them, there’s not a concern for their safety. Yet. I’ll wait until I talk to the Geological Survey. Then decide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning! My name is Killian Jones, and I’ll be the docent leading your tour of the La Brea tar pits today.” Killian looked out over the sea of about thirty faces, some bored, some looking anywhere except at him, and maybe five or six looking at him at least halfway interested.

He enjoyed volunteering at the tar pits on his day off from the US Geological Survey. Especially when the kids were already in love with the things he was going to be talking about. I mean, how can you not love a kid who can correctly pronounce Paramylodon Harlani? The two brown haired boys at the front of the group however, stared at him with rapt attention. Brothers maybe?

“We’ll be starting our tour in just a few minutes. As soon as the group ahead of us moves through. In the meantime, feel free to look over the masks from the PaleoIndian village in the display case on your right.”

The crowd moved over to the case, all except the two boys who did not seem eager to lose their places at the front of the group. “I’m Roland Loxley,” the little one said holding his hand out for Killian to shake.

“Well, hello there Roland,” Killian answered, a grin breaking out over his face as he reached out to grasp his hand. The kid had a surprisingly strong grip for one so small. “It’s nice to meet you. Is this your big brother?” he asked turning his attention to the older one.

Roland giggled and cut his eyes toward him as the older boy looked embarrassed. “No, he’s my buddy, Henry.”

“Oh, I see! It’s nice to meet you too, Henry,” Killian said, holding his hand out for him to shake as well. Henry looked a bit surprised as he took Killian’s hand in his own and shook.

“You too,” he replied. The glint he had noticed in the boy’s eye a few minutes earlier was back as he asked, “Do we get to go inside the fossil lab today?”

“Ah ha! Do we have a future paleontologist in our midst? Or a geologist maybe?” Killian’s delight at his speculation was hard to disguise as Roland looked to be prepping for takeoff, bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hand in the air like Horseshack from Welcome Back Kotter, Killian’s favorite late night binge show on Hulu.

“Ooo! Ooo! Me! Me! Me! I’m gonna be a paleontologist when I grow up! I have my very own Smilodon fatalis tooth at home! And a fossilized Venerupis philippinarum! And a Carcharocles megalodon tooth too!” Roland exclaimed. Poor Henry looked absolutely mortified at Roland’s excitement.

“Roland, can’t you please shut up?” the boy hissed, glancing back at Killian apologetically.

“Ahh! A saber tooth cat, clam, and giant shark tooth, huh? Well, it looks like you’re well on your way to a brilliant future in paleontology my boy,” he said, placing his hand on Roland’s shoulder. Turning back to Henry, Killian returned to his original question as most of the group started making their way back towards them. “Unfortunately, we will not be going inside the fossil lab today, but we will observe some of our scientists working in it. We will be on the observation deck outside. We will also be visiting the Lake Pit, Observation Pit, Project 23, and the Pleistocene Gardens. After lunch, we’ll enjoy the Ice Age Encounters and Titans of the Ice Age in the 3D theater. Is everybody ready?” he asked, getting everyone’s attention again, “Let’s go!” Killian swung his arm expansively as though to draw them all along and turned on his heel leading the way toward the first stop of their tour.

“Sorry about Roland’s enthusiasm earlier,” Henry halfway mumbled after he caught up with Killian. “He’s a cute kid, and he loves anything prehistoric, but he just doesn’t know when to turn it off.” Henry shrugged, while glancing over at his buddy chattering a mile a minute about how much he was looking forward to seeing the Columbian mammoth skeleton named Zed. “I mean, I love fossils and the Ice Age too and even have my own collection at home, much bigger than his,” he rolled his eyes, then glanced over at Killian obviously trying to gauge how his revelation was being received, “but I can at least control myself so I don’t look like an idiot.”

Killian chuckled, realizing that Henry was just as excited and enthusiastic about this field trip as Roland was, and was maybe a teeny bit jealous at being overshadowed by someone he saw as not as well versed in Ice Age history.

Killian looked down at the boy as they kept walking toward the Observation Pit. “Well, Henry, he’s young. And over-the-top enthusiasm is par for the course at that age. But I get it. I have an older brother that wanted to put a muzzle on me on a daily basis whenever I’d get wound up over something when we were kids. But keep in mind, that you have the same interest in what he is so enthusiastic about. You are in a very unique position to encourage that love or to quash it. He obviously idolizes you.”

“Really?” Henry asked, wide eyed. “How do you know?”

“Haven’t you noticed how almost every time he opens his mouth, he’s looking at you?” Killian replied.

“Oh… no, I guess I hadn’t. Well, all right. I’ll try not to let his enthusiasm get to me so much then.” The pensive look on Henry’s face evaporated as he looked up at him and smiled.

“That’s the spirit, lad!” Killian returned the smile and placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze in support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean ‘he’s not there’?” Ruby shouted into the phone at the unfortunate underling who was bearing the full weight of her wrath at Dr. Killian Jones’ absence. “Where is he? Isn’t this his full time job? We have something major happening underneath the tar pits today, and he needs to be here! Not galavanting around on his ‘day off’!” Ruby put air quotes around ‘day off’ as if the person on the other end of the line could see them. “There are two city workers who are dead this morning and my boss and I were nearly killed as well because of whatever is going on down there! Does he have an assistant? Anyone who might know where he is?” The other end of the phone went silent for a moment while Ruby huffed out her frustration.

The phone was picked back up again and a masculine Irish accented voice spoke. “This is Graham Humbert, Killian’s assistant. What can I do for you, ma’am?”

Ruby tried to roll back her irritation by taking a deep breath and beginning again. “This is Ruby Lucas, assistant to Emma Swan, director of the Office of Emergency Management. There is something going on under the tar pits. Something major. I’m sure you know about the earthquake a couple of hours ago. After it stopped, two city maintenance workers were killed because of leaking gas and something else, something burning that nearly melted Emma’s and my PPE suits off of our bodies. We need Dr. Jones down here to figure out what is coming up out of the fissure we found. Where can we find him?”

“He’s actually at the tar pits today,” Graham replied. “There was a huge school group coming today, and all docents were called up to work today. He normally volunteers on the weekend, but with the size of the group…” he trailed off.

“All right. Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Humbert.” Ruby was texting the information to Emma before she even hung up with the man.

“No problem, Ms. Lucas. Once you find him, I’m sure we’ll all be in touch.” The phone line went dead while Ruby continued to compose her message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma had stayed at the park overseeing the evacuation and rerouting the red line to avoid as much disruption to the transit schedule as possible when Ruby’s text came in.

Dr. Killian Jones is at the tar pits today volunteering because of the field trip.

Glancing at her phone to see what Ruby had found out, Emma continued her litany. “This way. Thank you for your cooperation. Everything is perfectly safe, this is only a precaution. Thank you, this way please.” When she got to the end of the line, she jogged over to one of her coworkers. “The geologist we need is at the tar pits today. I’m going to head over there to find him.”

Taking off at a slight jog down the hill, Emma pondered what she would find at the tar pits when she got there. Will there be any sign of what’s going on over here? Or under there? Just how big was the tour group for the head geologist with the US Geological Survey to be called up to work when there’s this kind of activity going on?

When she arrived at the picnic area outside the museum it was filled to capacity with kids and adults enjoying lunch in the late winter sunshine. Scanning over the teeming area, she spotted Henry and Roland sitting with a very attractive dark haired man she didn’t recognize as another parent or their teacher. Henry spotted her and waved shouting, “Mom! Hey Mom! Over here!”

The man looked up at her and seemed to choke on his sandwich, turning bright red as he tried to bring the coughing fit under control. Henry turned surprised eyes on him as the man tried to wave aside his concern all while Roland stood up on the bench and was beating him, very enthusiastically, on the back.

“You okay, Killian?” Henry asked.

“Fine lad, just went down the wrong pipe,” he replied, still trying to get his breath back. The huskiness of the accented voice did something crazy to Emma’s insides, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the gorgeous man’s voice sounded similar in the throes of passion. Down girl, she thought as she approached the table. He had black hair that looked artfully mussed, or he may have just had a habit of running his hands through it. Dark scruff lined his jaw with just a hint of ginger that she could see from where she was. He looked tall and lean in dark jeans, brown boots, and a blue henley underneath a black leather jacket.

“Hi Henry. Who’s this?” And why are you having lunch with my son went unspoken as she turned her gaze upon him, sending him into another coughing fit, all while scratching behind his ear.

“This is Killian, our d-, do-...”

“Docent,” Killian rasped out. He had finally gotten his coughing and breathing under control enough to speak.

“Docent,” Henry echoed. “He’s leading our tour today. We saw the mammoth skeleton and the fossil lab, and Project 23, the actual working dig Mom! It was so cool! I’m gonna work there when I grow up!” he gushed.

“Aye,” Killian replied still clearing his throat, “it’s kids like them that make the volunteering so worthwhile. Bright, inquisitive, with enough knowledge already to really make it fun. And there’s been a lot of that today hasn’t there lads?” he asked. The grin that split Henry’s face told Emma all she needed to know about how his morning went.

Emma smiled at her son’s enthusiasm. “Well, it sounds like you’ve had a great time today, kid.” Emma turned toward Killian, who was also smiling widely at the boys before he turned his blue eyes upon her. Emma was stopped in her tracks as she recognized the joy and affection in their depths. Affection, she realized, that was directed toward the two boys next to him. She shook her head briefly to get her thoughts back on track. “Did he say your name was Killian? You wouldn’t by any chance be Dr. Killian Jones would you?” she asked.

“That’s me,” he replied. “Can I help you with something?” he asked, standing from the table and extending his hand toward her. His azure gaze ran up and down her form, leaving a pleasant tingle in its wake, but when his eyes met hers, she saw nothing but openness and appreciation in his gaze. Not the greedy lust that she was normally subject to when checked out like that. She appreciated the distinction.

Emma grasped his hand firmly in her own as she answered him. “Just the man I’m looking for.” Killian flushed bright red again at her statement as he glanced away from her. “Emma Swan with the Office of Emergency Management. I need you.” That last statement seemed to send him into yet another coughing fit before he was able to bring it back under control.

“You need me?” he squeaked, about an octave too high, his face still flushed red, eyes wide.

“Well, I need your expertise.” Emma was secretly delighted at his apparent attraction, but schooled her features as she prepared to drop a very serious problem in the handsome man’s lap. “There have been two small earthquakes today. The second of them was centered here at the tar pits and is most likely responsible for the deaths of two city workers this morning. My assistant and I found a fissure underground near MacArthur Park, and the heat coming out of it nearly melted the suits we had on. We need you to figure out what is coming out of that fissure and help us manage this.”

Killian blanched and sat back down at the table. “I can’t leave right now…” he trailed away, obviously trying to figure a way out of the dilemma. “The school group is too big. I can’t…” He shook his head. “I can’t hand my group off to another docent, and there’s no one to take my place. Let me get my assistant on the phone and see what he can do. I’ll be done here in about an hour and a half,” he said, glancing at his watch, “and I can join you… where, exactly?”

“At the Office of Emergency Management, across the street from City Hall,” Emma stated.

“Barring any mishaps along the way, I should be there about three,” Killian replied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started dialing. “Graham, we have a situation down here at the tar pits. I need you to get to the Office of Emergency Management, across from City Hall and find-” he turned his eyes back toward Emma.

“Ruby Lucas, my assistant,” she whispered to him.

“Ruby Lucas… Right,” he said, after a pause to listen. “What’s her number,” he whispered back to her.

She wrote Ruby’s number on a napkin that he repeated back into the phone. “I’ll meet you all there as soon as I’m done here. Probably about three.” Killian paused again. “Okay, I’ll see you then.” Killian put the phone back in his pocket. “Graham will get down there and find your assistant. They can get preliminary data pulled up, and they’ll have a better idea of what we’re looking at by the time I get there.” Killian’s cerulean gaze met her own. The seriousness of the situation was not lost on either of them as Henry interrupted the unspoken moment.

“What’s happening, Mom? Did you say two workers died, and you nearly did because of what’s happening here?” Henry’s brown eyes were way too bright, Emma realized, for him to not have been affected by what he heard her say.

Damn… he always was too smart for his own good. I should have taken Killian aside before I talked to him. Well, there’s nothing for it... Emma placed her hands on his shoulders. Crouching before him and making sure he was looking in her eyes she answered, “Yes, but I’m fine, and Ruby is fine. We’re gonna do all we can to find out what’s going on here to make sure that no one else is hurt or killed. Okay?”

Henry nodded hesitantly. “O- okay, Mom. Be careful, alright?”

“Always, kid. I love you,” she said, pulling him into her arms and hugging him tight.

“I love you, too,” he murmured into her shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight?” he asked, looking at her again.

“I don’t know, kid. It depends on what we find here. When you get home, call me first then Uncle David. He can come stay with you until I get home.” Emma got back on her feet and turned toward Killian as Henry whined.

“Mooooom! I’m twelve years old! I can-” the petulant face of the pre-teen nearly made her laugh, but she smothered it under a light cough. The smirk and raised eyebrows from Killian, indicating that her cough didn’t fool him for a minute, was almost her undoing.

“Exactly, you’re twelve years old and you’re not staying home by yourself for who knows how long.” Emma turned back toward Killian and said, “I’ll head over to the office too, and see you there about three. Let me give you my number, in case something happens and we need to get in touch.” Emma held out her hand expectantly.

A glimmer of glee flashed in Killian’s eyes as he got his phone back out and handed it over to her to type in her number. “Sure, and I’ll only use it in case of an emergency. Although,” he lowered his voice and moved more into her personal space as she typed, "I do hope that when this is all concluded, you might let me keep your number to use in a more... personal fashion."

Emma looked up and handed his phone back to him with a smirk of her own. “We’ll see, Casanova. Take care of my kid. I’ll see you later. Bye Henry. Have fun.” Emma turned away from them and walked away. And if she injected just a slight swing to her hips for Killian’s benefit, then no one needed to know that but her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Killian watched as Emma walked away from him with a swing in her hips that made him grin from ear to ear as he enjoyed the view. Turning back to his group, he called, “Okay everyone. Time to clean up. Make sure all your trash is collected and thrown away. Let’s leave the picnic area better than when we found it.” After cleaning up, the group marched back in to the museum to continue their prehistoric adventure with Ice Age Encounters and Titans of the Ice Age, the 3D movie.

After the movie, Henry and Roland were chattering excitedly with Killian smiling down at them when the ground beneath them started to shake. Killian turned quickly toward the group and shouted to be heard above the din of the shaking building.

“Everyone come over here, follow me, cover your heads with your arms. Adults, cover your own heads and get kids underneath you as best you can.”

Killian led them all to the wall next to the glass case they had examined that morning containing the masks from the PaleoIndian village. As they reached the wall, a particularly violent tremble sent Roland careening forward into the display case. His forehead connected with the corner of the case as the trembling in the earth started to taper off. Roland’s cries were more than enough to compensate for the sudden lack of rumbling underneath them. Killian grabbed Roland up, cradling him in his arms as he looked for where all the blood was coming from.

“Is he okay Killian? Will Roland be okay?” Henry’s scared voice piped up from beside him.

“If his cries are any indication, he’ll be just fine, Henry. We need to get him cleaned up and get some ice on the cut. If he needs stitches, we’ll make sure he gets to the hospital.” Killian turned his back to the door of the bathroom and pushed his way through it, as Roland’s cries only increased in volume, maybe at the prospect of stitches. “Go to the main desk, Henry, and ask for Belle, tell her what happened and that she needs to enact emergency contact protocols for Roland, then ask for an ice pack.” Given his marching orders, Henry disappeared through the door as one of the parents in his group pushed his way in.

“The tour is over right, Killian?” the frightened man asked. “We’re done? Free to go?”

Killian was wetting a paper towel to clean off Roland’s face, as he turned to the man. “Yes, that’s correct. Thank you for your time and attention today. If you would spread the word to the rest of the group, I’d appreciate it,” he said, turning his attention back to the boy. As he got the blood wiped away from his charge’s face, he saw a long, jagged cut just above Roland’s left eyebrow. Henry made his way back into the bathroom with a bag full of ice just then and handed it to the boy. Killian noticed Belle hovering just outside the bathroom.

“Here, put this where it hurts Roland. You’ll be fine,” Henry said, reassuringly.

“Aye, lad. Just a cut. But it looks like it’ll need stitches. I’ll be right back after I talk to Belle.” Killian’s calm gaze was doing a lot to settle both boys down after the fright they’d had.

Killian stood in the bathroom doorway as Belle began, “I’ve contacted Roland’s parents, but after dropping him off at school this morning, they left town for the weekend. He’s staying with Henry and his mother until they get back on Sunday. They gave their consent to go to the hospital if he needs stitches, but I can’t find anyone from the school to take him in all the chaos.”

“Don’t worry about that, Belle. I’ll take him to Cedars Sinai. My mate’s wife works in the Emergency Room. She’s a doctor.”

“Really?” Henry, overhearing, turned wide eyes upon Killian. “My aunt works at the Cedars Sinai Emergency Room too. Maybe they know each other.”

Killian chuckled, “Aye lad. Maybe. Okay. Let’s go.”

Roland’s tears had been reduced to occasional hiccups as Killian hoisted him off the counter. Holding out his hand for the little boy to take, Killian led them out of the building toward the parking lot. He unlocked his classic SS Chevelle and ushered the boys inside, admonishing them to buckle their seat belts before heading toward the hospital.

About ten minutes later they were pulling up outside the Emergency Room bay. Henry and Roland, still with the ice pack pressed to his forehead, climbed out while Killian left to park the car. When he joined them a few minutes later, they made their way inside to the admit desk.

“We’re looking for Dr. Mary Margaret Nolan,” Killian informed the nurse at the desk. He didn’t notice Henry’s wide eyed stare as he spoke.

“She’s with a patient right now, sir. May I ask what this is in regards to?” the red haired nurse questioned him.

“She’s my friend’s wife and-”

“And she’s my aunt,” Henry exclaimed. Killian turned stunned eyes on the boy. The nurse turned her attention to him as well.

“Really?” he questioned.

“Yeah! I told you my aunt worked here in the ER,” he laughed as he realized how low the chances of this happening really were. Killian and the nurse joined in as well.

“Hi, Henry! Who’s this? And what do you need M’s for?” the nurse asked.

“Hi, Ariel!” Henry waved from where he stood. “This is Killian. He led our tour of the La Brea tar pits today. Roland, my buddy here, fell into a display case during the earthquake and Killian thinks the cut needs stitches. Did I say all that right, Killian?” His brown eyes turned upward, brimming with hope that he hadn’t left out anything important.

“Aye, lad. You sure did.” He turned back to the nurse. “Can we see Mary Margaret about those stitches? Or at least let her have a look at him?” he asked.

“Oh sure,” she replied. “Come on through here, and I’ll send her in as soon as she’s done with her patient.”

Just at that moment, a petite black haired woman came out of a door further down, making notations on her iPad.

“Oh, there she is now,” Ariel said to the man and boys behind her.

“Aunt M’s!” Henry shouted, startling the poor woman into nearly dropping the iPad. Henry took off down the corridor toward his aunt as she looked up and saw him running towards her.

“Henry! What are you doing here? And Killian, too,” she exclaimed as she saw them all making their way down the hall.

“A little accident during the earthquake, Mary Margaret,” Killian said amusedly as Henry tackled her, forcing an “oof” out of his target.

“Yeah, we had our buddy field trip to the tar pits today, Aunt M’s,” Henry enthused. “It was so cool, and Killian was our...” he trailed off, looking back at the man he was with.

“Docent, lad,” Killian filled in for him with an indulgent smile.

“Docent. Right. I won’t forget again, Killian.” Henry looked a little sheepish.

“I’m sure you won’t.” Killian chuckled along with Mary Margaret as she showed them into an empty room. “Roland here fell into a display case during the earthquake and sustained quite a nasty cut on his forehead that looked like it might need stitches,” he continued.

“Well, let’s have a looksee, shall we?” she asked, smiling down at the little boy, as she lifted him to the table. Directing her next words to Henry, she inquired, “Did you call your mom? Does she know you’re here?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “No, I haven’t.”

“Don’t worry about it, Henry. I’ll take care of it,” Killian assured him, “I was supposed to be heading to your mum’s office right now anyway. I’ll let her know what happened, and we’ll go from there.” Killian sent a reassuring smile his way.

“Okay, Killian. Thanks,” Henry replied. Killian slipped out and pulled out his phone dialing Emma’s number.

“Hello?” Emma’s beautiful voice came over the line, causing Killian’s breath to catch just the tiniest bit before he answered her back.

“Emma, it’s Killian Jones. We’ve had a bit of an accident during the earthquake,” he reported, trying to keep his voice as level as possible to keep her alarm to a minimum.

“What?!” she exclaimed. “Is Henry okay?”

“Henry is fine,” he assured the frightened woman. “It was Roland. He fell into a display case, causing a nasty cut to his forehead. We’re all at Cedars Sinai with Roland being seen by none other than your sister-in-law, Mary Margaret Nolan. Who is also my friend’s wife. And, who I gather, must be your brother.” Killian had remembered Emma telling Henry at lunch to call his Uncle David when he got home. When Henry’s relations had come to light, Killian had put two and two together to figure out exactly who belonged to who. Emma laughed delightedly.

“Oh my word! Who would have guessed? That’s hysterical!” Emma declared, trying to bring her laughter under control. Her laugh was infectious and Killian found himself joining in.

“It is. What are the odds, eh?” Killian said, sending her off into more laughter, as he chuckled. “Anyway, what do you want me to do with the boys? I still need to get down there to see what Graham and Ruby have discovered.” Just the mention of the reason behind their meeting and this phone call was enough to bring an end to their mutual mirth.

“Have David pick them up at the hospital and take them home. You or Henry can call him. I know he had meetings about the apartments today, but he should be done with them by now. Then you head down here,” Emma replied. “Ruby and Graham have a very interesting theory that I’m not sure what to think about, but would love your input on.” Killian could almost see the blonde shrug her shoulders through the phone line.

“Okay, love. Mary Margaret is probably about done. I’ll leave here as soon as she is and David gets here. I’ll text when I’m on my way.” Killian hung up and walked back into the room where Henry, Roland, and Mary Margaret were. Henry and Roland sounded like a tag team as they peppered the woman with stories about their day as she finished stitching Roland up. “Henry, I’m going to call your Uncle David to come pick you boys up and take you home. Then I’m going to go meet your mum and we’re going to figure out what’s going on and take care of it, aye?” Killian asked nodding at the boy.

“Sure, Killian. Thanks a lot, for everything,” the boy replied.

“Yeah, thanks Killian,” echoed Roland.

Turning to the boys, Mary Margaret told them, “Stay here. I’m going to go talk to Killian. Uncle David will be here in just a few minutes. He was just across the street at the apartments he’s been working on.” She followed him out into the hallway, forehead furrowed in concern. “What’s this about meeting Emma? What’s going on, Killian? Thank you, by the way though, for taking care of the boys through all this.”

“Oh, of course, M’s,” he answered, putting special emphasis on the syllable while raising his eyebrows at her and grinning.

“Oh, pfft,” she said waving him off, and looking away with a light blush coloring her cheeks. “Mary Margaret was too much for Henry to say when he was a toddler. So we shortened it to M’s and it stuck. Only for family and close friends though,” she said, side-eyeing him closely. “Ehh… I guess you count.” She smirked at him before reiterating her question.

“I’ll have to fill you in on the details later M’s.” Killian’s face fell. “Suffice it to say two men are dead, and Emma was nearly killed today too because of some seismic activity underneath the tar pits.”

The tender-hearted woman gasped, her hand covering her mouth and eyes filling with tears. “Oh, no!”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Killian replied. “So, I need to get down to her office to see what’s going on, and what we can do about it.”

“Of course,” Mary Margaret agreed. “You go ahead and go. I’ll take charge of the boys until David gets here. Tell Emma to keep us updated. I’m off in another hour, so I’ll probably go home with them.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he answered winking at her. “Do you want to call David or do you want me to?”

“I’ll call him. I need to let him know what’s going on anyway.” She pulled out her phone and started dialing. “Thank you, though. Really. It means a lot.” She made sure he was looking at her face so he could see how much she meant the words she was saying.

Killian looked at her, but had to look away from the tenderness and conviction behind her words. “Of course. They really are remarkable lads. They remind me very much of myself and Liam when we were young. I couldn’t do anything different. I’ll see you later.” Before he turned and walked away toward the entrance, he heard David pick up over Mary Margaret’s phone.

“Hey babe! What’s up?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Killian made his way into the Control Center of the Office of Emergency Management amid all the chaos that the day’s events engendered. Spying the long blonde hair that he desperately wanted to run his fingers through, he made his way over to where she, Graham, and the woman he assumed was Ruby Lucas were huddled over a computer monitor and a paper city map of the area around the tar pits. “What have we got?” he asked.

Emma turned startled eyes upon him, “Uh… oh! You’re here. Ruby,” she said, motioning to the tall brunette, “Dr. Killian Jones. Killian, Ruby Lucas, my assistant and right hand.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Jones.” Ruby grinned at him with a wolfish smile as she held out her hand toward him.

“Please, call me Killian. No one calls me Dr. Jones except members of the media,” Killian chuckled as he shook her hand.

“And me, if he’s being especially obnoxious,” Graham interjected, grinning at him, before it melted into more of a shy, sincere smile as he turned his eyes upon Ruby.

“And Graham, if I’m being especially obnoxious,” Killian repeated with humor dancing in his eyes. “So, what have you found out?”

“Okay,” Ruby began, “the last earthquake was a 4.9. That’s up significantly from the earthquakes this morning. Including the one that killed those workers. We may be building up to a catastrophic tremor.”

“Or,” Graham prompted, with a grim expression.

Emma looked at Killian with an expression that had him bracing himself. It was pensive and incredulous all at once. As if she had trouble believing what was about to be said herself, much less saying it out loud as a viable possibility. “What?” Killian asked, “Just tell me.”

Emma started rather haltingly, “The second earthquake this morning opened a fissure in the subway tunnel. Incredibly hot gas and something else, something… liquid… kinda, was coming up out of it by the time Ruby and I got there. After the workers were killed.” She cast dubious eyes toward Graham before continuing. “The temperature reading of the lake in MacArthur Park and underneath the tar pits has increased significantly in the last twelve hours. The lake 6°, the tar pits 10°. Graham says the only thing capable of producing the kind of heat that we saw under MacArthur Park and that could heat that much liquid by that amount in that short a time is…” she trailed off.

Killian and Graham’s eyes met over the ladies. “Magma,” they said together. “Magma would explain the extreme heat you both felt this morning,” Killian continued, “capable of killing two men with no protective gear, and raising the temperatures of the lake and tar pits to that extent that quickly.” He shook his head. “Damn. Have we got our work cut out for us,” he murmured, looking around the room.

“Can’t it be something else?” Emma asked, placing her hand on his arm. Killian tried to ignore the shiver her touch generated across his skin. “Anything else? Do we really need to declare a state of emergency and evacuate that entire sector? That’s a massive undertaking,” she exclaimed.

“The first thing we need to do is confirm. Get a first hand look at what is going on down there. From there, we make the call to evacuate or not and mobilize city resources,” Killian stated.

“You can’t go down there Killian.” The fear in her eyes was palpable. “Ruby and I have already been down there. We nearly died down there. We saw and felt it. I know magma makes the most sense given the facts, but…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “It’s… it’s MAGMA! As in, a VOLCANO! UNDER Los Angeles! It CAN’T be!”

“When the facts all point to a certain thing, even if that certain thing should be impossible, we have to go with the impossible,” Killian asserted. He shook his head. “We have to follow the facts. We can’t try to make the facts fit our preconceived notions.”

“But-”

“No, Emma. There is no ‘but’. This is the conclusion that the facts are leading us to. This is what we have to go with. There is no other possibility. Graham and I will go down to confirm what we’re seeing here. We’ll be in constant contact by radio. Our equipment is more suited to handle the kind of temperatures we may find down there. We’ll be fine,” he said, grasping her arms and looking into her eyes. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s surviving, love. We won’t do anything stupid.”

Emma snorted before looking up into his piercing blue gaze. “You know, the argument could be made that what you’re suggesting is stupid,” she said with a frown and a determined set to her shoulders. “But I’m not letting you go down there by yourself.”

“I won’t be by myself. Graham will be with me,” Killian replied.

“No, Graham needs to stay here to analyze the data in real time,” Emma argued, “Ruby can mobilize the city resources under my authority. But Graham is gonna be the one to pull the trigger on whether we need to or not.” Her flashing eyes and stubborn stance told Killian that he was likely to lose this battle, but he put up a fight anyway. He didn’t want her anywhere near what might be happening.

“It’s too dangerous, love. If Graham is right, I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.” He poured the concern he felt for her into his eyes, hoping that she would read it. He saw a flash of hesitation in hers before the stubbornness he had already witnessed settled back in place. “You said yourself that you saw and felt what was down there already-”

“And you said that your equipment is better suited for the temperatures you might find down there,” Emma retorted, “The thermal gun said 748° when we turned back.”

“Our equipment is rated up to 1000°.” Killian tried again.

“Well then, there you go.” Emma crossed her arms, her smug attitude telling him he had lost. “Graham has to stay here and you’re not going by yourself. I have training. I am the best choice.”

“Fine,” Killian acquiesced, after a long moment, his lips pressed in a thin line, “but you listen up and listen good,” he said, getting in her personal space and pointing his finger at her, “I am the boss down there. Not you. You do exactly as I say, when I say it.” While he felt successful in keeping the fear from tingeing his words, he was afraid that he was unable to keep it out of his eyes. She must have noticed because she tried to inject some levity into the situation.

“Aye aye, sir,” she said, with a smart salute and smirk. Killian rolled his eyes as he tried not to smile and turned back toward Graham and Ruby.

Just at that moment, the ground started to shake again. Killian and Graham grabbed the ladies as they all tried to cover their heads and dive under the desks. Emma clutched at Killian as he drew her into his embrace and tried to cover her with his body. Once the shaking stopped, they all came out from their cover and made their way quickly to where the readings for the earthquake were already coming up. “4.6,” Killian said, turning toward the others. “Not as bad as the one a little while ago, but significant all the same.” Emma and Ruby exchanged worried glances before looking back at Killian. “This changes nothing,” Killian asserted, “We still have to go underground and confirm what is happening. We’ll drop off more sensors at the tar pits on our way to MacArthur Park, then head underground where you found the fissure this morning. Graham’s computer will be connected remotely with my suit and equipment.”

“Right,” Ruby replied, looking at the man next to her with a tentative, but genuine smile. “And we’ll still be able to communicate?” she asked, turning back toward Killian.

“Yes,” he answered. “We have radios in the suit that will allow us to talk back and forth through the computer. Everything from the suit will show up right here in real time. Ready, Swan?” he asked.

“Ready,” she answered, nodding.

“Alright, let’s suit up.”

End of part 1

[drawsndrabbles]

I’ve seen this prompt idea floating around but I don’t think anyone’s actually written something for it yet so maybe you’d be interested. In which Bruce gets really anxious when the Avengers argue because it low key gives him flashbacks of his abusive father, but he doesn’t want to ask them to stop and make a fuss so he just avoids the yelling. Thor notices though, and when Bruce explains he gets protective and tries to make the others keep it down. (P.S. Your writing is awesome 😎)

Oh shit boooooi I’m back if you’re even following my blog anymore wonderful anon I am. so sorry. But I really liked this idea ‘I hope you enjoy! Took a bit of a dark turn though. 

Tw for implied physical and emotional abuse (nothing explicitly detailed) and the description of a panic attack

Bruce wasn’t confrontational by nature.

I suppose a childhood under the care of a monster wouldn’t allow someone to be so. The heated flesh and bruised skin of a word said out of line would silence a loose tongue with little conditioning. And so Bruce became compliant, though the pain often remained unchanged.  

The bullying of other children and degradation both at home and in the schoolyard only made a quiet boy silent in his suffering. And lo the anger and frustration of those wrongdoings twisted a righteous fury within him, but lest he became his father, it lay behind his defenses for fear he may become the monster his father claimed he was.

And so Bruce stays out of conflict, where ever it may be. He shied away from those being picked on in the locker rooms, would speed walk past arguing couples and cover his ears to block out the cries from the next room over.

And life went on.

Until the accident.

It was a curse that the misunderstood called a blessing, a tool, and a weapon. The hulk was everything his father told him he was, a monster, and a mistake. The amalgamation of his frustrations in a cruel and unjust world that swung it’s fists as carelessly as his father. And Bruce hated him.

But, sharing their bodies, their lives, hate is an uncomfortable feeling to hold to someone who knows you as well as you but is not “you.” And so they’d come to an uneasy understanding.

And life went on.

Strangely, it wasn’t so bad anymore. Bruce returned to Stark Towers with Thor and hundreds of Asgardians in tow and was welcomed back with open arms.

When they’d arrived Thor slung a comfortable arm around Bruce’s shoulders and offered him an encouraging smile as the elevator doors opened to the reveal the waiting faces of their comrades.

The reunion was a happy one, with Thor being the boisterous one as Bruce smiled tiredly while they were swarmed with questions from their friends. But as Bruce looked around he noted everyone looked a bit older, haggard and grim rather than the youthful faces he remembered. Even Tony, whose childlike exuberance seemed unending, looked worn, with deeper bags under his eyes and more lines to was the product of a little more than insomnia.

Not only that but when otherwise unoccupied he would glance to Steve every now and again with a grimace that seemed to be mirrored back at him by the captain.

Suddenly a large familiar hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling the scientist as he turned and found himself face to face with Thor.

“Friend Banner, may I request your presence for a moment?”

“Oh, yeah sure. What’s up Thor?”

The god of Thunder smiled lightly before taking Bruce’s hand and leading him out to the balcony. “I-Is something wrong?” Bruce murmured.

Thor’s upper lip curled a bit as he shrugged too mechanically to be nonchalant. “Not presently, however, I wished to ask for your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

Thor nodded. “Is it just me, or does our team seem to be divided down the middle?”

Bruce exhaled, feeling strangely relieved but newly apprehensive at the same time as he glanced back to see half their friends on one side of the room and the other half at the other. “No it’s not just you, but I get the feeling they won’t tell us the truth about it if we ask.”

Thor nodded grimly before turning and offering Bruce a bright smile. “I’m sure they will come together again soon. Loki and I have managed to reconcile our brotherhood so I’m certain the rift will mend with time.”

Bruce gave Thor a small smile and nodded despite the unease knotting his stomach. “I hope you’re right…”

-

Thor wasn’t right.

It had been about a month since their return but it felt like years had passed and Bruce was exhausted.

It seemed like each day brought new reasons for his team to be at each other’s throats, whether it warranted an argument or not. Not only that but with Thor having an entire kingdom to run and educate on the ways of earth, Bruce found himself alienated from his comrades in the time past. So he couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy without a certain God by his side after all that time together in space.

And so Bruce was left to deal with the uncomfortable tempers of his teammates alone.

Now while Bruce himself wasn’t confrontational, he also avoided confrontation whenever possible. Though being strong-armed into the Avenger’s team did little to allow him to lead a peaceful lifestyle. Either way, some of his companions blood ran a little hot compared to his, and many of them refused to back down from a challenge.

He did his best to avoid it under the best of circumstances, and at worst, he had to either find an excuse to leave the room or sneak back to his room or the lab while whoever was arguing was occupied.

It seemed to work well enough for a while, but one day it all came to a bit of a head.

Tony and Bruce were doing business as usual, slumped over their desks and testing new results of different experiments before the sliding door opened and Steve walked in, his eyes downcast on a piece of paper.

“Hey Bruce did you manage to make any progress on-”

Steve paused as he looked up from whatever was in his folder and made eye contact with Tony from where he’d risen from his seat. “Ah, I see your busy.”

Tony bristled slightly and inclined his head in Bruce’s direction. “Yeah, we’re busy. We always are. What’d he ask you to work on Bruce?”

Bruce froze as a familiar feeling of dread began to knot his stomach and the onset of a panic attack cost him his breath. “I, well, That is-”

“Something I asked him to look into. Privately.” Steve interrupted.  

“Oh yeah? Are we not a team Cap?” Tony sneered.

“Why don’t you ask yourself that question.”

“Why you-”

From then on it was just white noise as both Tony’s and Steve’s voices rose with the tension in the room and Bruce did all that he could to try act nonchalant. But as the argument grew more and more heated Bruce felt the pull of hysteria gnawing at his psyche as random splashes of color flashed behind his retinas.

Tony and Steve didn’t seem to notice the chair clatter backward as Bruce bolted out from his desk and stumbled into the hall, using the walls for support.

Bruce managed to get to his room thankfully without encountering anyone else and curled up in the far corner of his bed, grabbing his blankets and encasing himself as he did so.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there in the dark, attempting to calm his frayed senses. He must have been quite out of it, however, he didn’t notice that anyone had entered his room before he felt the bed dip gently.

He reacted violently, nearly jumping out of his skin as he whipped around to see Thor, now standing, with his arms up in a manner that said Bruce had scared him as much as he scared Bruce. But when Bruce registered who it was in the dark he let out a pathetic whine and Thor closed the distance again, sitting close to the trembling scientist and nearly pulling the other man into his lap as he hushed him and rubbed soothing circles into his back.

They stayed like that for quite a while. The sun was setting through the windows when Bruce finally pulled back to look Thor in the face.

The God smiled gently down at him and brushed a stray curl from Bruce’s forehead. “Feeling better?”

Bruce felt his face heat as Thor’s hand lightly brushed his head before returning to its previous position on his hip, but when he tried to pull away Thor just hauled him closer. “I-I, yes? Yeah, I’m sorry you had to see that. After you, uh, yknow, you finally got the time to come to visit. Not, not that running your kingdoms not important, and then teaching everyone earth stuff and-”

Thor shushed the rambling scientist gently. “It’s quite alright, I’m pleased to have been here in your trying time.”

“Oh yeah… that.” Bruce replied, crestfallen.

Thor waited for a few moments before prompting; “May I ask what happened to upset you so?”

Bruce flinched ever so slightly and turned to tell Thor no, but when he looked into his eyes, there was something there, that made him want to talk. “I. It’s a long story.”

“I’d wait years.”

“I-It’s not a pleasant one either.”

Thor placed his hand over Bruce’s squeezing tightly. “I know.”

-

Thor was quiet for the duration of Bruce’s story, his face remained unchanged for the majority of it but at certain cruel and difficult parts, Bruce noted the slight clench to his jaw. And when he finished Thor let out a soft huff like he was scared if he was too loud Bruce would run away.

And Bruce, almost felt better at the end of it all. It was like something exceedingly heavy had been lifted off him, and since he’d grown accustomed to the weight he felt like he could float away.

These things wouldn’t solve themselves overnight, but it was more of a start than he’d had in his entire life.

Bruce smiled at Thor and when Thor glanced at him, his pensive expression melted as he mirrored his expression. “I’m glad you told me, Bruce. I know this was not easy, but I do hope you feel that you may call upon me any time for anything, and I will return to you.” Thor squeezed his hand around where it was resting on Bruce’s and the scientists cheeks reddened but his smile didn’t fade.

“Now then,” Thor began as he reluctantly moved Bruce from his lap. “There is something I must discuss with the team. Though I assure you nothing you’ve told me will be heard from outside ears.”

“Y-You’re not mad are you?”

“Of course not.” Thor answered with a smile as lightning flashed outside. “I just need a moment.”

Thor left Bruce where he was sitting and went out into the main part of the tower, but it only took about 15 minutes before his curiosity got the better of him. Bruce snuck into the hall outside the living room and managed to catch the tailwind of what must have been a massive lecture.

“-peoples lives are at stake due to your childishness. If we were to get attacked now there would be no way you all would be able to act as one and would most likely make things worse rather than better. I’m not telling you to erase the problems nor am I expecting things to be fixed by morning, however, you are obviously all here with the intent to work together again. But that cannot be done if you won’t put the effort towards it. Meet in the middle as Loki and I have done or else you will bring everyone else down with you. Act like the adults you claim to be and cease your useless fighting lest I take Bruce on a holiday and leave you all to do his work by yourselves.”

A chorus of “no’s” had Bruce stifling a laugh from the shadows, but Thor’s wink in his direction had him grinning.