#andro's late night talks

[andromedaneedsanap]

me (who is a silly, slightly traumatised goose): physically I'm here but mentally I'm sobbing because the wrap I made tastes like it has something expired in it and I dont know what but I sure as hell am going to eat it because mama didnt raise someone who wastes food

[the-andromeda-effect]

15

While Caliban is up with Adira, the men are down at the Gatehouse talking.

“Wait, so she really IS Riona Kalavati?” Marcin shook his head slightly, trying to get it to sink in. Lars had brought he and Pietre into the gatehouse to talk privately, after Caliban headed back to the mansion after the status update. That one piece of information was giving Marcin the most problems digesting. No matter who she was, if Caliban wanted her protected, he’d do so, but how Mircea Kalavati’s wife could ever become Caliban’s wife confounded him.

“No, Riona Kalavati died in that house we raided where the Marabioli’s were holding hostages. Remember, we had a hit job there because someone was trying to start a war between the families? That was Riona that wanted to start the war to get out of her marriage, according to Mircea. Adira is the woman you saw who came out with the boss, the one that he was protecting, and put in the line of fire to keep her safe. Didn’t you hear, Lars, they’ve been married since before Riona disappeared? Theron can show you the paperwork and the marriage certificate is framed in the boss’s office. You need to keep up, Marc, or you’re going to get replaced on the security detail.” Pietre elbowed him with a slight smirk, having understood very well what Lars was telling them, and what it meant. “So, Svarog and I are going to stay here, and help Theron figure out who helped that bastard hurt the boss’s wife? Sounds like we’ll also be working out if there is anyone else working against him?”

“That’s the plan. You can understand how in just over twenty-four hours after being freed from the Marabioli house where she was held prisoner, to be drug across the lawn of her own home with a gun to her head might be a bit…stressful.” Lars inclined his head to add emphasis. “Marcin, you’ll be coming with us to Caliban's cabin in the mountains. Caliban wants to take her up there for seclusion and to recover from the trauma. The newly married couple would also like some time alone together, since that has been in short supply lately. You and I will take shifts. Since it’s just going to be the four of us, we are getting the luxury of not having to share a room and getting to stay in the guest rooms that he usually reserves for his friends.” He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I can tell you that Mrs. Andros is terrified of thunder, but she will do fine as long as the boss is with her if we have a bad storm. Otherwise some hand holding might be in order. That storm we had last night was not a fun experience for her.”

Marcin nodded. He was now understanding what was going on, if still a little confused why Caliban was somehow married to Mircea Kalavati’s wife. That seemed like a good way to start a war with the Kalavati family to him, but he was not going to challenge the boss. “Hand holding I can do. She seems like a very sweet woman.”

“She is. Don't ask me how this all got started, I don’t know. Given Caliban’s temperament at the moment, I wouldn’t go asking him either. It is clear that he cares for her, and I would venture deeply. Theron seems to have affection as well. So our two bosses want this woman looked after.” His lips thinned as Lars smiled. “During the storm Caliban didn’t release her even after she’d fallen asleep. Whoever she started life out as, she is Adira ANDROS now.” His brows rose to add emphasis.

“Is she okay?” Pietre asked. He’d been wondering. Lars hadn’t really said and they knew that she’d been taken out of the gatehouse by Caliban and Theron caging her so that she didn’t have to see the blood and body from the earlier violence.

“As best a woman that lived under routine beatings from Mircea Kalavati, then a kidnapping by the Marabioli clan, and now almost getting shot in the head by her new husband’s guard could be doing. That is to say, physically she is fine, but emotionally I won’t venture a guess. Neither Theron nor Caliban are letting anyone near her. I guess we will know when we leave tonight.” Lars sighed.

“You two take care of her up there with Caliban. We’ll ferret out the traitor or traitors to the boss, so it’s all safe when you get back. There is just something wrong with this whole situation.” Pietre looked between the other two men.

“I don’t disagree. Kondrat was way too confident for him to be acting on his own. He was having help from somewhere and thought that whoever it was, they were going to cover his ass. For him to have pulled her right from behind you, that means he knew he was going against the boss.” Marcin shook his head slightly. "So that means we have at least one other person.”

"Which is why the five of us will be Caliban’s eyes and ears for a while. He needs to focus on Adira. Right now she's clinging to him but she could just as easily get spooked and then we'd have to hunt her down and hope Mircea didn't find her first." Theron joined the other three men. With Adira resting and Caliban packing, he'd decided to see how everyone else was doing.

"Ther, so you think that Cal is in danger too? Do we need to step up security in general when they come back?" Pietre asked, the question having been growing in his mind.

"I don't think there's a threat to Cal, yet. That yet may change. Any leak or someone working for another family is bad news though. It weakens us," was Theron's answer.

"I'm going to address the elephant in the room, so don't shoot me. How did Cal go from entering that house to kill Riona Kalavati to exiting with his new wife?" Marcin knew that he was in dangerous territory but if he was going to unequivocally have Caliban’s back, he wanted to understand. Theron had the answer, he was sure. He only hoped that he didn’t die for his curiosity

Theron chuckled before explaining how absolutely everything the previous day had happened. When Caliban had started feeling attraction to the beautiful brunette, he couldn't say, but the chemistry had been obvious even to him from early on in their meeting. He had no reservations about the arrangement or relationship. If he had, he would have voiced them to Caliban personally..

"I believe she is going to do Cal and the organization a world of good. She seems honest and trustworthy. As you can see, he's a little protective. Truthfully, we both are." Theron chuckled.

[obigem]

"Sorry, for the wait, Mother, everyone. I know you're all hungry, so you can start in, you don't have to wait on our account."

"Dre's right," Cam found his smile, "It was my fault everything got held up, so don't blame her. Everyone can dig in, no more waiting."

"Great! Since I was the best behave before Mama and Daddy showed up late, that should mean I should get a reward. I want 3 pieces of sweet potato pumpkin pie."

"So, that was your angle." Cordie snorted under her breath.

"It's what I deserve." Millie jabbed back.

"I've been very good, and Daddy just said we can dig in and have whatever we want. And I want pie."

"You only want pie because you know I'm saving a slice for Jai, so you want to eat it all so he can't have any. And it's not going to work." Cordie called her out.

"Enough about pie, girls." Nana calmed them both down. "We can dig into the main meal, not dessert, once we say grace. Andrea? Care to lead it?"

"Grace?" Dre was caught off guard.

"Yes, go on. Just like you did when you were a little girl. You still remember, right?"

Before Andrea could answer, Raymond rejoined the family with Andros in hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, family. Little man needed a bit of potty help. Not all of the number 2 made it into the pot."

"Papa!" Dro grumbled. "You liar. You said you wouldn't tell!"

"No shame in missing the pot." Raymond tried to reassure him. "Now what did we miss?"

"Raymond, honestly talk of the potty at the dinner table." Rishella shook her head. "Nevermind that, Andrea was just about to lead us in saying grace, so hurry up now and take a seat."

Of course Andrea remembered how to say grace. It was a nightly staple in the Nichols home growing up.

But since marrying Cam, and his staunch agnosticism with the Watcher...

"Umm, Mother, the Fletchers aren't really a grace saying family." Dre tried to be delicate.

"Not a grace saying family? Now Andrea, I'm certain I don't have any idea what that means. Explain."

"Well," Andrea got nervous, "It just means that not everyone necessarily believes in giving thanks to the Watcher, so we keep things a bit more open minded around that."

"Open minded." Rishella got suspicious. "Andrea, it almost sounds like you're insinuating that there are people here who don't believe in the Watcher. Now that can't be true, can it?"

"Well—"

"Andrea, it's fine." Cam interjected. "You can lead grace. I think it'll be nice."

The last thing Cam needed was to start an uproar with the Nichols over his religious beliefs. He had far too much going on upstairs to have to tangle with that too. He could feign thanks to an imaginary Watcher for one night.

"Well OK, then." Andrea relaxed. "I'll lead grace."

[pupstim]

Andro gave a happy hum as the last of the Sun’s rays began to disappear beyond the far off hills. It had been quite a peaceful task after a week of mayhem and chaotic antics. Hope and Ai sat next to her also watching the sunset. The cliff they had set up on was quite steep but it gave such a beautiful view of the sunset. Andro considered it quite the success although…

She rested her gaze on Ai, the stickered egg sitting unusually still barely moving except to talk to Hope. The egg had been acting peculiar during the whole picnic but it hadn’t attacked either her or Hope. Still it was unnerving having something so focused on Hope and Andro knew she’d be in trouble with the other parents it she let the charade continue on further. Just to be sure… The avatar looks to Ai, “Hey kiddo, Daffodil.”

The egg slowly turns to look to her, before putting down a sign =”I like daffodils.”= Andro nodded, looking to Hope.

“You know what to do stardust.” Hope gave a small tremble, pulling out their warpstone and teleporting away. Ai continued to sit there, looking to where Hope used to be before looking to Andro.

=”Where 1s H0pe?”= The sign said, making Andro wince, yep the coparents would be pissed if they found out about this.

“Checking on something for me so we can get you a special surprise.” She chirps, grinning to the false egg. It shifts around growing slightly agitated as darkness continues to fall, the last of the sunlight beginning to fade. It put down another sign before suddenly the sky was light up with a brilliant green from a far off firework. Andro gave a hum, smiling and relaxing. “Awesome.”

Standing up Andro moves to the egg, giving it a sharp toothed grin. “So this has actually been pretty fun but honestly if you have any questions or want to talk to us, just fudging ask.” She says sweetly, before with a swift kick she sends the code tumbling over the edge of the cliff.

It falls for a few moments before shedding it’s disguise, 1’s and 0’s blooming across it shell as it began flying. Soon floating back up to Andro almost seeming to be glowering at her. “01010011a 01100110 01100101,” it spat out before suddenly turning and zooming away, disappearing in the glittering sky of the twilight.

“Fudging code,” Andro mumbles to herself, watching a moment more to make sure it was really gone. When nothing more came from the night sky she turned away from the cliff hurrying back to home, leaving the picnic behind. She had some kiddos to comfort.

=====

WOW A story! I am so late for the event sorrryyyyyyy. We've had a lot of fun though with the Fa1se event int the discord, come join us if you like just hit up .@qsmp-a1-updates!

But yea jus a lil thing I came up with. It's scuffed but its done.

[airi-of-hearts]

♠♥♦♣ FIRST IMPRESSIONS ♠♥♦♣

(aka friend, foe or lover)

First Impressions are powerful. Time passes and the moment may fade away but the first thought that crossed her mind upon meeting someone is forever engraved in her mind. 

That is not to say her opinions are set in stone. Airi likes to be fair and keep an open mind; her opinion of a person can change, yet, she will always remember how someone made her feel in that first moment.

For example, when she met Andro at a dance class, years and years before they found themselves in the Borderlands, she couldn’t explain how but she’d known they would become best friends. 

But in the Borderlands… well, things were not quite as simple.

Airi spent the first few days trying to fight shock and confusion, there wasn’t time to think about making friends. In fact, given the brutality of the games, it may have been better to not form any connections at all.

But even if she had refused to make new acquaintances, that was not a realistic option while residing at The Beach which was teeming with people.

Black hair.

A silk robe, sunglasses, an exotic manner: Hatter. Charming in his own way, charismatic to a fault. How else would he have managed to turn a luxury resort into some sort of cultish commune? Far from the utopia he sold it as, but better than spending the night outside.

Airi knew better than to trust him, but she couldn’t deny the fascination she felt upon first meeting the man. The way he looked at her–how could she possibly know this, when he was wearing those sunglasses?–while he explained the rules. 

That he was losing his mind was evident, even from that initial meeting; later, Airi thought about him in a different way: could he be tricked, could she manipulate him? Or would he be the one toying with her?

Black hair.

Leather pants, purple lipstick, intense and intimidating: Aki. Mysterious, captivating, bewitching. What was a man like that doing in a place like this? Diamonds specialist, he’d said without elaborating and Airi wondered if he’d meant to say Hearts. She could see him asking anyone for their heart and people surrendering it willingly. Danger.

Airi couldn’t let herself fall for this alluring stranger, no matter how much she liked talking to him, not here, not in this place. Then again, wouldn’t it make more sense to throw caution to the wind and “live to the fullest” while she was still alive? 

Before she knew it, her defenses had fallen and she was ready to bestow her heart on him, even before she even wondered if they'd ever share a late night kiss.

[scattered-winter]

oh my god ACTUALLY yes tell me all about the vigilante carlos au

(@x-andro)

ok so first of all I need to say that carlos is sooooo very vigilante coded already. all I did was see truth <3 (@dauntingday shares custody of vigilante carlos btw <;333) AND SECONDLY HERE'S THE PLAYLIST <33

this au incorporates my favorite headcanon that eddie and carlos are childhood besties btw <33 but basically they grew up together and were like Brothers and they were going to Change The World together!!! but then carlos' family moved to austin, and shannon got pregnant and eddie went off to war and they kind of. grew apart. but they both wanted to Change The World still!!!! so eddie became a firefighter in LA and carlos became a cop because they wanted to help people!! they grew up wanting to help people!!!! and carlos wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps!!! but it didn't take long for carlos to realize that the police force only helps the people on top. and the people who really need the help are the ones being oppressed and abused. and he hates that he's a part of it. he tries to stick to it because maybe he can change it, maybe he can be a good cop, but in the end he realizes that no matter how good of a cop he is, the system is still broken and there's nothing he can do from the inside to fix it. he needs to tear it down from the outside and still keep his soul intact. and so vigilante carlos is born <33

he purposely is using police colors but In His Own Way because his whole thing is that he's what the cops should be. yes visual symbolism is a thing of mine however could you tell??? his primary weapon is a collapsible bo staff, but he also has the generic vigilante arsenal (grappling hooks, throwing stars, smoke bombs, etc). the suit is primarily body armor similar to the stuff batman and co. use in the comics, and the cape is fireproof.

he takes the name sentinel (soldier imagery in MY carlos and eddie fic?????? more likely than you THINK) and primarily focuses on protecting the people over protecting assets and property. and he likes to fuck with the cops because he knows their procedures inside and out so he can fuck with them in a way that nobody else can <3 also as he gains more respect and admiration among the people, they begin to adopt his symbol as their own. the symbol of the people, as it were. kids spray painting the S on the alley walls, people scratching it into their walls with chalk, etc etc. I'm a slut for the superhero protecting his people and the people accepting him as theirs, ya know????

anyway the story proceeds fairly similarly as canon, except carlos has been operating as sentinel for at least a year BEFORE tk and owen moved to austin and put the 126 together. so he helps michelle investigate to find her sister, and grace is his oracle <333 she figured out he was sentinel fairly early and insisted on helping him. thus many late nights of grace and carlos poring over cases at the ryder kitchen table while judd played video games in the other room because grace and carlos' detective teamup arc in s3 was SOOO <3333333 she's on comms, and hacks into cameras and security systems to help him find people to help or people to hurt, depending on the situation. her codename is soteria (greek goddess of salvation, safety, and deliverance <333) tk and eddie also talk shop long-distance, and there's definitely a few instances of eddie talking carlos through removing a bullet late at night. and also eddie and carlos speaking spanish to each other. I'm right <3

he meets tk and the 126, and everything proceeds about as canon dictates, except sometime after putting the firehouse together owen retires and goes to live in the fucking. bahamas or something. idk where he is but he sure as hell isn't in austin anymore <3 before, carlos didn't really have anyone outside of his family to hide his secret identity from, since grace and michelle already knew, but now he has a new family to lie to, and he doesn't want to lie to this one. he and tk hook up and get together a la canon, but then a few months into their relationship tk finds out that carlos is, in fact, the vigilante running around austin all night. and of course there's some conflict there because tk's upset that carlos didn't tell him, and carlos is upset because he wanted to, but wasn't sure how, and also didn't want to bring tk into it anyway, and it's kind of a Whole Thing. but after they both have some space and cool off, they reconcile because I like miscommunication angst but only if it isn't dragged out super long. so there's a little angst but nothing huge. they're partners in crime your honor <333

SO. PARAMEDIC TK x VIGILANTE CARLOS. YOU CAN UNDERSTAND MY VISION CAN'T YOU <33333333 I have an UNGODLY amount of scenes where tk patches carlos up after patrol while they're both discussing the current case and bouncing ideas off each other. this is my very self indulgent au after all <333 at this point, most of the firehouse still doesn't know that carlos is a vigilante, with tk being the exception, and carlos doesn't want them to know because they'd gladly throw themselves into the field to keep him safe and he doesn't want them to do that!!! the entire reason he's doing this is to keep people safe and he doesn't want his friends to put themselves in danger for him!! but ofc they find out in the worst way possible because it's ME <3

carlos' primary villain is gonna be a pyrokinetic/serial bomber for a lot of reasons first of all so that tk can use his expertise to help solve the case and also because it's a sexy sexy trope to have an entire firehouse be up against the literal embodiment of evil fire <333 but sometime during this conflict, the bomber figures out carlos' secret identity and nearly kills him in an explosion, so tk rushes him to the one place he can trust: the firehouse. which is how the rest of the 126 finds out that carlos is sentinel because he's wearing the suit bleeding out from shrapnel wounds <3333333 tommy and nancy help tk patch him up, and after carlos regains some of his strength he and tk have to figure out their next move. so he tells the 126 to leave austin. go stay with relatives, go stay with friends, whatever they have to do that gets them out of the city. they're connected to carlos, which means they aren't safe anymore. and meanwhile carlos and tk are running to ground to figure out their next move against the bomber. and they go to the only person carlos trusts with this: his childhood best friend. cue the tarlos road trip from austin to LA and the scene where they're on eddie's doorstep and eddie just pulls carlos into a hug because they're BRUTHVERS ur honor.

the next phase of this arc takes place in LA as carlos recovers from his injuries and he, tk, and eddie try to plan out what to do next. and also uncle carlos playing with chris. I'm correct about that too

meanwhile, LA's own young vigilante is running around on patrol with a suit very clearly modeled after sentinel's, so after carlos heals enough, he goes out to meet her. and may grant wasn't expecting to meet the person who inspired her but she's very much happy to!!!! before meeting carlos her primary style was to hack into the phones and talk the bad guy down and lure him outside where she's waiting to Take Him Down (like she did in the most recent episode!!!!!) but then he teaches her how to do more detective/vigilante work. carlos mentoring may is what I'm saying. and they're both vigilantes. <3

may's suit btw <3 she looked at sentinel's suit and went "what if that had STYLE" and she was right <3 she modeled her color scheme after firefighters instead of cops, because she has so many incredible role models in her life who are also firefighters!!! her superhero name is peacemaker, which she modeled after her mom!!! may's entire persona as a superhero being inspired by both her parents is SO personal to me actually

anyway. carlos and may bestieship agenda <333

and ofc the good times can't last. because the bomber follows them to LA. and now it's sentinel + peacekeeper + a handful of the most batshit insane found family to ever exist + the most batshit boyfriend to ever exist against a bomber who can shoot fire out of his hands. also carlos and may working together to take down her first real supervillain <3<3<3<3

but ofc they take the bad guy down, and tarlos go back home to austin, but not before getting roped into Dinner With The Grants where athena pulled carlos aside and says "I appreciate you keeping my daughter safe out there but please for the love of god don't fucking DIE before we see each other again" and also carlos sparring with may that is ALL <33333

[liviavanrouge]

"I used to go into the forest and build a tent with my siblings back home"Jack says Deuce and Denzel looking at him, Shadow and Andro glaring at each other. "Well as Vargas says, there should be many things for us to learn in the forest"Denzel says closing his eyes, his hands tapping the desk in front of him. "If you guys say so..."Deuce says looking slightly assured. "To put it simply, we're just sleeping outside right? Will we really improve just by doing that?"Deuce asked looking at Shadow. "You said your family lives in a cottage in the woods right"Deuce says. Shadow nodded, his hands behind his back. "You can learn a lot of things from just being out in the woods, even if you're not camping, that's what my dad taught me and my siblings"Shadow smiled his expression softening slightly.

"YOU'RE NOISY!!!!!" Everyone flinched, looking at Vargas shocked. "You will be stronger if you participate in Vargas Camp, no matter what you say!!"Vargas frowned. "Tch. So noisy, Ruggie, what's with the damn ruckus?"Leona growled opening his eyes annoyed. "Leona....you have bad timing"Ruggie sighed shaking his head, a little frustrated. "Vargas is in the middle of being angry, so please hold your tongue"Ruggie pleaded nervous. "Huh"Leona scowled. "Geez such troublesome students"Vargas frowned. "He calls us troublesome just for talking"Denzel snorted rolling his eyes. "Now, now, Vargas!"Headmaster Crowley chuckled. "They'll change as soon as they start camp, don't you think so"Headmaster Crowley smiled.

"Chicken..."Shadow murmured Andro smirking. "Yes, as you said. I'm excited for next week!"Vargas grinned. He turned back to the students, his hands resting on his hips. "Okay, you all. I will now distribute this 'Camp Pamphlet' this includes the details of this camp!"Vargas announces. "Make sure to read through it all"Vargas adds. Golden squinted, wondering if that was Vargas being cheeky with them for a split moment. When the meeting ended, Silver, Riddle and Sebek hurried out, going to Sam's shop. Livia carried boxes around for Sam, a wide smile on her face. "Thanks for the help little Imp Cub!"Sam chuckled patting her head. "No problem Uncle Sam!"Livia beamed looking up at him, glad she could help. "Livia!"Silver says relieved. "Silver!"Livia beamed setting the boxes down. She ran over, Silver chuckling as he hugged her, lifting her up, Livias hands happily in the air.

"We need to speak with you"Silver says setting her down. "Livia, we need you to participate in the Vargas Camp, or else the club will be disbanded"Riddle informs. "Disbanded..."Livia blinked. "She doesn't know what that word means"Silver says covering Livias ears. "Oh uhm.."Riddle says trying to figure out a way to explain it to Livia, remembering how childish Livia acts. "It's when...someone takes the club away and we can't do it anymore, and.. we'd uhm have to join a different club"Riddle explains. "Oh!"Livia gasped her eyes wide. "Is it not too late for me to participate so we don't...d-disband!"Livia asked hopefully. "Not at all!"Riddle smiled. "Yay!"Livia beamed. "Livia...we should continue working on the thing"Sam says. "What thing?"Silver asks. "You'll see! I'll meet you back at Diasomnia"Livia giggled.

Silver sat in the common room, staring at the door, waiting for Livia. "Silver?"Lilia says walking over. Silver kept his eyes on the door, a small frown on his face. "You should go to sleep, I'll keep an eye out for her"Lilia suggests. A chime came from Silvers phone, making him perk up. "Is that Livia?"Lilia asked. "She's spending the night with Sam..."Silver blinked. "She doesn't have Po, or her favorite blanket, how is she gonna sleep!"Silver says. "She came here earlier and grabbed her stuff"Lilia corrects. "What..."Silver says alarmed. "Yeah, she said she'd see you on the day you boys leave"Lilia informs. "What is she up to....what's the thing, she's working on with Sam, Crewel and Trein"Silver frowned looking suspicious. He sighed and got up, heading to bed.

The day of the camp arrived, the clubs meeting up. "Have all the horse-riding club members gathered?"Riddle asked. "Actually, Sebek and Livia haven't arrived yet"Silver responded. "We planned to go together but he changed his mind and said he wants to stay near Malleus as much as he can...hmm?"Silver says. "I see Sebeks here now, but where's Liv"Silver comments. Sebek walked in, a smug look on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "'Living in the nature, that would be easy for you. Horse-riding club sounds peaceful enough' I can't forget the young masters words so nonchalantly"Sebek says. "Just you wait, young Master! This Sebek will surely...SURELY!!!!!!!"Sebek grinned. "I'll make this the perfect camp for the horse-riding club, more than those weak humans!"Sebek grinned.

"I'll make sure to not bring shame to you as your escort!"Sebek swore. Riddle stared at Sebek alarmed, while Silver sighed shaking his head. More people arrived, walking into the Mirror Room. Leona frowned, looking far more than annoyed. "So annoying...why can't I skip this camp?"Leona sighed. Ruggie chuckled, and shook his head. "Don't complain so much, Leona"Ruggie says. "They said 'all members must join' and 'you'll be disbanded if you don't'"Ruggie says. Floyd walked in, a lazy smile on his face. "Sea Snake, Crab, Seahorse morning!"Floyd smiled. "Eh?!"Jamil gasped. "FLOYD! Those clothes!"Golden says alarmed. "This? It's nice, don't you think, I bought it for the camp!"Floyd smiled looking proud of himself. "It's easy to move in and it's durable, I've been liking this brand lately!"Floyd chuckled.

"....Hm? Isn't that from the popular brand, Sea Lion?"Floyd asked curiously. "I know Remora's too! You sure worked your first for this"Floyd smiled. "Shishishishi, you look good too Floyd"Ruffle chuckled. "Actually, he bought mine for extra when he bought his wear"Ruggie smiled. "How carefree"Leona muttered. "For that, I'll have you work hard in the camp, for my part too"Leona smirked. "Of course! Actually I knew you'd say that with or without buying me these clothes"Ruggie chuckled. "Hmph, your down jacket will get stuck on the branches, and tear once you get in the mountains"Sebek comments. "If you're going to camp seriously, you should at least put something on like mine"Sebek grinned. "It's Lilia's recommendation, durable, waterproof and breathable rainwear!"Sebek smiled proudly.

"Ha, okay Mr. Perfect"Leona grinned amused. "If you're that scared of the mountains, you can just tremble in your tent all you want"Leona smirked looking mocking. "You-"Sebek started angrily. "Hey, Sebek. Putting aside the equipment, is it okay to not wear sportswear?"Jack interrupted before the situation decided to escalate. "I'd say the same to Ruggie, Leona and Floyd, honestly, you're standing out...a lot"Jack adds cautiously. Golden held his arm out in front of Floyd, Denzel doing the same, both boys stronger than Floyd when it came to rivaling the male in terms of strength. "Huh? You got any problems? I'll wear whatever I want"Floyd demanded scary mode kicking in. "Ah, no! It's not a problem, per se!"Jack says quickly, silently relieved that Denzel and Golden were here.

"Just...the camps pamphlet say to wear 'something easy to move in' so I was just concerned"Jack sighed rubbing the back of his head. "It didn't specify to wear 'sportswear', for me, this is 'something easy to move in'"Leona responded looking at Jack. "Lady Livia texted me the same thing before I was able to interpret it"Sebek nodded looking at Leona then back at Jack. "Vargas, didn't point us out either, that's the biggest proof that we're not wrong"Sebek adds smugly. "I thought you'd show up with clothes like us"Ruggie agreed nodding. "You know, we're going into the mountains for three days right? Those clothes are too thin and inefficient"Ruggie says placing his hands behind his head. "They're right.."Denzel frowned annoyed. "I didn't think that far though"Epel says surprised.

"I see, they didn't specify us to wear 'sportswear', good thinking, Sebek"Silver says. "Hmph, the credit goes to Lady Livia, she's definitely smarter than her elder siblings despite the way she is, you just didn't give it enough attention"Sebek grinned. "Am I late!" Everyone turned, their eyes widening in shock. Livia beamed at them, her hair up in a ponytail. She wore a white shirt with 'let's go camping' engraved on the front, dark blue jeans, brown boots, and a jacket like Sebeks only it was a lilac purple. A white fanny pack was around her waist, a first aid kit in her hands. "Livia?!"Sebek says his face turning a dark red at the sight of her. "She looks good in that"Jack mumbled. "I'm participating as your nurse!"Livia beamed giggled. "AS OUR NURSE?!"

[imhereformr]

Hi! :) Could you please do prompt 11 for Rivusa? 💜💜 I wish you a wonderful day!

11: Secret Relationship

Rival gang AU /// Content warning: mildly smutty

The abandoned car factory wasn’t the most romantic place. It was certainly not where Musa had ever expected to be having rendez-vous’ with her lover. The place, even though it’d been deserted for close to twenty years now, smelled like a strange mixture of leather, chemicals and dust. Occasionally, the ghost smell of burning metal would tickle her nose, but those were rare. Besides, she spent most of her time coiled into Riven’s side, enveloped by the fresh, woodsy scent of his aftershave or the sweetness of his sweat.

She walked through the building to the backroom where they spent most of what little, precious time they had together. Always Monday nights, sometimes Wednesdays if they were lucky. She hated sneaking around, but it was necessary. If her father, the president of Magix’s Fallen Angels, found out his daughter was fucking – and in love with – the VP of their rival gang, The Dragon Riders, a war would break out between the two that would likely leave more dead bodies than she wanted to be responsible for.

No matter how hard she tried to keep quiet, her footsteps seemed to echo through the building. Every time they met up, she became paranoid. Musa was careful – more careful than she’d ever been about anything. She made sure to leave in the middle of the night once her father was asleep; made sure to always park her car a block away instead of in front of their house so that if he woke up he wouldn’t see her leave; made sure that no one was watching her as she got in her car; made sure that no cars followed her when she got off the ramp that led to the near-deserted stretch of road where the factory was; and made sure to park her car inside the old employee indoor garage who’s door that Riven had managed to fix so they could open and close it. All that effort – so much more effort than she ever thought she’d put into seeing a guy – just for a few hours by his side. And it was, in her opinion, more than worth it.

The door to the office where they spent their time was already open when she got there. Unlike the rest of the factory that was littered with trash, dirt and discarded production equipment, this office was in decent shape. It helped that Riven had taken the time to clean it when he had come across the area. There was a desk that faced towards the right wall, a torn black leather office chair, shelving and filing cabinets; all from the factory days, and all in surprisingly good condition. Riven had bought a loveseat for the corner of the office for them to cuddle up on a while back – that was the sole addition to the room. She would have preferred a bed so they could lie down, but there just wasn’t enough space.

Musa paused by the office door. Riven, leaning against the front of the desk with his phone in hand, still hadn’t noticed her arrival – she must not have been as loud as she thought – so she took a moment to drink him in. He was tall – significantly taller than her – with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. He always looked the same: dark wash jeans, a plain t-shirt and his leather jacket, the very one that told her she shouldn’t be near him. His maroon hair was slicked back – partially by stylistic choice, but also because he had a habit of running his hand through his hair whenever he was thinking about something or uncomfortable – and he still had a scar along his cheekbone from a fight he’d been in two weeks earlier. She knew that under his clothes, adorning a body worthy of a god, were more scars and bruises from that fight and others past, and two gunshot wounds: one in his right shoulder and one just above his left hip bone.

“Waiting for someone?” she asked when she realised she’d been staring at him far longer than was normal. Riven’s hand instinctively reached for the gun he kept tucked into the back of his jeans but stopped when he registered her voice. He looked at her over his shoulder and smiled brightly. His smile sent a bolt of lightning through Musa, awakening something deep in her. She returned his smile as she approached him, pulling off her own leather jacket. He mirrored her movements, tossing his jacket onto the desk where it landed on top of hers.

His lips were on hers within seconds, hungry and desperate. His hands wasted no time in making their way to her hips and pulling her as close to him as physically possible. Her own hands tangled in his hair, tugging lightly with every moan that escaped her lips. Riven backed her up against the wall, pressing himself into her. “You’re late” he whispered, removing his lips from hers to trail kisses down her neck.

“Sorry” she managed between gentle moans and pleased sighs. “Dad went to bed a bit later than usual.”

“Doesn’t matter. You're here.” His lips returned to hers, drowning her in desire. One of his hands wandered down from her shoulders to her chest, where his thumb brushed over her nipple lightly, sending a shiver through her, and down to the hem of her shirt. There was no pretense of modesty, no playfulness in the way Riven pulled the shirt off her. He knew what he wanted, and she was more than happy to give it to him. She hadn’t bothered to put a bra on in her rush to get out of the house, and Riven smirked when he noticed. He ducked down to suck at her nipple, and Musa arched her back to make it easier for him.

Her hands ran along his back, digging into him with her nails, until they found the edge of his shirt and yanked it over his head in one swift movement. Her eyes drifted down to his perfectly sculpted abs as she ran her hand across them, feeling every groove and bump. She let her hands slide lower, giddiness and anticipation building with every second, until one was cupping and teasing his bulge and the other was fiddling with his pant button.

Musa could feel his eyes on her, and when she lifted her own to meet them, she found him watching her with a softness that made her feel like goo. “What?” she laughed, her voice coming out much breathier than she’d expected. Riven shook his head, pulling his eyes away from hers and whispering an almost inaudible nothing. When they’d first started doing this – whatever this was – Musa would get upset when he would do that. She thought he was hiding something from her. It had been two years since then, and she knew better now. Nothing didn’t mean nothing; it meant I’m happy or you’re perfect or, her favourite, I love you.

***

Riven pulled her onto the loveseat beside him and draped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, feeling it rise and fall in time with his chest and heavy breaths. Her finger trailed along his sweat-slicked chest, drawing figure eights. A smile was plastered on his face and his eyes were still glazed over from his orgasm. He was beautiful.

“I’ve been looking at Melody” he told her after a few minutes. She could feel his fingers ghosting over the angel wings tattooed on her back. He traced the wings every time they were together, and every time she wished they weren’t there. Those wings represented a stupid, made up barrier keeping her from him, and she’d grown to despise them.

“Oh?” Musa raised her eyebrow as she tilted her head to look up at him. His eyes were focused on the dark office, but looked faraway from where they were. She loved his eyes. They were a deep shade of violet that swirled and danced every emotion he felt. He was her ticket into his soul and, now that she could figure them out, she never had to wonder if he truly loved her again. Until the day when those eyes wouldn’t look at her like she was the sun, she knew he was hers just as much, if not more, than she was his.

“You told me you’ve always wanted to see the realm your mom was from. And I looked into it, there is no Dragon charter out there. You’ll have to confirm about the Angels, but I couldn’t find anything.”

Musa sat upright, resting her palm flat against his chest. She searched his eyes for any hint of dishonesty or humour, but found none. “Really?” They’d talked about leaving Magix – getting away from the gang life and starting over somewhere – more times than she could count. Everywhere had been an idea: Solaria, Eraklyon, Andros, Melody, Zenith, Dalona, Oppositus. That’s all they’d ever been, though, ideas.

“Yeah. I don’t know what my future holds, but if it doesn’t include you – all of you, not just secret meetings in the middle of the night in some shitty abandoned factory – I don’t want it.” Riven dropped his head onto the back of the couch and let it flop sideways to look at her. His hand caressed her cheek with a tenderness that she knew he reserved for her. Her hand lowered from his chest to trace the dragon’s tail that coiled up his right leg, ending in a majestic magenta, blue and black dragon on his back. “I like Melody.”

“Good” he smiled. “I’ve looked at real estate and I have enough money saved up that we can get a nice place of our own. We couldn’t get anything big enough for a family in the city, but the suburbs are still really affordable.”

“The suburbs? Are we the suburban type?” she laughed. “I mean, I’ll have to learn to bake pies. And what the fuck does a PTA do?”

“Do you think we’ll have to get a minivan?” he added, laughing at the snort that escaped her lips.

“Of course. How else are we gonna get the kids to soccer practice?”

“Fine, but I refuse to wear beige or polos. And I still want at least one bike.”

“And I won’t wear dresses or curl my hair. Plus I demand that you keep at least one jacket. You look too hot in leather to give it up entirely.” Musa eyed the leather jackets crumpled on top of the desk. “Preferably one without a dragon on it.”

“We’re gonna scandalise the neighbours with our tattoos, leather jackets and motorcycles.”

“That’s fine. We’ll probably be the coolest parents in the neighbourhood.”

They fantasized about their life after escaping until Musa’s alarm went off at 4:15, breaking them out of the dream bubble they created and forcing them to return to their real lives. They got dressed as slowly as possible, dragging out the time until they’d have to be apart again. Then, the lovers walked hand in hand through the factory to the garage.

When they reached their vehicles, Riven pulled her into a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, reciprocating the tightness of his around her waist. After pulling away before the kiss became too heavy, Riven laid his forehead against hers. “One month” he whispered. She looked up at him through the messy fringe on her forehead. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was drawn tight. “That’s the goal. We leave in one month.”

“Wait, really?” Musa pulled her head away from his as she batted her eyelashes in confusion. She never thought he’d actually want to leave Magix. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, are you not?” Riven furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his jaw. She could feel his fists clenching on her back, and the doubt and hurt that sparked in his breathtaking eyes tore Musa to shreds, made her feel like she’d just stabbed the man she loved. “I’m in. I just never thought you would actually want to. I mean, the Dragons are your family.”

“And the Angels are yours, but we can make our own family. One free of drugs and turf wars.”

“Just pies, minivans and nosy, scandalised neighbours. Sounds perfect.”

“Anywhere that you are is perfect” he whispered, pulling her back in and placing a gentle kiss on the crown of her head. They stayed like that for a few minutes, breathing in each other's scent and memorising every feature so they wouldn’t forget them in the week until they could see each other again. Riven’s alarm went off, alerting them that it was 4:45 and they had to leave now. He pulled her into one last kissed, far sweeter than any they’d shared in their two years together. It was full of promise and hope, something they’d never had before.

“I love you Musa.” It was so rare to hear him say the words I love you that Musa cherished every single one. In their two years, he’d said it exactly twelve times. The first was a year ago when it had slipped out after they’d had sex. Not exactly romantic, but still very cute. “I love you too Riven.”

They shared one more quick peck before Musa watched him take a seat on his bike and ride away. She got in her car and let out an elated sigh and took off, already counting down the days. All she had to do now was sit tight and not let anything slip. It couldn’t be that hard; she’d already kept this secret for twenty-seven months. What was one more? She just had to make it through this one month without her excitement bubbling over and he would be all hers.

[snarky-art]

Musa and Aisha in their enchantix! I still haven’t figured out how I want the wings to look but that’s ok I think.

Info on their relationship in my version of Winx Club below!

So when Aisha arrives at Alfea in season 2, it’s pretty much the same as in the original show. She doesn’t really know what to do. Anne was the only person her age she had ever really interacted with. The rest of the time she was pretty isolated and surrounded by adults. She has trouble figuring out exactly how to act around the winx and is really scared of messing things up.

Musa is also used to feeling like that. She has a lot of separation anxiety and fear of abandonment which she had manifest in the defense mechanism of not letting people get close so she couldn’t get hurt. She’s gotten better at handling it though ever since joining Alfea and getting a super close knit group of friends. As a result though, she can understand best how Aisha is feeling and is able to help in little ways the others can’t.

Musa does the most to make her feel more comfortable and at ease (the others do too but it just hits a little different coming from someone who really gets it, ya know?) and as a result they become much closer much faster. They find themselves talking more openly about their fears and insecurities and experiences when they’re alone and a they just end up having a really strong bond.
In my version of this, Musa and Riven did get together at the end of season 1, but they breakup around ¾ths of the way through season 2. They realize it just isn’t really healthy for either of them and they both bring out the worst in each other. They both have some insecurities from previous relationships and just their family life in general (Riven’s mom abandoned him, Musa’s mom is dead and her relationship with her father is pretty strained although it does start to get better after the concert episode in season 2), so Musa is the one who ultimately takes the initiative to break it off. They both aren’t happy and Riven takes it especially hard, but Timmy talks some sense into him and he starts working to get better around the end of season 2/beginning of season 3.

Another reason Musa breaks it off is along with realizing how much worse she feels with Riven and along with how much worse she is as a person with him, she has a moment of realization where she just goes “oh, but with Aisha, I DO want to be better, and I trust her so much more completley,, oh no.” and she’s basically like “now we don’t have time to unpack ALL of that right now” but along with ending her relationship being better for both Riven and her, she needs to think some stuff about that over.

Musa is in denial about liking Aisha for a while and tries to stifle it and convince herself it’s nothing or that it’ll go away. This isn’t because she’s having a Gay Panic or something though (in my thing she’s bi and has had partners of other genders before). The panic comes from at this point, Aisha is one of the closest people in her life despite them only knowing each other for about a year and she doesn’t want to ruin something good (cue abandonment issues). Musa handles this physically by being more shy and easily flustered and also by eventually talking to the winx about it. Tecna ties but in my thing, Tecna is borderline Aromantic (demi is what I’m thinking of for her, still haven’t figured it all out though) so she’s not very good at giving advice for it, but she’s happy to listen. Flora gives soft advice and a listening ear, ever the romantic, and Stella is too but she’s much more loud (she also feels bad about trying to hook Musa up with so many dates and her and Riven broke up now that she knows Musa was having a crisis the whole time, granted the date with Jared was a good thing since Jared and Musa became good friends so Stella won’t apologize for that one and Musa decides that’s fair), and Bloom is pretty awkward with relationship stuff so she does the “are ya winning, son?” approach to all of this. Musa appreciates that they’re all trying though, despite the various degrees of success.

Aisha doesn’t really talk to anyone about her feelings for Musa, which she realizes she has shortly after gaining her enchantix. During the first attack on Alfea in the their third year of school, when she sees her enchantix for the first time, and how sure of herself she was about doing what she could to save Galatea’s life and save all the ancient texts and tomes, she’s like “yup that pretty much confirms everything for me.”

In my version Aisha is a lesbian and she’s known for a WHILE. Anne was her first crush and she also liked some of the princesses and nobles that she would meet or see at the many fancy diplomatic meetings she would be dragged to. She’s very secure in her sexuality and romantic attraction (homophobia isn’t really a Thing in my version per se, but there are some concerns about lineage in upper circles for royalty and leaders, since not all queer couples can have children biologically and sometimes adoption is hard depending on the circumstances, ESPECIALLY if there is a form of magic that is needed to be transferred from one member of a family to the next member and it isn’t a guarantee or even possible for some magic to latch onto someone and become apart of their core if they aren’t biologically related). Aisha hadn’t mentioned it to her parents though. Her parents and her don’t have the most open relationship due to the very controlling and stifling nature of both the court her parents rule over and just their general demeanor which leads to the next issue: arranged marriage on Andros, which is something her parents still partake in, and that really makes both Musa and Aisha feel like their hearts are being grabbed and twisted. Once they tell her, she’s about to tell them but they leave soon after telling her because they have stuff to do and also they would rather speak to Aisha once she’s “calmed down some.” The next time she has time to tell them, shit with Valtor starts to hit the fan and it gets put on the backburner.

By the time Nabu shows up, it’s pretty rough. Once Aisha realizes who he is she’s mad because of course she is, this is the person she’s expecting to be with. Nabu is understanding of this, and gets it completely, especially since he originally lied about his identity. Aisha does take a breather though and they talk it out some. He wanted to see who he was arranged to marry like in the show, and Aisha says she honestly never wanted to see him, and he laughs and says that’s fair. They do end up having a “best bros” dynamic though eventually. AIsha tells him about Musa, and he says he’s so sorry about this whole thing and eventually they do meet up with their parents like in the show and they talk to them about everything finally and their parents tell them that the arranged marriage isn’t necessary in the end. It works out and Aisha and Nabu do a sickass secret handshake they made and all is well. The relationship between their kingdoms is also really strong regardless of marriage too due to their eventual life long friendship.

Aisha also eventually talks to Flora some about how she should go about asking Musa out and about whether or not she thinks it would be a good idea and Flora and Chatta (ESPECIALLY CHATTA) are doing EVERYTHING they can to not blurt out that Musa hasn’t been able to shut up about liking Aisha for over a year and a half at this point. 

Over the season their relationship continues to get stronger. 

TW: talk of e*ting disorder. Please skip this paragraph if that is triggering to you. I will have the next paragraph start with -paragraph over- so skip to that if you would like

I also have a thing in my version where Musa struggles with an e*ting disorder some just do to anxiety and insecurities and that was one of the ways those things ended up manifesting (that’s how it was for me and I’ve put a little bit of myself into each of these gals and pal (Tecna is nonbinary in my version and although they’re fine with being perceived as a woman and is cool with she/her pronouns and general slang terms like “gal,” “dude,” “bro,” etc., they still prefer overall being acknowledged as a nonbinary person by people who don’t know them very well (all pronouns are cool with them also. This stuff I just mentioned is how I am as a nonbinary person and I thought it fit Tecna too). This is why I have her looking a little thinner in my earlier sketches, since those take place in season 1 and 2. Aisha goes out of her way to help her however she can and Musa feels guilty but eventually Aisha just tells her to accept the help because she cares about her, she knows that Musa wants to get better (she started wanting to really work to stop skipping meals in the middle of season 2 and being less afraid of putting on weight. Her relationship with Riven wasn’t helping her mental state and this was around the point where she realized things probably weren’t going to get better unless she worked really hard on both herself and with setting better boundaries. Aisha was the only one to know about her skipping meals more than was healthy as it ended up coming out on one of their many late night heart to heart convos they like to have) and because it isn’t taking a toll on her mental health, and she promises to let her know if it does (Aisha also learned more about healthy boundaries during her time with the winx way to go, queen). They do meal preps together, get a healthy workout routine that doesn’t involve Musa dropping dead from exhaustion every time, and they get help pamphlets and Musa ends up seeing a counselor on campus to get some help and by the middle of season 3, things are a lot better, and while it’s still something that Musa is going to struggle with off and on during her life because that’s how this stuff tends to work, she has the tools to help herself better and she also has a really good support system and knows therapy is still an option if she needs it after her time at Alfea. The rest of the winx find out eventually too and are, of course, super supportive and proud of her.

-end paragraph-

The main takeaway from that paragraph is that Aisha and Musa are very close and supportive of each other and that I mention Tecna is nonbinary (all pronouns acceptable, although tends to prefer they/them)

Along with that being yet another huge thing that relates to them wanting to help each other grow and become better people, they just end up realizing that if they could choose a day where they could choose anyone to spend time with for the whole time, it would be each other.

By the end of their third year at alfea/the movie (unsure which yet exactly, but it’s in that time frame) they get together and they stay together for the rest of everything:)

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Today in Tolkien - March 9th

Gandalf and Pippin reach Minas Tirith at dawn, probably near 6am. Practically all the events of the chapter “Minas Tirith” happen on this day, so this and “The Passing of the Grey Company” are out of chronological order. Since most of the first section of The Return of the King centres on the defence of Minas Tirith, it makes sense that Tolkien wanted to start out the book by introducing us to the city and to its danger, so readers would understand why Aragorn considered matters desperate enough to take the Paths of the Dead.

There’s already an indication, early on, of Denethor’s use of the palantír.

Gandalf: For I have not ridden hither from Isengard, one hundred and fifty leagues [450 miles], with the speed of wind, only to bring you one small warrior, however courteous. Is it naught to ypu that Théoden has fought a great battle,and that Isengard is overthrown, and that I have broken the staff of Saruman?

Denethor: It is much to me. But I already know sufficient of these deeds for my own counsel against the menace of the East.

He turned his dark eyes on Gandalf, and now Pippin saw a likeness between the two, and he felt the strain between them, almost as if he saw a line of smouldering fire, drawn from eye to eye, that might suddenly burst into flame.

... [Pippin’s musing broke off, and he saw that Denethor and Gandalf still looked each other in the eye, as if reading the other’s mind. But it was Denethor who first withdrew his gaze.

“Yea,” he said, “for though the Stones be lost, they say, still the Lords of Gondor have keener sight than lesser men, and many messages come to them.”

There’s no way for anyone to have reached Minas Tirith faster from Isengard with news than Gandalf has on Shadowfax. Denethor asserts that the palantíri are lost to throw Gandalf off, but it’s hard to see what other information source Gandalf could expect. But Gandalf says of Denethor that he has some of the abilities of the old Númenoreans: “He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off. It is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try.”

Gandalf also says that Faramir is similar in this regard, and we can see some of that in Faramir’s earlier interrogation of Gollum: “There are locked door and closed windiws in your mind, and dark rooms behind them. And later, to Frodo: Malice eats it like a canker, and the evil is growing. He will lead you to no good. And: He has done murder before. I read it in him. (And the murder of Déagol is something that even Gandalf had a hard time getting out of Gollum.) There’s something rather Elvish about this limited quasi-telepathy of the descendents of the Númenoreans, reminiscent of Galadriel’s testing of the Company in Lothlórien.

At any rate, Pippin meets Beregond at 9am for orientation. They get some breakfast and eat and talk on the walls. Pippin sees wains going south, evacuating the last of the civilians from the city to South Gondor. He also sees, from Mordor, a darkness rising: the gloom was growing and gathering, very slowly, slowly rising to smother the regions of the sun. This is the darkness that will indeed block out the sun by the next morning. Beregond tells Pippin of the fleet of the Corsairs of Umbar. And Beregond is wiser in his way than the Lord of the City: “This is a great war long-planned, and we are but one piece in it, whatever pride may say. Things move in the far East beyond the Inland Sea, it is reported; and north in Mirkwood and beyond; and south in Harad.”

They talk until noon, then go to lunch and meet the men of Beregond’s company, and then Beregond suggest that Pippin (who has no further duties) go meet Beregond’s son Bergil, who can show him around the city. They watch Gondor’s reinforcements ride in in the late afternoon and evening: 200 from Lossarnach; 300 from Ringló Vale, 500 bowmen from Blackroot Vale, various untrained men from the Anfalas by the sea, a few from Lamedon, 100 from Ethir (the mouths of Anduin), 300 from Pinnath Gelin (north of the Anfalas) and Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth with a company of knights plus 700 infantry. Less than 3000 total, and much less than hoped; many regions are holding back forces to defend against the Umbar fleet. Most of them are from land through which Aragorn and the Dead will ride.

And Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the Dúnedain are already in those lands of South Gondor. Today at dawn they set out, followed by the Dead, from the Stone of Erech, and reach the crossing of the River Ciril by sunset. They are passing through the aforementioned regions of Morthond Vale and Lamedon, and are almost at the Ringló Vale; Pinnath Gelin and the Anfalas are well to their east, Dol Amroth is south of them (it’s on the seacoast and a clear target for the corsairs, so it says a lot that Imrahil came to Minas Tirith personally).

Théoden, the Rohirrim, and Merry arrive in Dunharrow at sunset. Now we learn that when Gandalf and Pippin were at Edoras three days ago, Gandalf brought word from Théoden ordering the muster of Rohan. This is invaluable - it means that instead of starting to gather their forces now, which would bring them to Minas Tirith far too late, they are already ready to ride out. In the evening Hirgon, errand-rider of Gondor, arrives with the Red Arrow, calling for urgent reinforcements from Rohan. The news of a massive assault from Mordor actually causes Théoden to send less than he otherwise would have - six thousand rather than ten thousand - keeping some back for defence of Rohan’s strongholds. He estimates reaching Minas Tirith a week after the morning of the 10th; he actually make it in five days, by the morning of the 15th.

Frodo, Sam and Gollum walk through the day, and still the land is silent and waiting and free of the scouts of Mordor. The lands are still pleasant ones, open woodland with large trees (holly [I had to look up what ‘ilex’ meant, and it means holly], ash, and oak) and hyacinth and anemone flowers growing among the grass. At sunset they reach the road between Minas Morgul and Osgiliath.

On the same day, Faramir leaves Henneth Annûn, and spends the night at Cair Andros, as the fastest way back to Minas Tirith; most of the rest of his forces he sends back to Osgiliath to reinforce it.

[andromedaneedsanap]

A little ramble about when you're too hyper or fidgety and its distracting/stressing you out more in the moment.

something I'm learning about myself as a confirmed adhd lad is that there are gonna be moments where you think you aren't having a too hyper, fidgety, or anxious moment- but all signs are showing that you might be.

How do I know? 20 minutes ago my body felt like it was twitching out of control and tense at the same time. I've been worried about my homework all week and the fact that I can't seem to get myself to do it even when I need to. I grabbed my weighted blanket thinking it'll prove I'm not anxious and you know what happened? I stopped twitching. I calmed down and relaxed more than I have in the last couple of hours.

So if you're feeling too hyperactive, anxious, fidgety, or whatever- find something to weigh you down and bring you back. Something like that helps in these moments where we aren't sure what is happening but know something is. Take care of yourself out there. Punishing your body isn't going to help you in the long run.

Also if you're wondering why I'm talking more about adhd than anxiety; its because my adhd is causing me stress, and now it's triggering my anxiety. This is just my experience. Plus, a situation like this (am really fidgety ---> distracts and or distresses me ---> grab weighted blanket or something to ground me ---> is calmed by it) has happened multiple times in the past.

Take care of yourselves y'all

[kythed]

(if you haven’t done this before) who do you ship your moots with? :)

okay so, i feel like i’ve just been starting to get comfortable on here even though it’s been like, what, 10 or 11 months since i founded this blog? and by that i mean i don’t have a ton of moots i’ve been conversing with on the regular yet ASKJHFLKH but i’ll still try my best to come up with some shweet shweet ships xx

@kyotarou : akaashi. ly is super sweet, but she also knows what she wants and seems like the sort of person who doesn’t tolerate BS. i think akaashi would really appreciate her honesty and ambition. they probably met at whole foods, where akaashi was buying celery and ly was buying rose… just kidding LMAO they probably got into a passive aggressive fight over the last box of mini wheats or something

@koushiberries : alright, i know it’s in her username and all, but sugawara! vale is actually the cutest, softest person on here, and i feel like suga would make her feel really comfortable. they’re both very perceptive, so they’d constantly be checking up on each other and would notice right away if the slightest thing was off. suga probably took her to a watercolor painting class for their first date and called her prettier than the paintings and the rest is history 

@kuroolongtea : futakuchi kenji. OKAY i know this might be out of the blue, but jin deserves an epic, heart-wrenching enemies-to-lovers plotline more than anyone, and i just know there would be that sizzling mixture of hatred and sexual tension from the moment she and futakuchi lay eyes on each other. she hates that he thinks he’s so much better than her, and he hates that he’s attracted to her but knows she’s so far out of his league. SO YUMMY

@kenmaki : dude gab is so cute but lowkey chaotic as heck. and when i say lowkey i mean highkey SORRY GAB HAHA LOVE YOU. i truly can’t see her with anyone other than the one and only kenma kozume. i don’t know if this is because of the relentless gab/kenma propaganda or just because of the vibes, but either way, it’s accurate. they probably play minecraft together for the sole purpose of blowing up each other’s houses repeatedly

@dimplesum : faye,,, hello,,, *insert f-boy face* yes, faye could easily pull mr. oikawa tooru himself, but i ship her with hinata! as a treat i’ll say she meets him post-brazil and receives access to his juicy thigh-ed, 5’8” self. they’re both sunny — meaning they both light up my life kiss kiss — and very all-over-the-place in a good way. hinata adores her and probably talks about her nonstop with everyone he meets: “oh, we’re eating ice cream after practice? faye’s favorite flavor is __” or “dude, faye loves that movie! she said __” yeah it annoys the heck outta the other jackals but it’s cuTE and i love it

@marilags : osamu. andro is just… i don’t know man, she’s the greatest. i feel like her head is so full of so many thoughts — like she’s always debating something, or creating something, or planning something, and i think she and osamu would just balance each other out so nicely. osamu is a simplifier, and andro probably needs a little of that in her life, and she could bring a ton of new ideas into osamu’s sphere. i’ll bet she met him while he was working the counter at onigiri miya, and then she suggested some new flavors and he was just lovestruck

@cafemiya : issy! the love of my life! a very beautiful person! i ship her with tendou! YOU CAN’T TELL ME THIS ISN’T THE BEST IDEA EVER. issy needs someone who keeps life interesting and tendou definitely does that (and vice versa). i just get the vibe that they have a huge, wild garden together with random stuff like shallots and raspberries all growing in the same plot. it’s amazing and their garden parties are to die for

@velvetfireworks : i might be wrong about this but sushi gives me huge mom friend vibes? she seems like an incredibly patient, understanding person, but she has a real subtle sense of humor too, which is why i ship her with kita! they’re each always worrying about their friends, but they need someone to worry about them :(( which is why they are the capital I Ideal couple. their car is always stocked with several bottles of water, a full first aid kit, and multiple crates of granola bars. 

@gg9183 :  as much as gracie simps for konoha, i actually ship her with atsumu. they both have a little fire in em, so they probably get into a fair number of petty arguments, but they always end up laughing because they know they’re being petty. i see them dancing in the refrigerator light late at night, snickering over whatever nonsense they’re babbling about, just overall being chaotic cuties

that’s all i’m gonna do this time around LOL! my fingers are tired. buuuuut this was really fun and i might do it again for the rest of my moots soon! thanks anon for asking!

[drops-of-moonlights]

WINX REDUX AU SUMMARIZED: INTERLUDE 6 (Season 6.5)

Or, in which I give the basics of what I’ve changed about the story for the AU. It was originally way more descriptive but if I kept it in that style I would have finished in 2039 and I ain’t got time for that. Let’s cover the small crisis that happens between S6 and S7! It took as long as it did because Life interfered.

WINX AU INTERLUDE 6 - Distant Legends, Sudden Troubles

A week later, after receiving the call from the Order of Mana, the Winx and Roxy (alongside Daphne and Faragonda) arrive at the Council of Mana’s headquarters in Roccaluce.

Once inside, they’re brought to a larger room seemingly made of crystal, and see that all 9 keys are on top of a small pillar of the same crystal. A lot of magi are around.

They spot Eldora along them all, looking annoyed, and when they talk she tells them that the Order wants to make a new transformation out of Pleiadix.

She cynically elaborates that they didn’t like that there was a form they weren’t in charge of, but a Paladin corrects her that it’s to ensure the Legendarium can never be open, even on accident, again, and that she herself agreed to this plan.

Eldora mutters under her breath that she wasn’t given much of a choice, but then formally adresses the Winx’s presence - as they are the last users of Pleiadix, they are the ones that should run the ritual to ensure there’s no issues with it.

A few minutes of preparation later, and everyone arranges themselves in a weird formation, the Winx at the center, a magic circle appearing under them.

Chanting begins, and the Winx plus Roxy focus on their keys, Eldora focusing on the remaining two. The Keys slowly seem to lose their magic, alongside their color, and an incredible surge of magical essence starts to form around everyone.

With a final chant, the essence seems to light up and explode, and a magical shockwave is felt all over the universe.

The Order of Mana then announces this is the birth of a new form - Mythix, and requests the Winx and Roxy to discover how to earn the form.

Everyone is incredibly confused at all this, but Bloom agrees to it, saying that it might be interesting as something to do over the summer. Everyone can pick up that she’d like to occupy her mind on other stuff as she’s still hurting over Selina, and so they agree.

The magic shockwave seems to stir something up in the wind, and stray magic seems to be coalescing, acquiring a vague humanoid shape.

The next day, on Red Fountain, everyone attends to see the graduation ceremony, excited that their friends are now free from Red Fountain. Team 3Q is given extra honors thanks to their help during the last crises the System has fought over, and they are offered positions as teachers in Red Fountain whenever they please for their actions.

Everyone cheers, and after a couple more speeches, a big party is thrown, the Winx and friends reuniting. They all celebrate and chat, and they ask the guys what are they going to do now.

Brandon answers that they’ve been thinking about that for a while now, and they decided to stick together living in Magix for a couple more months before deciding on joining a Guild of warriors as a group or not.

They keep chatting (with Sky helping Stella and Diaspro in trying to cheer Bloom up, but it's not fully successful). Everyone says their goodbyes and decide to rest in their homes for a week before starting the whole Mythix deal.

It’s two days later, on Melody, that the Soniata takes place on Caden, honoring the Hexer Sonia of lore. Musa has a fun time with her dad and brother, and ends up surprised at Galatea also being there, having managed to escape the palace and enjoy some time with local stories on the other side of the country. Musa then tells her the full legend, but as she does that, dark shadowy beasts start to attack.

Musa and Galatea transform, while Jian dons armor and Huan tries to help him evacuate the premises.

The two fairies manage to make quick work of the beings, but end up slightly overwhelmed. At the sight of a couple more families about to be attacked, they both come up with a plan.

Both of them join their magic, Musa starts to play a lullaby on her sword, mimicking the legend, while Galatea begins chanting a long spell, acting as an “amplifier” to Musa’s music. This manages to slowly make all the remaining shadow beasts fall asleep, and with the chance, both fairies unleash a convergence, destroying them all.

A rush of magic envelops them both, and suddenly, they got new forms - Galatea’s perfect control over the voiced ritual earnt her Glissandix, while Musa unlocked Mythix due to her parallelisms with Sonia’s tale, even her sword undergoing a transformation, looking far more detailed. A shadow seems to grumble, before vanishing again.

That night, Musa contacts the rest, telling them of her findings and how she believes it’s tied to stories of their realms or that they know, and that the shadow things she fought felt familiar.

Bloom compares them to the creatures Campana and Venomya used, but Musa says they felt different, much more recent.

Two days later, Flora is on a date with Helia, who came to visit for a couple days, when they hear about the urban legend of a ghost haunting a nearby abandoned hall. Flora, with what Musa said in the back of her mind, tells Helia to go with her to said place after their date is over for help.

After a few hours, they reach the hall, finding Krystal as well, who came to check the place out as a Princess - the Hall was part of the ancient Privamerian royal state, and the rumors concerned her.

They all explore the place for an hour or so, before a sudden apparition shocks them all in the large stage, a shadow of a man seemingly dancing near a large dead tree.

Everyone transforms and goes up to it, other shadows rising and starting to attack them, but Helia and Krystal fend them off while Flora approaches the main shadow, fans at the ready.

The shadow doesn’t seem to move, and looks around, seemingly sad at the dead tree. It then extends a hand to Flora, confused.

Helia keeps fighting the creatures, but Krystal recalls the full story and tells Flora to take the shadow’s hand and to dance, as she rises up and starts to cast a spell on the tree.

Flora is even more confused at this, but trusts Krystal and starts to dance with the shadow, being guided and using her fans as support.

Krystal focuses all her energy on the tree, slowly revitalizing it and making it grow again, as Flora and the shadow dance around it, twirling.

The dance comes to an end as the tree comes back to life fully, lush and gorgeous, and the shadow seems to smile, as it dissipates into yellow specks of light, all traces of darkness gone. Both Flora and Krystal flashed but for a second - Flora earning Mythix, her outfit now vaguely dance-ready, and Krystal getting Arborix from her effort in revitalizing the tree, covered in hydrangea-looking petals.

Krystal then tells her the full story - during the war, a tree was discovered growing in the hall, and a man had been taking care of it keeping it healthy amongst the ruin. However, a faction of the soon-to-be-called Dolona snuck in and destroyed the place, killing him and the tree. The man was apparently still trying to care for the dead tree, and the shadow manifested his repressed anger in the creatures that attacked them.

Late that night, Flora relaid the info to the rest, confirming Musa’s suppositions, and is surprised to learn that Bloom and Roxy have also obtained Mythix.

Bloom obtained it after a royal meeting, having heard rumors that the city was suddenly assaulted by a dragon made of shadows, and after some research with Daphne they confronted it - Daphne recalled a similar tale of a priestess of the Great Fire Dragon having to fight a rival god in the Fire Dragon’s place, having used just a pair of swords - and after the shadow dragon broke Bloom’s bow, she used the two halves augmented with the small Light magic she knew to slay it, her bow also transforming with Mythix and forming a pair of twin swords that can join to become a bow again.

Roxy meanwhile got it via saving Artu from a group of shadows that suddenly kidnapped it, having to be stealthy and facing off a shadow that disturbingly looked way too much like her mother for her to be comfortable, as well as a small knife she had just in case turning into a detailed dagger.

A shadow seems to get even angrier, and a small burst of energy seeps into Astrael, Solaria’s capital, as well as the capitals of Zenith and Andros.

The next day, while out with Nova and Riven, Stella catches wind of the reappearance of The Twilight Maiden. Nova is confused, and Stella elaborates that it was a ghost story that arose shortly after she moved away - the ghost of a woman killed by her lover, who during twilight supposedly whisks away a girl so they don’t suffer her fate.

They go around their day until sunset arrives, but they realize the whole street went quiet all of a sudden, and after inspecting an alleyway following a weird sound, Nova suddenly vanishes.

Both of them panic for a bit and start looking for her, and after a while both transform into their respective forms to look for her in the sky, Riven finding a dark shadow figure up above, as well as some sort of dome over them.

Both rise to meet with it and find a woman-like form, with an angry expression and see Nova, unconscious, in her arms.

Stella tries to get closer but the shadow throws a blast at her, and Riven gets the same treatment, though harsher. Both Riven and Stella assume the shadow is the Twilight Maiden, and so end up using Riven as a decoy while Stella tries to rescue Nova.

Riven then proceeds to taunt the shadow, driving its anger further and further until it drops Nova and starts to chase after the warrior, Stella catching her with a spell.

After leaving the still unresponsive Nova on a nearby roof, Stella takes the distraction and starts casting both a light spell and a healing spell, trying to “exorcise” the spirit controlling the shadow after what Flora told her of her Mythix earning.

The Maiden almost catches up to Riven and does damage one of his wings, but by the time she feels a strange warmth around her it’s too late - Stella fired the spell and completely engulfed her, a short scream followed by a sigh as her shadows faded completely.

Stella then slowly flies down, exhausted, earning her Mythix and her staff evolving once more. She then notices Riven’s armor malfunctioning and tries to catch him as well.

Nova wakes up moments later and everyone then finds a couple other girls near the same place, probably caught by the Maiden, trying to help them as well as they can.

After all this, she relays the info to the rest, and finds out Aisha also got her Mythix, having to fight The Deep One - a massive jellyfish of Mareian mythos that once destroyed Andros in antiquity, her meteor hammers evolving as well following the pattern of everyone else’s weapons.

This means Tecna is the only one without Mythix yet, and at the same time everyone realizes she isn’t in the call, wondering what could have happened to her.

On Zenith, Tecna is currently locked in a random room, after a sudden burst of energy drove most of the equipment in the Grand Palace, the main presidential office of the country, completely out of control. 

She had sent a couple of her assistants to check on the Magic Animals helping on the place and then started to investigate, before some of the machinery started to actively attack her, taking refuge on a random room.

There, however, she found three shadows that matched the description of the other Winx’s experiences, and instinctively transformed, aiming her gun to them. One of the shadows seemed to get annoyed, but another calmed them down and the last one made a gesture, as if they wanted her to follow them.

Not having more options, Tecna did, and after a bit she found a massive hall, covered head to toe in computers, at the center a massive control panel. The shadows seem to focus on the panel, and seem to try to communicate with Tecna. Tecna glances at one of the monitors and sees several dungeon-like structures, the people in them languishing. She finds a file in the computer, detailing many attempts at revolution, the people attempting them thrown into these dungeons, the main computer running them all.

Tecna, while shocked, isn’t really surprised - she knew she couldn’t have been the first person to try to rise against Datacorp, but it is still disheartening and terrible to see these people still suffering. She tries to turn off the machine, but it seems to lash out.

The shadows alongside her recoil in what she assumes is fear, and as the machine seems to start commanding different objects in the room to fling themselves at Tecna, something similar must have happened before, and assumes this is a failsafe mechanism installed by the Council.

Tecna keeps dodging and starts charging a spell with her gun, and asks the shadows to help her if they’re able, assuming they also want to destroy the thing. They start disrupting the commands thanks to them being non-corporeal, and after a few minutes, Tecna manages to fire off the spell, destroying the machine and somehow earning Mythix, her gun getting retouches.

The shadows start to flicker, and through broken speech manage to tell Tecna they were the leaders of the last attempt at a Zenithian revolution, perishing in prison without no one ever knowing about their existence. They tell her that she managed to do something that was considered impossible, a myth, and thank her before completely disappearing.

After recovering her energy and making sure everything else is working properly, she contacts the Winx again, and after thanking them for worrying about her, tells them she also got Mythix, and so if everyone has it, they should go back to the Order and tell them their findings.

The apparition gets even angrier, and it seems to be starting to manifest a stronger spell.

A few days later, everyone goes back to Lake Roccaluce, ready to inform the Order of their findings, before suddenly being attacked by the shadows again.

With Mythix, the shadows seem to go down even faster, and Roxy and Bloom seem to register its magic signature as that of Acheron’s. Everyone else questions how can that be given he’s dead, but Musa points out that Darkar was similar in that regard.

Acheron then reveals himself fully, a literal shadow of his former self, seemingly in an eternal Energix and his face twisted into anger and hatred. He keeps up the assault, and after a bit, the Winx and Roxy start to feel tired of fighting.

They start to brainstorm ways to defeat Acheron once more, and they come to the conclusion to try and disrupt his form, similar to what they did with Darkar once he went insane, and set up the plan.

Roxy and Bloom rush in to distract him, angering the shadow enough to focus solely on them, while Musa takes down any straggler creatures and Flora, Stella and Tecna start to form a convergence. This seems to work for a while before a couple shadows tackle Tecna, but they’re quickly dealt with when Eldora and a couple of the Order of Mana magi arrive, wondering what was taking the Winx so long.

They take over the distraction job, and with no further setbacks, the other 4 join the 3 Winx and combine the convergence, erasing Acheron once more, all the shadows disappearing.

A bit later, now in HQ, the Nymph spearheading the Mythix project both congratulates the girls on discovering the ways to earn Mythix while also apologizing for causing Acheron’s comeback, confusing everyone else.

They elaborate - when doing the ritual to create Mythix, it seems the magic shockwave was powerful and familiar enough for Acheron’s still lingering soul to also be affected, turning him into a ghost, and while reduced to basic instinct and emotion, he still wanted revenge on the Winx for killing him in the first place.

However, unlike Darkar, who was the fusion of two consciences and Auras, Acheron was still just one person, so he had to rely on pulling energy from elsewhere to try and attack, leading to the events that earnt everyone Mythix.

They still admit that Acheron’s temporary revival helped further their goal so it wasn’t something completely bad, but immediately retract when they catch Eldora and the Winx’s expressions, and dismiss them all to be free to continue their break.

As they’re leaving, however, they are surprised by Faragonda, who wants to talk to Roxy in private for a special project she wants her help with, and that can also act as her thesis if she so desires, but it must be a secret until the new school year starts.

Roxy agrees, curious as for why she would be needed, and bids goodbye to the rest, who start to go back to their realms to have an actual, proper vacation for once, their last breaks being incredibly hectic.

In a cave system in Magix, meanwhile, a Fairy seems to have heard about Faragonda’s plans already, and starts to make interesting preparations...

[officialleehadan]

Eyes of the Ocean

Anita watched Evan swim away, she walked over to quietly lean on the railing next to Eione. The young woman was regarding the water with a wistful expression on her pretty face. “He doesn’t need that snorkel anymore, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t,” Eione murmured, the glint of her eyes just shy of being human if you knew what to look for, and the slightest glitter of scales on her skin when she trailed her fingers in the water longingly. “The kiss takes a few days to wear off, but I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t find him fast enough to save him without it.”

She shifted from one foot to another like the deck was hot under her bare feet, but Anita knew better. Eione was itching to get into the water and she didn’t have time before Evan got back.

“He probably won’t even notice unless he almost drowns again in the next week. He’s a professional. I hope his luck isn’t actually that bad,” Anita teased her, as she always did when Eione had to kiss someone to get them out of a bad situation. “But hey, the kiss of a mermaid, there are worse ways to not die.”

“It’s not really supposed to be for saving people,” Eione stammered. She was a little shy, and her few relationships had all been with people who already knew what she was. “I—I just found him, I wasn’t even sure if he was alive, but his eyes were open a little and…”

“Sweetie, I don't think he would be mad that you used your superpowers to save his life.” Anita cut her off with a grin. “Besides, he’s cute and he likes you. You should say yes if he asks you out.”

Eione turned crimson to the collarbones and stammered something that was probably denial, but Anita wasn’t born yesterday, and she had been around for most of Eione’s romances, both male and female.

“You know, we haven’t had a cave death in a long time, thanks to you,” she added more gently and squeezed Eione’s shoulders. “Those sea caves kill people, but you’ve managed to find them so far, and even managed to avoid being seen while you were at it. Not easy.”

“Knowing the caves helps,” Eione admitted wryly. “And not needing to worry about carrying tanks the way you humans do, that helps too. There are places that are far too narrow for anyone wearing diving equipment.”

Anita chuckled wryly and let her go before she turned back to the steering console and the chest of drinks that sat next to it.

“You’re too modest. Want a juice?” she offered when she turned to dig in the cooler. She tossed Eione a can when she got a nod from her young friend. “I know you want to get in the water. I would ask you to go get me a lobster for dinner, but there’s not time before he gets back into eyeshot.”

“Give me a ride back to my place tonight and I’ll send you home with a good shellfish dinner,” Eione offered, settling on one of the benches with her juice in hand. “It’s on your way, and I have this morning’s catch in a net at home.”

Anita nodded agreeably. “You bring the seafood and I’ll make chowder for us both. I know that cave of yours is a little lacking in the cooking utensils department. You can spend the night at my place.”

The mermaid leaned over to dip her fingers in the water once more, admiring the ripples that trailed behind her small movements.

“That sounds good to me. I’ll just ride home with you and hunt there. My catch at home will keep. It’s still alive,” Eione murmured.  She nodded at the water. “Look, there he is. His gear should still be just inside the cave. I left it visible from the top, but he won't go down that far today. I made it look like it got hung up and the straps tore.”

Anita smiled. “That’s my girl,” she said, pleased. “It’s tough to keep the facts hidden, especially from someone who actually knows how those caves work.”

“He knows that something impossible happened,” Eione agreed softly. “And he’s right. He was dying of. I got to him just as he lost consciousness. He was still breathing, but only just. It made him receptive to the song.”

She shook her head ruefully and shoved her hair out of her eyes. “I suppose it’s a good thing he was mostly out already. He isn’t superstitious and he’s a good diver to get so far into the caves, even trapped like he was. I could have been in trouble if he got a clear look at me.”

Anita cocked her head. “That’s true enough. Which song did you use?”

The mermaids had a couple of different songs they could use. Mostly the local mermaids used them to communicate under water over long distances. There were others, too, with different effects on the listener.

“I used one to make him sleep,” Eione explained with another sigh that wasn’t quite human as it caught the breeze. Anita was long used to Eione’s little mermaid noises and ignored it. “He was nearly unconscious already and I needed him to stay that way until he was on land again. Bashing him over the head with a rock seemed like less a good idea.”

That made Anita burst out laughing.

“No, we don't survive that so good,” she grinned as she rummaged in her cooler again. “Getting hungry? I have sandwiches and chips, even a couple beers from the last time I saw Jakob.”

The mermaid made a face. “You keep your horrible fermented barley juice away from me.”

It was a long-standing joke between them. Eione had hated beer from her first taste and didn’t plan to ever have a second. Anita laughed and passed over a ham sandwich instead.

“If I know you, you haven’t eaten since this morning,” she said with long-held exasperation. It was hard to bring up a young mermaid when you weren’t one yourself. “You don’t eat enough to keep that body going with the work you do.”

Eione smiled. “Thank you for the sandwich,” she said. “And I did actually eat this morning.”

Anita cracked a smile as Eione took the sandwich and dug into it. "Not enough, I bet," she griped. “Did you at least eat before you went hunting?”

"While I was out,” the mermaid admitted. “I need to make a groceries run. I'm low on everything.”

The older woman sighed. “Don’t stock up. It won’t be long before you come to stay with me for storm season. I'll take you out or have Thomas do it. You know he loves talking to you.”

Thomas was another of the local fishermen. His grandson was dating Eione’s older cousin. Until he had spotted Eione, Thomas had had no idea that there was more than one mermaid near Andros Island.

“I may not even bother to go shopping,” Eione murmured thoughtfully. “If I come to stay in a day or two, I can hunt and buy my food at the market. It would save me the time.”

“There’s that also,” Anita agreed. “And Thomas is really getting too old to go out and play with the Shoal. I know a few of your outliers still don’t really understand how fragile old humans can be.”

“True,” Eione admitted. “They've been getting so edgy lately; the summer storms will be rolling in soon. It makes us all jittery. Most of them are getting ready to leave for calmer weather.”

Anita shrugged. “Whenever you feel like moving in for storm season, your room is ready.” She assured her friend. “Just make sure to check your suitcase. I don’t want to find any dead snails in it this time.”

Eione giggled. “I’ll come in a day or two,” she promised. “And no more dead snails. I promise.”

“Good,” she said firmly. “Leave your suitcase with me this year. I can always drive it down to you when you need it next.”

The mermaid opened her mouth to agree, but closed it again when Evan hauled himself out of the water and into the boat. He grabbed for his towel and kicked off his flippers with the ease of long practice before speaking.

“I think it’s down there,” he said triumphantly. “I could see something that looked a lot like my rebreather at the bottom, hanging out of the cave.”

Anita grinned and handed him a towel. “Best news all day. Gonna rent some scuba gear, or do you have a set already?”

“Nah, I’ve got mine,” he told her, pulling off his gear and quickly rinsing it in fresh water from the bottle he had brought. “I have it back at the house. This is my backup mask; I hope I can find my old one. I liked it better. I still can’t figure out how it came off.”

“I’ve seen a mask get pulled off by the waves.”

Eione pulled a juice out of the cooler and offered it to Evan, beaming softly when he gave her a grateful smile. He popped it open and gulped half of it down before he set it aside. From beside his feet he pulled out the jug of water he brought and rinsed off his gear, ever the professional.

“Couldn’t have happened to me,” he told Anita, voice muffled as he dried his hair roughly with his towel. “If I was still breathing, and I had to be or I would already be dead, losing my mask should have killed me. I would have breathed water without it and my mouthpiece, and that’s gone too. That’s probably still attached to my rebreather. It’s not easy to detach.”

Evan slung the towel over his shoulder. His navy swimsuit was drying quickly under the hot sun, and he picked up his juice again. He drank it a little more slowly now that he had gotten the taste of salt out of his mouth.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I just don’t know, and it’s driving me crazy. I know what couldn’t have happened, but I don’t know what did. Every scenario I come up with couldn’t possibly be right.”

“Well, something happened,” Anita said blithely, turning the ignition on her boat and getting them moving. Evan was right, of course.  It had taken Eione almost three hours to find him. Without her magic, he would have died and his body would have become part of the exhibit he dove for in the first place.

Anita stifled a knowing glance at Eione. Evan was a good man, but she was glad that the truth was so unbelievable. If he ever figured it out, the mermaids could be in a lot of trouble.

+++

HGE - Riptide

Evan Ross survived what no one before him ever has, and now he’s on the hunt for answers. His only clue is a single word that echoed through the water of a flooded cave.

Breathe.

Under Stone

White Sand Sky

The Hint of Answers

Drift to Home

Boats and Salt Wind

+++

More Stories!

+++

[nootnewtnute]

Nick Andros - Pregnancy

Word Count: 1475

I woke up that morning feeling the same I had for the past 2 days; nauseous. Luckily, it wasn’t so bad this morning, so it wasn’t too hard to hide it from Nick. I didn’t want to have to tell him my suspicions as to why I were nauseous yet, until I 100% knew the answer. I would find out soon enough, though.

Anything big planned for today? I signed to Nick as the two of us finally got up.

No. A meeting with Fran and Stu, then one with them and the new committee. It’s all just routine stuff. How about you?

Just paperwork. Nothing exciting. I ran the police station in Boulder, and the job was a lot more paperwork than I had expected. That was alright, though; it was better than having to go out and deal with people doing dangerous things. Everyone knew we had dealt with enough danger the past few months.

Alright, well, I’ll see you tonight. Nick said as he finished getting ready for the day. He quickly kissed me and left the house. That’s when I was finally test out the hunch I had about my nausea. I quickly got the 2 pregnancy tests I had found (out of pure luck, as well, as it seemed like they were the last two in the last drug store I had gone through). My heart was beating quickly has I unboxed them. Nick and I had barely talked about having kids. Even then, we only talked about kids because we had gotten married. Despite having to grow up faster than most during Captain Trips and our fight with Flagg, we were still two young kids in our early twenties. However, if it turned out I was pregnant… I wasn’t too opposed to the idea. I did want kids; this would just come as an early surprise if I was pregnant.

As soon as I used the tests, I waited the 10 minutes before I actually looked at them. Those 10 minutes felt like torture, but they went by, and when I looked, I was greeted with what I had suspected for the last 3 days: both tests said I was pregnant. I couldn’t help but smile a bit. Having a baby always meant a lot, even in a normal world. But now, in the world where so many had died or didn’t have that chance… it meant even more, in a way.

After calming down, I finally went in to work. The day went by quickly, which was nice, and before I knew it, it was time to go. Before I went home, I wanted to go talk to Frannie. She would really know how to go about pregnancy and would have some good advice. Luckily Nick wasn’t still there when I got there.

“(Y/N)!” Fran exclaimed when I got there. “Nice of you to stop by. You just missed Nick, if that’s who you’re here for. He just left 5 minutes ago.”

“I’m actually here to talk to you,” I said. “There’s something I want to get your advice on.”

“What’s up?”

“So, I found out this morning that I’m pregnant.” I said quickly. I had been nervous to talk to someone about it.

Frannie gasped. “Really? You’re not just playing some prank?”

“Not at all. I’m honestly pregnant.” Fran pulled me into a tight hug.

“Well, that’s good news! Really good news! I’m really happy for you,” She said.

“Thanks,” I replied. “I’m just… I need advice. I think I’m ready to be a mother. I’m just worried about Nick. I know he wants kids as well, but… this is happening before we officially were set on having kids. This wasn’t planned. I’m just scared this will upset him. And then there’s just motherhood in general… I could read all the parenting books in the world and I would still be scared. I can’t go to my own mother to ask her for advice, or anything.” I could feel tears form in my eyes. Just venting about all of this was making me scared about everything. “I have no idea what’s going to happen with any of this, and that’s what scares me.”

Frannie took both my hands in hers and squeezed. “First off, I have no doubt you will be absolutely wonderful as a mother. Any child would be lucky to be yours. Second, it may seem like a world of unknowns at the moment, but motherhood comes pretty naturally. It did for me. There were still some things I had to learn, but for the most part, it wasn’t so hard to figure out what I needed to do. I was just able to pick up on what Peter needed.” Peter was her child, who had been born almost a year ago. “And Stu has been wonderful, as well. Parenting hasn’t been something I’ve had to do on my own. Which brings me to my third thing: Nick. Honestly, I think he’ll be happy when you tell him. It’s clear he does want kids, so I don’t think this’ll be much of a problem for him. It’s just happening a bit sooner than expected. He’s talked to Stu about it before, you know. He was just asking about what fatherhood was like, and that sort of stuff. Maybe he’s ready and just hasn’t talked to you about it yet. So, just be honest with Nick. I really do think he’ll be happy.”

“Thanks, Frannie,” I said with a sigh of relief. “That does make me feel better. A lot better, actually.” I stood up. “I should probably get going. I don’t want Nick to worry.”

“Alright,” Frannie replied. “You can always come to me, (Y/N). For mother advice… for anything. You know that, right?”

“I do. And I appreciate it so much.” I gave her one more hug, then left. Now I just had to go home and tell Nick the biggest news of my life. Nothing too bad, right?

Nick was reading in the living room when I finally decided to go tell him the news. I was nervous, that was for sure, but I just thought of Frannie’s advice, and that made me feel a little bit calmer.

Nick looked up as soon as I walked in. Hey, Nick, can I talk to you about something?

Sure. Is something wrong? Nick asked in concern. He could obviously tell I was nervous. I was never particularly good at hiding fear.

Well, not really wrong, I don’t think… just kind of big and a little bit scary. Nick looked at me expectantly. He was getting nervous, too, I could tell. So, I’m pregnant.

Pregnant? Nick asked, and I nodded. He was still for a moment, and then he pulled me into a tight hug. A warm, welcoming hug. He was happy, as Frannie said he would be. I felt my fear start to melt away. I guess I really didn’t have anything to worry about. Are you being honest? You’re really pregnant? He asked as he pulled away from the hug.

Yes, I really am pregnant. No joke. I took some pregnancy tests this morning, and both came back positive. I went and got them and showed both of them to him. I don’t know how far along I am, but I plan on going to see the doctor in the next couple days to see. I started getting nauseous a few days ago, and that’s when I started to suspect that maybe I was pregnant. You laughed a bit. All of this was just crazy, and exciting, and scary, and so many emotions all at once. How are you feeling about this?

Honestly? I’m excited. I’m happy. I can’t really believe it. I mean… I’m going to be a father.

I know, it’s hard to believe. It took the whole day for it to really hit me. I leaned forward and kissed Nick quickly. You’re going to be an amazing father; I just know it.

I sure hope so. I swear I’ll do my best to raise our baby well.

I have no doubt you will. Nick pulled me into another hug. When he pulled away, I saw he had tears in his eyes. He really was happy about this. That was such a relief, as his reaction was something I had been worrying about all day. It’s getting late, we should probably go make something for dinner, I said.

Sounds like a plan. For the rest of the night, the two of us were in amazing moods. Nick was excited, and that made me so relieved. I had no doubt he would be a wonderful father to our child, and I was already excited to meet the kid. I was starting to feel like things would turn out just fine with our child.

[whatisthisidefk]

The River, the Sea, and the Stars Part 2 (SFW version)

Panic clawed at Therien, dragging him down to the floor beside the bed. He clutched at his head and struggled to breathe. Tried to reconcile what he'd seen, what he'd heard, the fear in Andros's voice as he was pulled into darkness. The entreaty to stay away.

Don't look for me. The taste of Andros still lingered on his lips.

Normally, Andros would be the one to ground him, help him through his panic attacks, but Andros wasn't there this time. Therien had to get through it on his own. There wasn't anyone else to hold his hand or say the right things. There was only Therien, alone, alone, alone…

No. There was one other he could turn to. Someone who, despite everything, would help. At least, he hoped she would. She'd understand. She had to. Therien couldn't let himself chase the what-if, what-if that spiraled through his brain. He had to believe in their friendship, however distant it may have grown. Without Andros there, she was the only person he trusted enough to ask.

With shaking fingers, he groped for his phone and didn't bother trying to search the contact list. He knew the number by heart, even if he hadn't dialed it in over two years.

Therien begged it to connect. It was late for him, so it would be hours later where he was calling, but he didn't think he had the strength to try again if it didn't pick up.

It rang three times, then, "Hey." Her voice was rough with sleep, but it was her. "Hey, sweetheart. You okay?"

He stifled a sob, poorly. "N-non. Je suis désolé. Je suis désolé, Dra. Andros...il a disparu. M'aidez…"

"In English, Therien. Try to focus. French isn't my strong suit and I can't help you if I don't understand you."

English felt impossible, but he tried. "Je--I don't know what to do. He--he's gone."

"Who's gone? Talk to me, hon."

He angrily wiped at the tears on his face with the heel of his hand. "Andros. Ah, uh, he disappeared! He was there. Here, with me, and then...something took him?" How was he supposed to explain any of it to her when he didn't understand it himself? "Dra, I--I need help. I need to find him."

He heard her sharp intake of breath, and her gentle concern became more focused. With a note he couldn't identify, she said, "Therien, tell me--what exactly happened to Andros?"

Something broke inside him. "There were chains. They dragged him away with no warning. He was there and then he wasn't. And I don't know what to do. Help me," he finished weakly. "Dra...I'm sorry. For everything."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," she said, and somehow, that got through to him. Dra never lied. It was a constant in his universe. His breathing slowed as she went on. "This is what you're going to do, okay? You're going to pack up everything and check out of the hotel. Get on your plane back here, and text me when you land. I will pick you up. I...I think I can help. But you're going to have to trust me. Can you do that?"

"Anything," he said. "Dra...thank you."

"You know I'll always be here for you. Right?"

"I know. I love you for it."

"You okay now?" The motherly note he always associated with her came through the phone like a hug. "Do you need me to stay on with you?"

"I'm okay. I'll be okay. I'm...I'm going to get dressed and get out of here. I can't stay anymore." He kept seeing those chains, over and over, every time he looked at the shadows. "See you in a few hours."

"I'll be ready. Love you." The call ended, leaving Therien alone in the room once more. He stared at his hands for a moment and concentrated on his breathing.

In, out. In, out. He could do this. Pack up everything, call a car, check out. He'd sleep in the airport, if he could manage sleep at all, and then he'd be home. Dra said she could help, which meant she would do everything in her power to aid him.

***

A miraculously earlier red-eye flight and three cups of coffee later, the wheels touched down in Boston and Therien retrieved his luggage. He texted Dra the moment he was able to, so by the time he exited the airport, a familiar black Mini Cooper waited by the curb. She waved at him from beside it.

Therien dragged the suitcases across the other lanes of cars picking up passengers and heaved them into the open trunk. Then, before he could say anything, his tiny friend opened her arms to hug him.

Therien found himself kneeling to hug her back. She wore a massively oversized sweater (black) over a long, rumpled peasant skirt (also black), and even in her heeled boots, she barely stood over four feet tall. Still, she managed to envelop him in a fierce, warm hug that negated the chill of autumn.

He didn't realize he was crying until his vision blurred. "I missed you," he said into her shoulder as she stroked his hair. "I'm so sorry."

"Nonsense," she said firmly, reluctantly disengaging from the embrace. "Now let's get moving before that airport cop decides to yell at me for parking here too long, hmm? We'll stop for Dunkin' and you can tell me everything back at the shop."

"Okay."

***

The drive back from Boston to Northampton passed in a blur. Therien nibbled at a glazed donut and sipped the hot, familiar coffee, but he let himself be lulled by the monotony of the Mass Pike. He wasn't ready to talk yet, and he knew Dra wouldn't push him to. He still felt wrung out and dazed by the past eight hours--had it only been that long? He went over the litany of events in his mind, not for the first time, and decided that it was perfectly acceptable to feel the way he did.

Above--and underneath, and all throughout--his thoughts, the one bright thing that he clung to was the memory of how happy Andros had been. That whatever happened, Therien knew his feelings were returned after all.

They left the highway and turned toward downtown Northampton, following Main Street into the heart of the Five Colleges area. Therien had spent enough time wandering around town that he felt a wave of nostalgia at the familiar brick and stone shops, the Hotel Northampton, the Calvin Theater, the town hall. It was the kind of place that didn't change on the face very often, making it easy to picture across years with very little difference.

Dra pulled down a side street on a hill and parked at the curb. The lawn rose up at a steep angle to the right, with steps cut into the earth that led to a standalone wood and brick building. Above the porch, a hand-painted sign read, The Tea Dragon's Hoard. "Here we are. Same old shop."

"It looks exactly as I recall." Therien smiled down at her. "It's good to be back."

"This place agrees with you," she said, with a peculiar emphasis on place. "You shouldn't have left."

"It was a professional decision, Dra."

"You belonged here!" She stopped herself. "Sorry. I was this close to saying 'I told you so' but that would have been cruel. And wrong.You had to pursue your career."

He hefted the two suitcases--his and Andros's--from the back of the car. "Considering last night...maybe not so wrong."

"Don't." Dra sent him a worried glare. "Come on. We have a lot to discuss, and I'm not going to start until I have a proper pot of tea."

A handwritten sign on the door said, "Closed Due to Emergency. Visit us online!" It made a small curl of warmth in Therien's chest, that Dra would sacrifice a full day of business for him. He felt the close, homey atmosphere of the Hoard settle around him as they walked through the empty shop to a private stairwell at the back. Crystals and semiprecious stones twinkled at them as they passed, and the multitude of dried herbs and oils along the wall behind the apothecary counter merged into one complex scent that meant comfort to Therien. Dra unclipped the "do not enter" chain and let him precede her up to the apartment on the next floor.

"In here." She led him through a tiny kitchen, equally tiny living room, and to a short hallway with three doors. "Spare closet, I mean, guest room." She winked and opened the leftmost door. It reminded Therien of the attic room he'd had in his house in Provence, when he was a child.

"It's perfect," he said, and meant it. There was only room for a single bed, a low, square nightstand, and a braided rug. Two walls held out-of-season coats and dresses (all in black), and a small window let in the afternoon light. The clothes made the space feel even smaller, but also cozier. "I don't remember you having this set up like this before."

"I had a friend stay with me for a few months. It was the best solution for her, and now I have a guest bed. Now, put your things down and collect yourself, and I'm gonna make some tea. Come out in like, ten minutes. Okay?"

***

"I need to hear what happened in its entirety," she said with no preamble when he emerged from the room after the short break. She did not comment on the fresh tear tracks on his cheeks, though she did get up to fetch a damp washcloth that she handed him wordlessly. It was warm and felt soothing on his skin.

"Everything? Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes and settled back on the couch with her tea. "Everything, but leave out the gory details. I don't need to know about each grope and kiss, if that's what you mean."

His face warmed, and suddenly the cloth felt cool in comparison. "Ah. So...I decided last night that I was going to tell Andros how I felt."

"Good for you!"

"This is hard, Dra."

"Sorry. But still. Good for you. I knew you'd work up the courage one day."

He closed his eyes and counted backward from five in French. "We went back to the room and, ah, we were intimate together. It was...beautiful. Dra, he told me he loved me."

She gazed softly at him. "Of course he did. He's been head over heels for you for years."

"How--are you joking?" he demanded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Sweetheart, it wasn't my place to say. He told me in confidence, as you told me the same kinds of things and I kept them from him. I'm not a meddler, I'm a confidant."

"What an oblivious fool I've been," he mourned, head in his hands. Dra tsked and pulled her feet up beneath her on the couch.

"None of that, now. Tell me the rest."

He sighed. The knot that hadn't left his belly seemed to grow tighter. "After--afterward, we were just talking. We both felt so happy. Things were going to work out. And then...I heard the sound of chains. They just appeared out of nowhere and then they--I don't know how they did it, they just clasped themselves around him."

Her fingers tightened on the teacup. "What did they look like? Did you see them clearly?"

"Gold," he said, and shuddered. "He seemed to know what they meant."

"What did he say?"

"He told me not to look for him. That he loved me." The tears were back, but he didn't care. "He was afraid. He tried to struggle but then--he was gone! They just pulled him away. I didn't see where. He was just...gone."

Therien broke down again. With Dra, it was okay. She was safe.

She was at his side at once, arms around him, holding him close in a protective embrace. "Hush, now. I know you're worried, and scared, and you have every right to be." Dra pulled up an embroidered ottoman and sat on it so she could look up into Therien's eyes. "Now, love, I need for you to pay attention and believe what I say, for this is the truth, as much as any one thing can be Truth."

Therien hugged his arms to himself, but he nodded, confused but willing.

"I know how to find him. But!" she held up her hands to keep him in his seat; he was already halfway to his feet. "But! We cannot just go there. I need to prepare both of us for whatever we will encounter. And before I even do that...I need to know something."

"Anything." The word came out breathlessly.

Her green eyes seemed to glow under her short auburn bangs. "What would you give up to see him safe?"

"I--I don't have much money, but there's the sponsorship--"

"No," she said more sternly. "What would you, Therien, give up of your own, in order to save Andros?"

"Whatever it takes."

"Think about this. You don't know what the cost will be. Your left eye? Your ability to swim? A memory? What would you sacrifice in order to see Andros go free?"

"I will do whatever I must," he said; the words seemed almost pithy but there was a weight behind them that even startled Therien. "I will set him free, no matter who or what has him, and I will do anything to make it so."

"Would you give up your freedom? Your life?"

"Yes," he said slowly, and realized he meant it. "Why, though? What do you know about this?"

"That resolve will be tested, sweetheart," she said, standing. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Now, go. Sleep. I have things to ready and you must rest."

"I don't think I could sleep--"

"Drink this." She produced a small vial and tipped a few drops into his teacup. "It will help."

"What is it?"

Dra shrugged. "A little of this, a little of that. Nothing toxic. It will give you dreams, though. Shut your door so I don't have to listen to them." She winked, and her quiet humor convinced him to down the potion, whatever it was.

He trusted Dra.

Next he knew, he was being eased down to his borrowed bed. Dra tucked the blanket around him; somewhere along the way, his shoes had been removed, and his sweatshirt lay folded on the nightstand. "Rest," she said, voice distant. "I'll come get you when I'm ready to go."

He tried to respond, but his mouth was full of flowers and he was falling, falling, falling.