#bren sang

[spiritualityloves247]

Weren't allowed stuffies.

Mom called the psych unit AHEAD of time

[lemoncrushh]

Wild Horses - Eight

Summary: Amber Crosby didn’t end up with the life she’d expected, but that didn’t keep her from following her dream. A young, up and coming country recording artist, she and her band set out to do just that. Trying to leave her past behind, it wasn’t until meeting Harry Styles that she realized just how her life could take a turn and alter her future forever.

A/N: Please note all portions in italics are meant to be flashbacks :).

Warnings: Another angsty chapter, mentions of physical violence and drinking.

STORY PAGE

Chapter Eight Word Count: 4.7k+

“I will hold you up, I will help you stand, I will comfort you when you need a friend…” - Amanda Marshall; Believe In You

“Here,” Jeff said as he handed Amber the plastic cup of more ice than soda.

“Thanks,” she muttered, taking it from him.

Sneaking a sniff of the Coke, she was only partly disappointed to find that it wasn’t mixed with rum or whiskey. But as she took a large gulp, letting the carbonated beverage fill her throat, she was grateful.

Her manager took the seat next to her, on the side of the stage where Harry introduced the next song. It had taken every ounce of energy she’d had left to follow Jeffrey into the audience to watch Harry’s show. What she’d really wanted was to rush back to her hotel room and drink everything that called her name from the minibar. But after Jeff and Harry had sat her down in Harry’s dressing room, making sure she was at least physically okay, her manager had insisted she stay with him for the duration of the concert.

She hadn’t seen Carter since he’d stormed out after ridiculing her in front of everyone. Her guess was that he’d raved his own minibar, or even went to the hotel bar...not that she cared. He could take a long walk off a short pier as far as she was concerned.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Even after what he’d just said and done, she knew she had always had a soft spot for Carter, and probably always would. They’d been through a lot together, for fuck’s sake. He was the only one who knew everything about her. And he was a damn good drummer; she’d hate to lose him, as both a bandmate and a friend. But now…

“We’re not who we used to be…” she heard Harry sing.

God, if that didn’t hit home. Who they used to be… Who they used to be were two horny teenagers with a love for music and the bottle. Who they used to be were a lost girl with a need to be needed and a young man with a shoulder to cry on and an awaiting bed.

But Amber had grown. She knew she had. She’d known long before their signing with Full Stop Management, before the festival in Nashville where she’d first met Harry, even before her single had hit the airwaves. She’d known for a while that the knots that tied her to Carter needed to be loosened. She just hadn’t wanted to admit it because...well, if she was honest with herself, because she was scared.

“Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat…”

Amber sighed. And then there was Harry. He’d already made her feel things - things she hadn’t thought she’d ever feel. He was a loyal friend and a kind soul, yes, but there was more. He made her feel...like she had a heartbeat again.

Finishing her Coke, Amber settled into her seat to watch the rest of the show. The crowd cheered when Harry’s band started into one of his big hits. With a smile, Amber clapped her hands and sang along. She noticed Jeffrey watching her, a grin on his face as he patted her arm.

Sometime towards the end of the concert, Amber looked up to see a tall figure coming down the aisle. Taking the empty seat next to her, Brendan leaned over to whisper.

“I just talked to Carter,” he said. “He wants to talk to you.”

Amber grimaced. “Too bad. I don’t wanna talk to him.”

“He wants to apologize.”

Leaning forward, Amber glared at him incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me? For what exactly? Because as far as I see, I have a long list of apologies I’m long overdue. And he’s a little late. Tell him he can fuck off.”

“Amber-” Brendan began before Jeff cut him off.

“Hey, pssst,” he interrupted as he leaned over to address them both. “I don’t think this is the time nor the place to discuss this.”

“You’re right,” Amber nodded.

Brendan was silent until the song ended, then whispered in Amber’s ear again.

“Just so you know,” he said, “I’m on your side. He shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. I don’t know what his deal was, but that’s not cool.”

Shutting her eyes slowly, Amber inhaled. “Thanks Bren. But just so you know...that wasn’t the first time.”

Lifting her arm, Amber stretched it out flat across the arm rest, revealing the purple bruise. Even in the darkness of the arena, it was visible.

“Shit, Amber. I’m sorry. I had...no idea,” Brendan confessed, shaking his head.

With a mere nod, Amber lowered her arm, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Turning her focus back to the stage, she watched as Harry performed his final song, an emotional number that brought the tears again. She didn’t mind, however. This time it was therapeutic, and she knew there would be more tears to come as she had a very difficult decision to make.

“This is probably my favorite song,” Carter mused, his fingertips lightly grazing across Amber’s shoulder as she laid on top of him.

“Really?” Amber mumbled against his chest, letting the classic George Strait song tickle her ears. “Hmm. Yeah, it’s a good one.”

“What’s your favorite song?”

“Don’t think I have one.”

“What? A singer always has a favorite song,” Carter argued. “You kinda have to, right?”

“Mmm, no, I disagree. I think it’s because I’m a singer that I don’t have a favorite. I love them all...like they’re a part of me. Or my children,” Amber giggled.

His hand roaming down her back, Carter was silent for a moment until a sound rose from his chest. “Hmm, I get that. Never really thought about it before, but it makes sense.”

“I’m glad you get me, Carter,” Amber remarked with a sigh. “Nobody else does.”

Slithering her naked body off of his, she reached for the glass on the nightstand that they’d been sharing and took a swig of the golden liquor.

“Hey. I doubt that’s true,” said Carter. “But I’m glad it makes you glad.”

With a slight smirk, Amber sat back on her knees and handed the glass to Carter. He took it eagerly as his free hand slipped up her stomach and cupped her breast.

“Can I ask you something?” he inquired, setting the glass back down.

“Depends…” Amber shrugged, her long hair falling down and around her shoulders.

“How many guys have you been with?”

“Ummm…” she paused, unsure if she wanted to answer.

Raising his brows, Carter took in her expression. “A lot?”

“How many is a lot?”

Carter chuckled nervously. “I don’t know. More than twenty?”

“God, no!” Amber swatted a hand at his chest.

“Alright, so ballpark.”

With another shrug, Amber grabbed at the sheets, twisting them in her hands. “I don’t think I wanna say.”

“More than ten?”

Amber shook her head. “No.”

She heard him sigh as he threw his arm behind his head. “Okay.”

The silence floated between them as the song changed to a modern country hit.

“How old were you…” Carter asked finally, “your first time?”

Stalling her answer, Amber lingered for a while before she laid down beside him. She smiled when he reached for her, his fingers finding their familiar spot on her lower back.

“Fifteen,” she replied softly.

“Hmm. Me too. Too bad I didn’t know you.”

“Oh?” Amber grinned. “Are you sorry I wasn’t your first?”

“Nuh uh,” Carter shook his head. “Sorry I wasn’t yours.”

Amber could hear the muffled voices as she drifted in and out of sleep. When Harry’s concert had ended, she’d been prepared to return to her room. But after hearing that Carter was wanting to see her, Jeff insisted it was best she stayed with him until he knew what to do about her drummer. Sitting on the sofa in Harry’s dressing room, she’d found herself starting to get sleepy - if not a little bored - so she’d crawled up on it, grabbing one of Harry’s pillows as she inhaled the intoxicating scent of his burning candle.

“I don’t want him anywhere near her,” she heard Harry remark. Though his tone was not a malicious one, his words revealed his level of anger.

“I think that should be her decision to make,” argued Jeff.

“Wha’ are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, mate?” Harry exclaimed, his accent thickening as his irate words spewed from his lips. “If he lays one more finger on her-”

“I know, H, I agree with you there. But we don’t actually know for sure that he’s touched her.”

“She’s got a fuckin’ bruise on her arm, Jeffrey! I saw it! I know it was him. She wouldn’t tell me the truth; she gave me some bloody excuse about running into the wall. But I know it was him!”

“You can’t prove that, Harry. And even if it’s true, it’s her word against h-”

“Don’t fucking say it, mate!” she heard Harry growl. “Don’t you dare fucking say that!”

At those words, Amber stretched and sat up. “Could you guys stop talking about me like I’m not here?”

Both men glared at her then, their expressions of surprise mixed with concern.

“Sorry, Amber,” Harry sighed, his shoulders falling.

“Yeah...sorry,” Jeff muttered. “We thought you were asleep.”

“Well who could sleep with all this racket?”

With a sheepish grin, Harry crossed the room to sit beside her. “How are you feeling?” he asked tenderly, if not apprehensively.

“Exhausted. Worried. A little hungry if I’m being honest.”

“Oh,” Harry sounded, looking up at their manager. “Get her something to eat, Jeffrey.”

Amber watched the two men exchange looks, followed by an unspoken conversation with their eyes, eyebrows and hands that made her giggle.

“Seriously guys, I can find my own food,” she announced, rising from the couch.

“No!” Harry and Jeff yelled in unison. Then her manager spoke alone. “I can...get you something. Anything particular you’re hungry for?”

Amber shrugged. “Honestly, a sandwich is fine.”

“No, you had that earlier,” Harry argued. “You need real food.”

Amber rolled her eyes as Jeffrey declared he’d find something. As soon as he left the dressing room, Amber heard another sigh from Harry. Looking over at him, she took in his stare.

“Okay, you can stop looking at me like I’m a china doll,” she said.

“Sorry. I’m just...worried about you.”

Amber gazed down at her hands, twisting the silver ring on her right pointer.

“I’m worried too,” she admitted. “I think we both know what I have to do.”

Harry nodded. “You know, Jeffrey can find a replacement. I don’t reckon it would be too hard to find another drummer...at least for the rest of the tour.”

“Yeah. That’s not the part I’m worried about.”

As her body began to shake with held back sobs, Harry scooted closer to her on the sofa, his hand running up her back until it reached her shoulder.

“Hey,” he whispered softly as Amber let out a tiny cry. “C’mere.”

Amber allowed his arms to pull her against him, his warm embrace comforting her once again as she whimpered.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he promised. “Maybe not right away, but it will be. Everything’s gonna work out.”

“What if it doesn’t, Harry?” she cried. “What if...I have to leave?”

“Leave? What do you mean?”

Amber lifted her head to look at him, his calm and questioning eyes causing another tear to fall from hers. He immediately swiped it away with the pad of his thumb, his touch so gentle yet so fleeting, she felt empty inside as soon as it was over.

“Why would you have to leave?” Harry asked again.

“Because…” she gulped. “I’ve caused so much trouble already. Carter’s probably never gonna talk to me again, and Brendan and Johnny are gonna be mad at me-”

“Hey!” Harry interrupted, his brows furrowed. “Amber. None of this is your fault. Don’t ever think that.”

Shaking her head, Amber hiccupped. “It is though. If I hadn’t come on this tour… Jeff’s already having to deal with my shit, and we only just started. I knew how Carter was and his feelings towards me, and I guess I couldn’t stop it-”

“Amber,” Harry interjected again as his hand traveled up her bruised arm. “What has he done to you?”

His eyes pleaded for her honesty, and with a sigh, Amber knew she had to tell the truth.

“You were right,” she admitted. “I lied about running into the wall.”

Sitting back, his chest falling, Harry took her hand. “What happened?”

Sniffling, she recalled the evening, just over twenty-four hours ago, although now it felt like eons.

“He was angry,” she muttered. “We’d just eaten burgers in my room and...he was angry that I was leaving to meet with you.”

Harry’s eyes were locked on her face, his jaw set, and she knew he was waiting for her to continue.

“He grabbed me and twisted my arm. Then he held me down on the bed.”

Amber watched Harry’s stone expression as he exhaled through his nose. “Has he...done that before?”

“No. Well...yeah. He’s pushed me against the wall a couple times. Gotten in my face and called me names. He gets kind of out of control like that when he’s pissed off and drunk. But he’s never hit me.”

His shoulders falling with a sigh, Harry looked like he might cry. “Amber…”

“I know, I’m defending him,” she shrugged, wiping another tear. “It’s just...we’ve been through so much, I know he still cares about me…”

“No!” Harry shouted, making her jump. “No, Amber, he doesn’t! How can you say that?”

“Harry, I probably wouldn’t even have this band if it wasn’t for him!”

Amber took in the incredulous look on Harry’s face just as the door flew open, and Jeff returned.

“Food’s on its way,” he explained. His gaze followed the two faces on the couch, his eyebrows lifting in question. “What’s going on?”

Running a ringed hand through his hair, Harry leaned back. “She told me how she got that bruise.”

“And?”

“I was right.”

Jeffrey looked at Amber, then Harry and back. “You know you can press charges.”

Amber shook her head slowly. “No.”

“Of course not,” Harry rolled his eyes as he dropped his hand on the couch next to him, exasperated.

“Something I should know?” Jeff inquired.

“I think I’ve caused enough trouble here,” muttered Amber as she rose from the couch. “Thanks for the food, Jeff, but I think I’ll just get something sent to my room.”

“Amber,” called Harry as she reached the door.

“What’s going on here?” Jeff asked again.

Tears began to stream down her face rapidly as Amber turned around to face them both.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but it is my fault. You’ve both been so kind to me, but I don’t deserve it. I have way too much baggage for either of you to handle. It was stupid of me to think I could do this. I should go home now.”

“No!” both men exclaimed in unison.

Rising from the sofa, Harry crossed the room. “Amber. I’m sorry I got angry. I just...I don’t understand how you can continue to cling to-”

Ending his thought, he could tell he was letting his emotions affect his words. Reaching his hand for hers, he looked into her eyes. “Please don’t go, love. It’s gonna be okay. We’ll get through this. Jeffrey will get you a new drummer. And I’ll be here to help...in any way I can. Because I’m your friend...and because...I care about you.”

Amber stared at his hand that he’d pressed to his chest to seal his promise. Wiping another tear away, she shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you do, seeing as I keep screwing things up-”

“Shhh,” he sounded as he pulled her into another hug. “Stop with that.”

Amber let him hold her for a few moments, her crying subsiding as she laid her head on his shoulder. Soon, a knock sounded on the door and the two of them stepped back while Jeff answered it. Bringing in two large bags, he placed them on the table and began unloading their contents. Wiping her eyes, Amber felt her stomach rumble.

“Wow that smells amazing,” she commented, walking to the couch.

Displayed before her was an enormous bowl of some kind of chicken pasta, a caesar salad and breadsticks.

“Eat up,” said Jeff with a grin.

“Hey, where’s mine?” Harry quipped.

Giving him an eye roll and a smirk, Jeff pulled out a large container filled with greens and handed it to him.

“I knew you wouldn’t forget me,” Harry chortled as he sat beside Amber.

“So, Amber,” offered Jeffrey as he took a nearby chair, “I know you probably don’t want to make any decisions right now, but under the circumstances, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be anywhere near Carter.”

“I know,” she agreed meekly.

“You’re supposed to be on the road soon to our next destination,” he continued. “I know you said you don’t want to press any charges, but with the time crunch, we do need to decide if we’re getting a replacement.”

Amber stole a glance at Harry before looking back at her manager. “Yes. I think we should.” She felt a hand press softly on her back as she let out a deep breath.

“Good. Then I will now leave you to your dinner, while I go have a little chat and make some phone calls,” Jeff announced. “Call or text me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Jeff,” said Amber, the warm breadstick melting in her mouth as Harry’s hand gingerly rubbed up and down her back.

“I’m so proud of you,” she heard him say when the door shut.

Pausing the fork in her hand, she looked up at him. “Thanks.”

Leaning forward, Harry placed a short, soft kiss on the top of her head. The tender touch seemed to flip her entire insides all the way to her toes like the feeling of the descending drop on a roller coaster. Biting her lip, she eyed Harry’s big ass salad and giggled.

“What?” he asked, a cute expression of inquiry on his face.

“You eat like a rabbit.”

Harry chuckled then, the sound ringing through the room. Amber felt her stomach twinge again, like the feeling of a thousand butterflies dancing.

“I’d offer you some of this,” she said, “but you probably don’t eat carbs.”

With a smirk, Harry reached over and swiped a cream-covered noodle, popping it into his mouth.

“Ooh, one noodle,” Amber joked, her eyes wide. “Call the pasta police now!”

Shaking his head, a shit-eating grin on his face, Harry reached for his water bottle.

“Oh. Cheers,” said Amber, opening her own bottle.

Harry raised a brow. “A toast?”

“Why not. But you go.”

“Alright,” Harry cleared his throat and raised his water. “To Amber Crosby. The bravest girl I know.”

Her smile faltering, Amber reluctantly tapped her bottle against Harry’s.

“I don’t know about that,” she remarked.

“I do,” declared Harry. “You keep saying you’ve been through a lot. This is just one more thing, love. You can get through this, too. I know you can. I believe in you.”

Blinking to keep the tears at bay, Amber gave a small smile. “Thank you, Harry. I just wish I could believe in me, too.”

The hotel was peaceful and still when they made their way back at the wee hours of the morning. Jeffrey had called Harry, asking to be put on speaker phone as he explained his settlement. Carter was no longer part of the tour, nor part of the band. Apparently there had been some kind of row, Carter getting angry and overturning a chair and punching a wall when Jeff had given him the news, to which Harry had not been surprised. Security arrived, and Carter had then broken down in tears, begging to speak to Amber. When Jeff had told him he didn’t think that was a good idea, he’d thrown his belongings in his suitcase and announced he was leaving on the next flight.

Jeffrey had security escort them to the hotel and see them to the elevator. Stepping off the lift, Harry looked both ways before heading for Amber’s door, the silence almost overwhelming. Jumping at the sound of another door opening, he exhaled when he saw it was only Clare.

“Hi,” she greeted quietly. “I heard what happened. Is everything okay?”

“It will be,” Harry sighed, stealing a peek at Amber who nodded.

Without a word, Clare gave Amber a sympathetic look before opening her arms. Amber walked right into them, allowing the friendly embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” Clare murmured. “I should have known.”

“How could you have known?” asked Harry.

“Women’s intuition. She gave hints, so I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t pick up on it exactly.”

“It’s okay, Clare,” said Amber. “I didn’t really want anyone to know.”

Looking at her tear-stained face, Clare cupped her cheek. “I understand.”

With one last hug, Clare said goodnight and returned to her room. Harry stood and examined the empty hallway while he waited for Amber to retrieve her key. Jeffrey had asked that he keep an eye on her until she went to bed, and he was determined to do just that. In fact, he would have done it regardless of Jeff’s order.

Pushing her door open, Amber turned to Harry with a bashful grin. “I’d invite you in for a nightcap, but I guess that’s pretty much out of the question now.”

“Yeah,” he blinked, “but I would like to make sure you’re okay. If...that’s okay with you.”

“Of course.”

Stepping into the room, Harry made sure the door was locked behind him before turning around. Amber stood next to the dresser, removing her earrings and bracelets. Despite everything that had happened in the last few hours, she still looked remarkable, her cheeks glowing a peachy-pink that matched the cute little dress she wore, her long hair in curls that cascaded down her back. Harry thought about how resilient she was. He still didn’t know her entire backstory, but he hoped that little by little he could chip away at the stone, and she’d let him in completely.

“I could really use a shower,” she announced as she sat on the bed to remove her boots. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

“I’ll just be a few minutes,” she promised, shutting the bathroom door.

Harry sat on the bed as he heard the shower begin and scrolled through his phone. He was halfway deciding to tweet a thank you to his fans for coming to the show when a knock sounded on the door. Perplexed, since most everyone was asleep by now, he wondered if it was Jeffrey. Crossing the room, he shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Who is it?” he called firmly, but not too loud.

When no one replied, he heard another knock, this one more emphatic than the one before.

“Harry?” Amber called from the bathroom.

“I’m here!” he assured her.

“Okay. I thought I heard someone knocking.”

Deciding not to inquire who it was again, Harry unlocked the door and opened it just a crack as he remained behind it.

“Amber!” the voice growled. Shit.

Stepping around the door, Harry let himself be known as Carter stared him down.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked Harry.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I need to talk to Amber,” confessed Carter.

“I don’t think you do.”

Just then, the sound of the bathroom door opening startled them both as Amber emerged, a towel wrapped around her body.

“Amber!” Carter bellowed, using his shoulder to try to push the door open.

“What’s he doing here?” she gasped with wide eyes. “Leave me alone!”

“Amber, you have to hear me out, please!”

“I don’t have to do anything!” she yelled. Then she looked at Harry with pleading eyes.

“Time for you to go, mate, she doesn’t want to see you,” Harry explained, nudging the door.

“Don’t tell me what to do you, you son of a bitch! And stop calling me mate! This is all your fault! I got kicked out of the band because of you!”

“I reckon that was all your doing, Carter. Now, please leave.”

Ignoring his plea, Carter tried his best to push the door open as he continued to call out to Amber. Suddenly losing his footing, Harry stumbled back as Carter succeeded, barging into the room. Amber screamed as she backed into the table, clutching her towel.

“Amber, please!” cried Carter. “I won’t hurt you! I just need to talk to you!”

“Like hell you do!” called another voice.

Carter turned to see the stern faces of his now ex-manager and ex-bandmates.

“I believe you were leaving,” said Jeffrey, folding his arms across his chest.

“The fuck is this?” shouted Carter.

“Everything okay here, Mr. Azoff?” asked another voice just as the security guard made his way through the crowd.

“Yes. Please see that this young man gets escorted downstairs. There’s a car waiting to take him to the airport,” replied Jeff.

The security guard gave a quick ‘yes sir’ and reached for Carter, who resisted. With a look of disdain, he glared at Amber, then Harry before reluctantly following the guard out of the room. Momentarily shaken up, Harry noticed Amber in the corner, still clutching her towel as she sobbed. Crossing the room, he took her into his arms where she once again cried against his chest.

“Amber, we’re so sorry!” called Johnny from the hallway.

“Yeah, Amber,” Brendan echoed.

“That’s enough guys, we’ll all discuss it tomorrow,” conveyed Jeff as he reached for the handle and let the door shut, leaving Harry and Amber alone.

“Harry…” Amber whimpered, her body trembling.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” Harry cooed as he held her tight. “He’s gone now.”

After several deep breaths, Amber made a sound, making Harry lift his head.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m...not dressed,” she blushed. “How embarrassing.”

With a slight twitch of his lips, Harry stepped back, releasing her. “Would you like me to turn away?”

“No, um...I’ll just grab something and go to the bathroom.”

Still wanting to show some courtesy, Harry turned his back as she reached in her bag and made a beeline for the toilet. When she returned, her oversized t-shirt barely grazing the bottoms of her little shorts, he tried his best not to stare as he sat on the bed.

“Thanks…” she said shyly as she stood before him, running a brush through her damp hair, “...for staying. And everything.”

Harry merely nodded, unsure what else to say that he hadn’t already said.

“I’m so ashamed.”

“I promise, I didn’t even take a peek, love,” Harry claimed, holding up his hands.

“No,” Amber blushed again, dropping her brush on the table and taking a seat next to him, “not about that.”

“What for?”

“Because…” she sniffled, “I thought he had to hit me for it to...you know.”

His face falling, Harry nodded slowly. “I know.”

“I just…” Amber bit her lip. “I thought no one would believe me. That it was my fault because I’d told him I didn’t wanna be with him like that anymore. I thought I owed it to him to continue being in a band with him even though we weren’t together. That I’d led him on with the flirting and the drinking and…”

“Shhh, baby,” Harry lifted his finger to silence her, pressing it to her lips. “It’s alright now.”

He stared at her pretty tear-stained face, her blue eyes full of innocence and longing. He was unsure why he’d let the term of endearment fall from his lips, but he didn’t regret it. Sliding his finger away from her mouth, he brushed away another stray tear from her cheek as she continued to stare at him.

“I’m scared, Harry,” she admitted quietly. “Please help me. I don’t know how to do this alone.”

tagging: @freedomfireflies, @daphnesutton

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[defilerwyrm]

okay this is a stupid question (feel free to ignore 🫣) but... will you ever write another fanfic? i swear i've read "serve another hunger " a thousand times, it's so hot!

Not a stupid question, and thank you so much! I have good news for you, Anon: I have 4 main WIPs at this very moment!

a five-act canon-divergent arranged marriage slow burn, accompanied by a playlist

a Caleb-centric monsterfucking extravaganza

a semi-secret project in which Essek is a stone top

a very dark t4t corruption-arc AU in which Bren doesn’t break until he’s on the battlefront in the War of Ash and Light and ends up sold into slavery to a very neutral evil Shadowhand

I’m actively working on the fourth one right now! Here’s a teaser:

A wizard of his skill was a siege weapon, and he was used as one. He slashed and burned enemy soldiers by scores; he quickened his allies’ limbs into frenzies; he seized the minds of the Kryn and forced them to turn their weapons on each other. Battle sang in his blood and blanked his mind of useless thoughts. He was a force to be reckoned with, for sure.

And the Kryn took note of this. It wasn’t long before Bren found himself face to face with magehunters backed by abjurers, and fellow wizards who wielded magic the likes he’d never seen before: drow who made time stutter, turned gravity on its head, and crushed bodies like paper balls. At the expense of many good Empire soldiers’ lives, he escaped again and again—but the last time he did so at cost to himself.

Harried on all sides by gnoll berserkers, Bren and the enemy mage took aim at each other and loosed their spells. The Kryn screamed as he caught fire from head to toe; Bren screamed as his flesh disintegrated to dust in a hole clean through his gut. Try as he might to keep fighting, the blood loss was so sudden and so great that his vision went dim and blurry. He could barely make sense of what happened next before he blacked out, but he awoke in a medical tent, screaming again.

He was important enough an asset, it seemed, for the war priest to spare him her strongest prayers. The hole through his torso filled in; new blood flowed through his veins; the burgeoning threat of infection burned away from his wounds; and his mind— He remembered the truth. Bren remembered— Remembered that Trent Ikithon had lied.

[kagedbird]

Continued from this Taliesin: *frowning the more Vilkas, Ria, Farkas, and Aela continuously try to talk to Allora, along with Torvar, Athis making side commentary about her outfit; Njada constantly trying to degrade her; Skjor making snarky commentary and agitating the young woman more. He leans over to Allora to murmur in her ear* I do believe these are the nastiest friends of yours I've ever met. Do tell me your standards aren't always so low? Allora: *used to all the bullshit Skjor and Njada are spewing, desperately trying to remain professional and polite with the quad, and ignoring Athis and Torvar* I picked you up into my group, didn't I? Taliesin: Well, ouch. That was unnecessarily true. Good to know you're sense of character is at an all time high, seeing as you did still take me in regardless. Allora: *snickers, leaning close and bumping her arm against his softly* Who could say no to a pretty face like yours? Taliesin: Indeed, I am quite handsome. Thank you for noticing. Allora: We love the confidence, Tally. *sips her mead with juniper, sighing afterwards* At least no one has asked me to- Torvar: H- *hic* hey, why don't you give us *hic* a song? Can't be a party without a song! Allora: -aaand I spoke too soon. Taliesin: *remembering the last time she sang to a dragon, giving her a terrified glance* What? Sing? Here?! You'll bring the entire building down! Allora: *snorts and laughs, covering her mouth and setting down her drink* Haha- hahaha! N-no, haha! That only h-happens when I use my magick, hahah. We're fine. I've sung at a lot of taverns, don't worry. You're silly. *to Torvar and the others whose attention were caught* Sorry, but I didn't bring my lute with me. Ria: We have plenty of instruments here! Feel free to borrow one. Taliesin: *under his breath* Are all of them so daft they can't understand not wanting to do something? Vilkas: *sneers* We didn't ask for your opinion, knife ears. Aela: If Allora didn't want to perform, she would let us know. Did you not want to? Allora: *gives a firm stare at Vilkas before tugging on her under fur armor sleeves nervously* Well... I don't really know what to perform tonight. And I promised Bren I wouldn't stay too late. Njada: I doubt your performances are much of anything anyways. I'm tired of hearing those two raving about your singing. Allora: Congratulations, I'm not singing. You win. Are you happy about it? *rolls her eyes* Torvar: Ni- *hic* nice going, Njada. Athis: I still say we could be spending our time doing something better like training. None of these festivities are helping us muster our strength. Farkas: Rest days are just as important as doing the work outs. Train too hard and you will be too exhausted to fight. Just take it easy for today. Njada: Yeah, I'm sure Allora knows all about taking it easy. Allora: *too tired for this shit* You wanna fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid. *sips her drink, uncaring* Taliesin: *guffaws as the table has various spit takes or choking noises*

[444namesplus]

Aal Aalde Aar Aber Abord Aburg Ade Aden Adord Adt Adtim Ahau Ahden Ahna Ahne Ais Ald Alden Alind Alkel Alken All Allin Almun Als Alten Ana And Angen Ann Appen Arn Arrk Arsch Art Arte Arz Asa Asel Auber Aude Auer Aul Aund Aurg Axnōt Bach Bachl Badt Baer Baig Bal Bald Bark Bas Bau Baus Baut Bayen Bechl Beck Bein Ben Ber Berd Berdr Beren Berg Berim Bern Bert Bia Biber Bin Bing Birch Bisen Bitz Bla Bladt Blen Blena Blich Blutz Boch Boden Bof Bord Borda Borf Borg Bort Botna Bow Bra Bram Bre Bren Brich Bruch Brunn Bryn Buken Bur Bureu Burin Burse Burt Bus Böham Bømla Bück Bürg Bürt Bütte Bütz Cal Calch Cald Calda Calde Carch Casse Chem Cla Coben Cock Coe Cord Creim Cren Crino Cusel Dal Dals Dan Dard Den Dena Dieck Diedr Dieim Dien Digyn Din Dinda Dineb Ding Diten Ditz Dord Dorde Dorf Dorn Drud Dust Döben Dömho Dürg Ebel Eberg Eck Edt Eger Egern Egg Eid Eim Eißen Eke Elben Eld Elden Elfin Eln Emdin Emgo Emitz Emme Emsda Ena Erd Erg Erich Ern Ersee Esch Esen Esher Esle Ewal Fach Fal Fel Felm Fen Fil Filde Flana Flau Fleim Flen Fogen Ford Forf Forna Fra Fral Fran Frau Fre Freck Free Freim Freis Fren Frich Fried Frike Frim Frin Frow Fröde Ful Furen Furg Førg Fürg Fürt Gadt Gan Gar Garde Garg Garne Gart Gast Gebut Gel Geld Gen Genau Gend Georn Ger Gerb Gerf Gerg Gerja Gil Gis Gisen Gla Glan Gne Gold Gom Gotte Grach Gran Grd Gre Greha Greim Grich Grick Grim Grims Grin Groda Gron Grow Gríðr Grötz Grøya Grún Grúðr Grüch Grüm Guber Guden Gul Gulau Guld Gun Gunn Göld Gönin Görd Göttn Gößen Günde Güto Gütz Hadt Haer Hagda Hage Hal Halan Halze Hammo Han Hange Har Harf Harn Hau Haurg Haus Hause Haut Hed Heder Hee Heich Heif Heig Heim Hein Heina Heind Heing Heitz Hel Held Hemic Hen Hena Heng Her Herau Herf Herg Herms Hiden Hil Hild Him Hin Hinge Hirch Hja Hjack Hjel Hjørd Hock Hofn Hold Holf Hor Hord Horde Horf Hoth How Hren Hrin Hum Hus Håste Höna Hönia Höð Hück Hünd Hüren Ichau Idow Idt Ilden Ilen Ilin Immel Inne Irco Isfen Istad Itzen Iðr Jal Jalen Jar Jel Jen Jerg Jeve Joh Jord Jorde Jorf Jugne Jul Julz Jun Jup Jör Jørg Jøsse Jüllr Jürg Jüth Kald Kalde Kam Kange Kapa Kapla Kar Kas Kasse Katz Kau Kaurg Kaði Kel Keld Kemne Kemon Ken Kerst Kir Kirch Kirg Kirse Kisee Kitz Klau Klena Klow Kob Kock Kohn Kott Kow Kra Krau Krauf Kren Krey Krome Kuf Kul Kum Kup Kurg Kus Kár König Könul Külsa Künch Lach Lad Ladt Lagen Lahl Lainn Lam Lamen Lan Lana Lanau Landa Lann Latz Lau Lauel Ledt Leina Len Lens Lerg Lern Lerst Lest Leste Leue Leurg Lia Ligen Lik Lim Lin Line Linge Lip Litz Lival Lohle Loma Lomr Lotte Lotz Loued Louen Low Loßen Luch Ludal Lude Lun Luna Lusen Lut Lych Lysen Löfn Lön Lör Lörlo Lübth Lück Lüdi Lügen Lündi Lünna Lünz Lütz Lütze

Magen Maind Mal Malln Mand Mar March Mard Marg Mark Markt Mart Marth Mau Med Mee Mef Meils Mel Meld Melde Melim Mels Mem Men Menau Mer Merg Mes Metha Mil Mils Min Mines Mirch Mirde Mirf Mirg Mit Mitia Mitz Monau Morn Mung Murth Mán Möl Mölld Mönid Mönn Mühl Münch Münd Münth Nau Naun Nebin Neck Necke Nee Nek Nen Nenda Nens Ner Nerg Nerma Nert Nes Netz Neuen Neul Neum Neunn Neurg Neven Newal Neyen Nich Nies Nig Nigen Nilde Nin Ninde Ning Nisim Nitz Njart Njört Noitz Nord Norde Norf Nost Now Nurg Nærf Nörd Nörf Nürg Obech Obelz Oben Obenz Obera Oberd Oberg Obern Obig Obuch Och Ock Ode Oel Oels Oerg Oesch Oessa Oeten Ofelm Olbe Old Olden Olz Opfel Ord Orden Ordt Orf Org Orn Osch Ossen Ossin Ossul Osta Osten Osth Oth Pain Par Patz Pau Pein Pen Per Pfa Pfan Pfen Pfurg Phel Phim Pla Plin Poch Pohau Pold Porth Poten Prin Puch Pul Pulf Putel Quel Quelf Quels Rach Radt Rakow Rand Rann Rasen Rath Ratz Rau Raum Raun Reck Red Reel Ref Rega Reim Remst Ren Rena Renz Resen Reut Rey Reyja Rhe Rheim Rhen Rhena Rherg Rid Ried Riede Riez Rijen Roch Rod Roden Rogen Rold Rolz Romar Ron Ronne Rop Row Rozen Roß Roßen Ránig Röden Rück Rüm Rünch Saal Saan Saarl Sach Sal Sam San Sana Sang Sann Sanna Sany Sarl Sart Sasen Sch Schen Schia Schl Schof Schrd Schte Schöð See Sel Selda Sen Sena Senz Sie Sien Sig Sigen Sim Sin Sina Sing Ska Skau Skjen Skord Skow Sna Snitz Sold Soll Son Sona Sow Soyth Spa Spau Speim Spel Spelf Spen Sper Sperf Speth Stach Stal Stau Staut Steid Steim Sten Ster Sterg Sterr Sth Sthop Sting Sto Stoch Stock Stren Strin Städt Sul Sulde Sulld Sum Sun Sunau Sung Sus Svel Sverg Svill Sviðr Syk Syken Ságar Ságau Süde Süden Tadel Taden Tadt Tal Tau Teim Tel Ten Terg Terio Tert Thau Tiane Tich Tin Tinau Tjørn Tocha Tomar Torg Tran Trau Trava Tren Trie Tring Tron Tyst Töne Tübz Uden Udin Uen Uetch Ulzen Unrau Urt Ussee Uwer Uwör Val Valch Vand Vanna Var Vart Vech Vedy Veim Velda Veln Ven Vend Ver Verg Vern Vest Viam Vich Vil Vin Vip Viðr Vogne Vold Volde Vole Vren Væna Vörd Vörðr Waach Wadt Wagen Wal Wald Walda Wali Walka Walke Wall Walln Wals Walth Wana Wanau Wand War Warna Was Wede Wedt Wegk Weila Weim Wein Weing Weirg Wen Wer Werau Werd Werg Wesch Wesen Weske Weten Wetz Wich Widen Wie Wied Wiedt Wig Wiga Wil Wild Wilde Willw Win Wiph Wisch Witz Wold Wolde Wolz Woode Worf Wurg Wurth Wusau Wykk Wört Würg Würn Xen Yre Yvde Zen Zer Zerg Ziedt Zietz Zig Zin Zitz Zoge Zow Zweim Zwer Zwerg Zwin Zwitz Zör Zörf Ård Ården Öld Ölen Übz Þordt Þrich

[josephtrohman]

KELCI IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRYIM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY IM SORRY I HOPE THEY COME BACK TO NA SOON BUT I THOUGHT OF YOU AND SANG MY FUCKING HEART OUT TO THE 8 BALL FOR YOU AND YOU ONLY I LOVE YOU FJRNGNEKVKSL 💕💖💞💗💕💖💗💞

AT LEAST IF IT CANT BE ME IM GLSD IT WAS YOU MY BELOVED BREN

[totomart]

Hasil Grand Final M5 World Championship Onic vs AP Bren 3-4, Sang Tuan Rumah Juaranya

Hasil Grand Final M5 World Championship 2023 Onic vs AP Bren 4-3, sang tuan rumah jadi juaranya. Congrats AP Bren menjadi juara M5 World Championship.serta apresiasi setinggi-tingginya patut diberikan kepada Onic yang sudah berjuang sekuat tenaga, come back stronger raja langit! Pertandingan Grand Final M5 World Championship yang berlangsung pada hari Minggu (17/12) kemarin berlangsung begitu…

[atlasarcana]

hi, i'm still working on this, here's another snippet:

BECKE: Producing was the best job, in my opinion. The tweaking and the… the perfecting of something you’d already met in your mind days, weeks, or just moments prior. Rendering an illusion into reality. It was its own kind of magic.

GRIEVE: I liked producing too. I liked the bleepy and bloopy sounds. But if I’d try to touch something she was working on, she’d turn me into a sloth.

WIDOGAST: There was a sloth in the producing room sometimes. I still don’t know what that’s about.

BECKE: Of course, I couldn’t always have one job to myself. Bren would be over my shoulder every now and then. I knew he was just trying to learn, but I couldn’t help but feel possessive. I wanted to be seen as the one in the chair, the one making everything happen behind the scenes. The intelligent one. The mastermind. (She laughs.) We all know where this is headed.

WIDOGAST: I don’t blame her at all for wanting to be the producer. It was how you got the closest to Trent, and it was how he saw your work in an intimate, one-on-one setting. When we danced and sang, we were treated as a unit, but we weren’t being ranked when we helped produce. Our problem was that I wanted that approval too. I craved it like nothing else. So we were butting shoulders, thinking that it was about the music and the buttons and the lack of room, but we both knew it was never about that. It was always about him.

GRIEVE: The two of them were more into Trent than I was. I was getting worried as time went on that they were going to try to make him sign adoption papers. It was creepy. But I guess it helped with the band’s morale, to have that spirit of self-improvement. At least at the start.

IKITHON: It’s a tried-and-true fact that competition breeds good genes. In a music industry setting, that sort of competition serves to whet blades and hone skill. There’s a reason we hold so many music, sports, battle tournaments across Exandria. It’s a simulation of the natural order of things—just a little less fatal.

here’s a snippet! it’s a test-drive for the epistolary “interview” style of a shadowgast pop star au inspired by daisy jones & the six, hozier, prince, the corruption of the western music industry, so on and so forth. this may or may not be included in the actual fic!

ESSEK: The problem with the Empire understanding of the Dynastic music industry has less to do with personal prejudice and more to do with propaganda.

TRENT: I don’t believe that propaganda has much to do with it. Honestly, it has to do with the belief that rural and local fans in the Empire maintain about Dynastic standards of excellence. Which are based in fact.              It is an objective truth that the Dynasty has the most rigorous education and extracurricular programs on Wildemount. It is inarguable that music tutors originating from the Dynasty are the most sought-after in the world. Is it prejudiced to become wary about the promise of “equality” in the treatment of performing artists, when there’s such an obvious privilege afforded to those from select regions?             I think it’s perfectly rational to speculate that there are injustices going on. Non-elf races have to puddle around in their hundred-odd years of life to make something of themselves, while the hundreds of thousands of dark elves on the other side of the mountain range have been perfecting one style of lute-playing for the past 700 years. It’s hardly fair.

CALEB: Whoever said that humanoids could never catch up to the elves is a fool. Rigor has nothing to do with a spark. Rigor can polish, can curate a spark. But it cannot invent one. The desire to learn music can be found in everyone, but the desire to consume it, to reimagine it and distort it and create anew with it — that is a phenomenon afforded to the great few.               And I believe, as many in the disenfranchised parts of Empire do, that this sort of spark requires some stressor to ignite it. After all, you cannot create fire without friction or chemical reaction. You cannot have the light of great art without an input of peril. Humans and humanoids have been called ‘matchsticks’ before — but it is this very threat of burning out that ignites such passion and tenacity.

ESSEK: Of course there are benefits to being an elf. The time scale affords more practice. The culture of rigor in the Dynasty in particular lends to extremely high standards of excellence, as many say — that is true. Though I resent to believe that privilege has anything to do with to whom the award goes to at the end of the night. The only thing the judges need to concern themselves with is discrimination, and if the skill is consistently coming from one nation or the other… Well, there’s only way to go about it. 

INTERVIEWER: Which is? 

ESSEK: The objective way. Award whoever deserves the award, no matter from where. That’s skill, that’s rigor, that’s practice. Talent is a construct used to distribute the feeling of effortless success, but there’s no success without effort. I should know.

INTERVIEWER: Sure. But what about the point that Ikithon made?

ESSEK: [He chuckles.] What point?

[starlitangels]

Surrender

I wish one of Bren’s siblings was secretly nice, so... I wrote this. (Great excuse to re-listen to Bren’s playlist, too, just for the fun of it.)

—

Bren and I sat on the beach below the Sky Palace, watching the sunset. The first peace we’d had since Bellamy ambushed me at the cove in my village. I held onto Bren, and he held onto me.

“Will you sing something for me?” I asked softly. Apart from the fact that I always wanted to hear him sing, I knew he enjoyed it a lot and didn’t used to get the chance much. So I encouraged him to whenever we were somewhere that we wouldn’t bother people.

He hummed. “What would you like?”

I shrugged. “Anything.”

He smiled. “Say something I’m giving up on you,” he sang quietly. “I’ll be the one, if you want me to.” His voice was as melancholy as his face. “Anywhere I would’ve followed you...” His eyes stared out at the sea, violet in the fading sunlight, but he didn’t seem to be seeing it. “Say something I’m giving up on you.”

“And I...” a female voice, soprano, joined on the harmony. “Am feeling so small.” Bren and I looked around wildly for the source. It wasn’t me—I couldn’t sing like that. “It was over my head. I know nothing at all.”

Bren stopped singing.

A young woman appeared from around the corner. Tall and slender, with long black hair, bangs, and lots of violet and silver rings woven into the many plaits her hair was bound in. She had the same fair skin as Bren and Bellamy and Barrow, but her eyes and fins were indigo, leaning toward violet. A whip dangled off her hip, on a small loop attached to the skintight black leggings under a thin, light violet skirt.

Bren shoved me behind him. “Jericho!” he spat as I stumbled. “What are you doing here?”

Jericho took the whip off her hip and dropped it into the sand, putting her hands up. “Stand down, Bren, for once I’m not here to hurt you,” she said. Her voice was smooth and melodious. Another siren, if I had to guess.

Bren held onto me so tightly it made my bones protest. “Then what do you want?”

“Father sent me to beat you up and bring you home,” Princess Jericho said frankly. “Unfortunately for him, this was the one opportunity I needed to make things right.” She kicked the handle of the whip closer to us. “And please tell your pirate to put that sword away. I’m not here to fight.”

Bren snatched up Jericho’s whip, coiled the whole thing, and handed it to me.

“Talk,” Bren ordered. I was impressed at how much braver he’d become the last few weeks. I had too, I guessed. Living on a pirate ship tended to do that.

“Father’s angry that you found out the truth about your past. He sent me to bring you home. But this is the first time in our entire lives I’ve been alone with you away from the prying eyes of anyone in the palace. And... I came to surrender to you. To... apologize. 

“Bren, I am so sorry. You have every right to be furious with me, and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me. The things I did to you... they were horrible. They were wrong. I know that. I never wanted to be cruel. But everyone else treated you so poorly, and Father expected them to do it. I knew you and I would both be in trouble if I was ever kind to you. So I played along. I tried so hard to only hurt you if I absolutely had to—and to make it as minimal as possible.

“I know you’re not Father’s son, by the way,” Jericho added. “I figured it out a long time ago. I can’t say for certain whether the others know, but I don’t think they do.”

“How did you figure it out then?”

Jericho raised one black eyebrow. “If you were Father’s son, and Mother truly gave her life in childbirth for you, then Father would have loved you most of all. Well, not loved. Father can’t love. But he would have favored you. Instead, he hated you, blamed you for Mother’s death when we asked, turned the rest of us against you. How could you be his son, if he felt no remorse doing that?

“Then, when I was twelve, I found the records of Mother’s travels. That night she ran to the Sky Palace. Dragon territory, seeking asylum for the night. It was nine months before her death. Putting two and two together wasn’t hard.” Jericho shrugged. “I’ve known for a long time.”

“So, what do you want?” Bren asked.

Jericho took a deep breath. “I want you to turn me over to the dragons. I want them to beat the hell out of me and dump me in the waters over the palace so that the guards find me before the sharks do. Meanwhile you take your... pirate and run somewhere safe until this all blows over.

“If you have any other ideas, I’m open to suggestions, but this is what I came up with.” Jericho sighed. “I spent so many years hurting you... I’m trying to protect you now. Mother loved you so much she gave her life for you. You... you were the only child born to her out of love. She would be beyond disappointed in the rest of us for how we’ve treated you all these years. It’s deplorable. Despicable. Pathetic. There’s... this doesn’t even begin to redeem me for everything I’ve done to you, but it’s what I can do in the present circumstances. I’ll even give the dragons some information on our armies. Nothing super useful, of course, but enough to turn the tide in the next fight, probably.”

I leaned around Bren’s shoulder. “Did you take your anger out on that servant after Bren left too?”

“Wait, what?” Bren asked.

Jericho scrunched her eyebrows. “No. I pretended to, but I missed every strike. How did you know about that?”

“That servant was so distraught by the pain your brothers and sister inflicted that they ran away toward the surface and got caught in the same net of the same pirates as I did, just a few days before me. Said pirate is taking that servant to Destimona to be sold as an aquarium decoration as part of the half-blood slave trade.” I chose to omit the part where the pirate captain was absolutely head-over-heels in love with that servant and they were probably already running away to Queen’s Garden together.

Jericho looked genuinely sad. “I’d hoped they were still alive. I’m sorry. For everything.” She held her hands out, wrists together. “Someone will shackle me, I’m sure, before I’m dragged in front the dragons.”

Bren and I looked at each other. “We don’t just have shackles on us at all times,” Bren said.

Jericho rolled her eyes. “What kind of pirate are you?” she asked me.

“Pirates don’t take prisoners,” I said darkly, glaring at her, tightening my grip on my sword.

She smiled. It was a more relishing wicked smile than even Captain Silvertongue’s scariest smile. “Ah. Your captain taught you well,” she said. Her eyes turned to Bren. “I can’t pretend I’ve been a good person if we’re not even counting what I’ve done to you. Father didn’t raise us to be good people. He raised us to be warriors. We’re at war with the dragons. I’ve killed dozens of dragon soldiers. But I want to be better. I don’t want to be this woman full of nothing but malice anymore.

“I tried to help you, back then. Who do you think mysteriously left food in your room? Or medicine sometimes? Why do you think I was always complaining to Barrow about the healers leaving the door to the infirmary unlocked or the cooks wasting food in the kitchen? I only ever did it when I knew you could hear, in hopes that you’d go be able to help yourself. And I only did it around Barrow because he was too stupid to realize what I was doing, and didn’t realize he should have been telling Father.”

As she spoke, I used her whip to fashion a binding, tying her wrists together. “No funny business,” I snarled at her.

She smirked. “Pirate,” she accused. Her expression relaxed. “I have no intention of any funny business. I mean what I say. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to redeem myself for everything I’ve done to Bren, but I’d like to try and do one thing right in my life.”

“So, why do you want the dragons to beat you up?” Bren asked as I yanked Jericho’s whip to tighten the bond.

“To explain to Father why I returned empty-handed, and to give you time to get somewhere safe. Maybe further inland. If they dump me in the waters over the palace so the guards find me before the sharks do, I get to tell Father that, in my attempts to bring Bren home, I was discovered by the dragons. I explain that they captured me and tortured me for a few days for information on our armies, but I didn’t tell them anything vital before they deemed me useless and dumped me back home to send a message to the merfolk king. To Father.”

I glanced at Bren. “It seems like an okay plan to me, but maybe Abul’s got a better idea?”

“We should take her before Abul anyway, whether he does or doesn’t,” Bren said. 

I nodded. “Agreed.” I grabbed the center of Jericho’s bindings. “Let’s go,” I said. She didn’t resist as I led her back toward the Sky Palace. Bren walked ahead of me. He was still a little awkward on his legs. He wasn’t able to use them for 23 years, so I didn’t blame him.

He led us to the palace. “Has anyone seen Abul?” he asked a passing servant—a brunette half-dragon girl with big green wings protruding from her back behind her. “We have a prisoner that my brother needs to see.”

The girl started and looked at the three of us. Her orange eyes widened when she saw Jericho. “Let me go find him,” she said. “I’ll send him to the throne room?”

“Wonderful,” I said as Bren nodded enthusiastically.

We led Jericho to the throne room while the servant girl ran off to find Abul. “Tell him to bring some shackles!” Bren called after her. She turned and nodded before rushing off.

“So. The new dragon king is your other half-brother,” Jericho remarked. “I bet he’s been nicer to you than the rest of us have.”

“Yup,” I said, popping the p.

Bren said my name warningly.

“What? It’s true,” I replied defensively.

“I figured as much anyway,” Jericho remarked. “We really are terrible.”

We waited in the throne room for almost ten minutes. Jericho seemed perfectly content to stand there with her hands bound. Never even tried to go for my sword. I kept meeting Bren’s gaze while giving him confused looks. He just shrugged. Apparently Jericho meant what she said.

Or she was biding her time, waiting for Abul to come in to attempt an assassination, but I highly doubted her whip could take down a half-dragon easily. Especially not Abul. I’d never seen a being—half-dragon or otherwise—quite as built as Bren’s new older half-brother. Even Barrow, the Aquinas prince just older than Bren, wasn’t quite on the same level.

But, if Jericho tried, I’d pull a Captain Silvertongue and slit her throat before she could do any serious damage to Abul.

“What’s the meaning of this?” a deep voice demanded as the door to the throne room banged open and shut. Abul stormed in, Kassia right behind him, both looking hostile.

Bren stepped between the dragon king and princess and his sister. It both broke my heart and pissed me off that he was still kind and compassionate enough to try and protect Jericho from the full brunt of Abul’s wrath. I would have let him deck her then and there. I’d heard from Abul’s personal servant that he’d once smacked them hard enough that they fell unconscious, back when they first met, before they became friends. A punch from Abul would probably knock Jericho’s brain right out of her skull.

“She surrendered,” Bren said quickly. “My—no, her father sent her to come bring me back, but she chose to surrender.” He quickly recounted everything Jericho had told us on the beach as Kassia slapped steel shackles around Jericho’s wrists and confiscated the whip. I added a few details he missed.

Abul didn’t look impressed, but he did seem intrigued. He looked at Kassia, who’d taken hold of the chain between Jericho’s shackles. “Take her to the dungeons. Post six knights to watch her. I’ll be down shortly. First, Bren and I are going to have a conversation.” He leveled a fiery orange stare at me. “And, unfortunately, you are not invited.”

Bren opened his mouth to protest, but I set my hand on his forearm. “Don’t worry. I get it,” I said. I gave him a smile and a kiss on the cheek under his scales before following Kassia and Jericho out of the throne room.

I made my way to Bren’s loft and sat in the bay window overlooking the sea. I knew the dragons weren’t a big fan of me being there. They accepted Bren as family, but I was an outsider, just as much as Abul’s human servant was, so I did my best to stay out of their way whenever I wasn’t with Bren.

The wait was about an hour. I wondered what Bren and Abul were talking about. Probably Jericho and what to do with her.

Bren came in, breathing a little hard from the stairs up to the loft. “Well, the good news is, he’s not going to kill Jericho.”

“Is there bad news?” I asked.

“Apart from the fact that he doesn’t know how to improve her plan at the moment, the bad news is that it’s going to be hard to keep her safe. Even in the dungeons. The other dragons—his grandfather’s generals and lieutenants—are going to be really mad at her because, like she said, she’s a warrior. A damn good one too, who’s fought in this war a lot.”

“But Abul’s gonna try to keep her safe, right?”

“As best he can,” Bren said. “Abul’s a good king. A good man. And I know he wants to get some information out of her too. So, I don’t think he’ll let any of the soldiers hurt her for a while. Not until he gets whatever information he’s after.”

I hummed and gathered Bren into a hug. “How... how do you find it in yourself to still care about her? After everything she’s done to make you suffer?”

Bren wrapped his arms around me. “She’s my sister. And... and I want to believe that she’s trying. Everything she said... it actually checks out. No one else gossiped about the infirmary or the kitchens except her and I don’t know how else she would have found out about the food and medicine that occasionally turned up hidden in my... room. Closet.” His grip around me tightened. “Maybe I believe her because I want what she’s said to be true. Maybe I just wished that one of them actually loved me.”

I held him tighter. “I hope she’s telling the truth. For your sake.”

“You looked ready to slit her throat and dump her in the sea for the sharks,” Bren pointed out, almost protesting.

“I was. And I am. Cap’m Shay would be so proud of me. But I love you, Bren. Enough to put all the rage I feel on your behalf toward Jericho and her treatment of you aside. So that I can be here for you. As comfort and support.”

He kissed my hair. “You’re amazing.”

“I’m not the same person you saved from the dragon’s net all those weeks ago, anymore,” I said softly. “Living as a pirate—even under a captain who was a good man at his core like Shay—it hardened me. Before, I would have been too timid to even think about harming Jericho. Now... now I don’t even know if I’d regret it if I did hurt her. If... if I killed her.”

Bren sighed. “These past few weeks have changed both of us,” he murmured, resting his hand on the back of my head.

“Me for the worse,” I muttered.

“I don’t think so.” His fingers tightened on the back of my head. “You’re still amazing.”

I almost swore, before remembering that using the name of any of the Seven Divines was illegal in dragon territory. “How are you still so kind?”

“Some of it’s instinct. Most of it’s a choice,” Bren said.

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

“Wait. Did you say you love me?” Bren asked.

[lesbiansayaishii]

Idk who your current ships are but can I request like best friend brengela (I think that’s their ship name lmao) with fluff number 9?!☺️💞

9. “Can you sing that song for me again?”

or

forgotten paperwork and cardigans

Temperance Brennan walked through the Jeffersonian to drop off some paperwork for Angela before she went home for the night. She rounded the corner, sighing slightly, but as soft music reached her ears, she slowed.

"...an old cardigan under someone's bed...you put me on and said I was your favorite..."

Brennan paused in the doorway, hand poised to knock on the doorframe, catching the ending notes of an unfamiliar song. Wistful. And so quiet she almost missed it. It was...Angela singing. Angela sang?

True to her senses, there was Angela sitting alone in her office, a cardigan draped over her shoulders, one earbud in her ear, staring off into space in the direction of the now dark window.

She knocked on the door and Angela jumped, turning with a start, a hand flying to her mouth before she saw that it was Brennan. She chuckled slightly, relaxing. "Oh, it's only you, Bren. You scared me, standing there so quietly." At the still slightly dumbfounded look on Brennan's face, she pushed gently. "Did you need something?"

Brennan focused with a start. The paperwork. She was dropping off the paperwork. "I was just bringing you..." She changed tactics. "Can you...sing that song for me again?"

Angela shook her head, smiling. "Oh, I don't sing."

"But you do. I just heard you. I think I liked it."

Angela raised an eyebrow at the blunt statement, a puzzled smile on her lips. "Sweetie, I didn't know you were into Taylor Swift."

Brennan smiled then, too. "I'm...not. I don't even know who that is, but I liked how you sang the song."

"Cardigan."

"Cardigan," Brennan acknowledged. "Will you sing it again?"

Angela nodded slowly. "I have a couple things to finish up before I leave. If you want, you can sit in here and listen to me sing while I finish up? If you don't have any plans tonight," she teased, knowing full well that Brennan hardly ever had plans after work.

Brennan smiled then, dropping the paperwork on Angela's desk and sitting on the couch. And after a moment, Angela began to sing softly.

"Vintage tee, brand new phone..."

[fiveisnumber1]

Lucas: Great Aunt Olga was a weird one. She always felt as if some criminal gang was out to get her...

Luther and Diego: Oh... Really?? You don't say... 😬😥

Lucas: Yeah... She got a weird phone call about it. Some guys threatening her back in the 60s. But then they hung up and she never heard from them again. Strange indeed.

Luther and Diego: Very strange, yes. Totally no way to explain it.

Lucas is trying very hard not to laugh but he's cackling on the inside making Luther and Diego squirm. When Five tells them finally that he told everyone about öga for öga, they decide to retaliate with du sang pour du sang cuz reader tells them that to keep the peace (and the idiot four at war with each other is the fastest way to destroy any shred of sanity in the house).

Bonus if there's an idiot "tally" board in the kitchen that they're trying they're best to lose at (who's the lesser idiot). The öga for öga gave Lucas and Dean a boost for a moment until Du sang pour du sang came out and it was back to square one.

YES!

Imagine that they all eat like breakfast or dinner together and Lucas brings it up in the middle of the meal because he KNOWS that if they walk out mid-meal when they haven’t even finished their plates it would make Luther and Diego look suspicious. He has them trapped.

Also for the idiot board, Addison and Allison would be the ones who keep tallies but I feel like there would be a second Kenny Klaus Chaos Board with Bren in control of it and it would say “it’s been (x amount) of days since an incident”

[moderndaybard]

2020 Weekly Ficlet 46/52(? We’ll see?)

Child’s Play (Critical Role C2 Ficlet)

-

 When Bren Aldric Ermendrud was young, he played.

He played and laughed with his friends in the carefree way of small children, and at home he joked and sang and played with his parents, reveling in their smiles and their stories—their joy and their love.

When Bren Aldric Ermendrud grew older, he stopped playing.

Not at first, of course—even at the Academy, with its hours of lectures and studying (…and…mentoring sessions…), there was still time to unwind, and oh, how they needed it. But it grew ever harder and harder to find the time and motivation to joke and relax as they once had, the three of them, and by the time Trent took them away for their most intense training, all there was was this work.

When Caleb Widogast escaped the Asylum, he did not play.

It was hard enough—took all of his time and effort—just to get enough food or money to survive. Then there was his goal, his one chance, his one desire: and surely anything that did not further it was a shameful waste. And besides, what right did he have to be happy, to have fun? Life was his sentence, his penance, not a game. He would not—could not—enjoy it.

When Caleb Widogast began to heal, he played again.

Slowly, hesitantly; but he did open up to these people, they to him, and the like between the mask he wore and the heart he hid grew blurred, obscured, vanishing bit by bit. He joked again, if awkwardly, for now there were smiles around him once more that he loved to see. He played again—in snow, on islands, in animal forms and in magical towers—because, quite without realizing how it had happened, he had friends, family, to play with again.

(Dumping them into a snow bank seemed like a good place to start.)

 -

(Also on AO3, with my other fics)

[mrs-mikko-rantanen]

The Beast of Baker's Bridge

Finally, it's out there. 2039 words long. The Gang starts to feel a little cooped up after three snow days in a row and decides to go hunt a local cryptid in the snow, despite the snow and the wind. One of their own gets lost, and they have to hunt for their friend instead. Tw hypothermia

William stomped his feet a little impatiently as everyone began to stumble out of the woods and back towards his truck. Everyone seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves, if not a little cold from the adventure. It had been a long weekend, spurred on by the school district canceling classes for three days due to the snowfall and large blizzard that had hit town. This, of course, had resulted in the Gang all spending the better part of three days driving around town together and causing some general mischief and mayhem. It had also resulted in all of them spending most of the weekend in the Alistairion’s basement, playing board games and watching movies, and, tonight, telling ghost stories.

    Maureen of course had started that event of the night. But the rest of them had been quick to pile on their own tales, until Brennan had brought up the infamous local legend of the Beast of Baker’s Bridge.

    “Do-do you think it’s real?” Mary had been sitting on Aiden’s lap, his arms wrapped around her. Mary was famously the most superstitious of the group, and by far the easiest to scare.

    William had rolled his eyes. “Of course it isn’t, Mary.”

    “But...but all those people...how else could they have disappeared?” 

    “I’m sure they just got lost, dear.” Aiden said, kissing Mary’s head. Mary didn’t look convinced at all.

    “Well. There’s only one way to find out, I suppose.” Maureen had suggested from her perch on the couch, eyebrows waggling. 

    “You can’t be serious.” Hamish said with a sigh. 

    “Why not?” Valeria had piped up with a shrug. “We’ve all been trapped in here for hours, fresh air would do us all some good. Besides, we can go get Pizza Hut after.”

    That had been the deciding factor, really. The promise of pizza had lured them all up the stairs and bundled into their coats, waving cheerful goodbyes and promises to be back soon to Hamish's parents  before piling into the back of William’s truck. Armed with flashlights and blankets as they sang loudly to any song that came on the radio. Twenty minutes later they’d tumbled out of the truck, wandered the words, inevitably got bored, and began to head back, remembering the promise of pizza. 

    William sighed as he pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders, then dug out a cigarette and his lighter, offering one to Maureen as she came and leaned against the truck next to him. They joked and laughed for a while as everyone else came back. William climbed into the cab of the truck, started it, and got the heaters running. 

    “Alright, we got everyone?” Brennan asked, frowning.

    There was a quick chorus of agreement from everyone, and William frowned as he glanced at the group, counting. 

    “Where’s Mish?”

    The Gang fell silent. William opened the door of the truck and layed on the horn.

    “MISH! C’MON, MAN! PIZZA HUT WON’T BE OPEN ALL NIGHT!”  He shouted once the horn died. No response came. They all shuffled around a little, trying to warm up some. Finally they started chatting amongst themselves again. 

    “God, where is he? We’ve been waiting for like ten minutes now...” William asked, flicking ash off his cigarette. 

    “HAMISH!” Brennan bellowed, “COME ON!” 

    Mary gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. William’s face melted into one of concern, glancing at Aiden as Mary’s hands lowered and her lip quivered.

    “What if--what if the Beast got him…” 

    Aiden wrapped his arms around Mary and shook his head a little. “I’m sure he just got a little turned around.”

    “What about the river?” Valeria’s voice was more serious than William had ever heard it. “Maybe he broke through the ice and fell in, he could have gotten hurt.” 

    Maureen stomped out the last of her cigarette in the snow. “We should go look for him. It’s going to start getting a lot colder fast. We should make sure he’s ok.”

    “Maurie’s right. But we can’t split up, we can’t risk anymore of us getting lost.” Brennan said calmly, “Mary, Val, you two stay here with the car in case he comes back. Keep it running and warm and honk the horn if you see him. Aiden, You and Maurie head to the left, keep your eyes peeled. Will, you and I will go right, towards the bridge. Everyone watch your step, be careful, and keep your eyes and ears open, ok?”

    Everyone nodded and headed out in their assigned directions, calling Hamish’s name as loudly as they could, flashlights skimming through the trees.

 ******

    “HAMISH! HAMISH!” William’s voice cracked as he stumbled through through the snow. He tripped a little, catching himself on a tree. He'd been much more calm twenty minutes ago when the search had begun. But now there had still been no sign of his best friend, and the panic was getting harder and harder to ignore.  “HAMISH!”

    “Will.  Will, we have to go back to the car. We’re not gonna do Mish any good if we get hypothermia.” Brennan’s teeth chattered a little as he grabbed William’s shoulder, “We can go back to the car, warm up and let Val and Mary take a turn--”

    “We can’t, we’ll lose ground, what if--” William was barely aware of the tears that started streaming down his face.

    “Will. He’s-”

    “Don't say that he's fine! He’s not fine, He’s not! He’s been out here for hours! It may already be too late!” William shouted, turning around to face Brennan. “He’s not fine. He’s not. We can't waste time, we have to--” He choked on a sob and started to slump to the ground. Brennan caught him in a tight hug, sniffing a little too. 

"Ok man. Ok." He finally said, wiping his eyes, "We'll look a little while longer."

William nodded and pulled away from Brennan, wiping his nose. "Yeah. Ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes."

They nodded a little, turning back to the darkened woods and shouting Hamish's name. Brennan grabbed William’s arm, shushing him a little and shining his flashlight into the trees.

“Did you hear that?” He asked.

    For a moment, William’s heart slammed to a stop, wondering if it had been some animal, maybe the Beast… His ears strained to hear over the wind, and his breath caught in his throat when he heard it.

    “Crying?”

    Brennan nodded once. “MISH? HAMISH, WHERE ARE YOU?”

    William took up the cry and tore off in the direction of the quiet sobs that they’d heard. He almost ran past him, slumped up against a tree. He was shivering, and his breathing was slow and shallow, pierced by hiccups and small sobs. 

    “Bren, Bren I found him, he’s over here!” He shouted as he scrambled to the ground next to Hamish. “Mish. Mish, hey it’s me.”

    Hamish blinked slowly, frowning. “Will? Bren’n? Wha’re you guys doin’ here?” His voice was slurred as he looked at them, his eyes barely focusing.

    “We came to get you, buddy.” Brennan said gently, “Do you know what happened?”

    Hamish’s frown deepened as William pulled off his hat, pushing it on to Hamish’s head and pulling it over his ears. “No. ’S r’lly cold…”

    “Yeah. Yeah, it is. Let’s get you back to the truck, ok?” Brennan grabbed Hamish’s arm as he shifted to lift him to his feet. William quickly followed, grunting a little as Hamish fought against them at first, moaning as they pulled him away from the tree. “It’s a bit of a walk.” Brennan warned Hamish.

    “No problem though, right? It’ll get your blood moving, warm you up a little!” William tried to force a note of cheerfulness into his voice. 

    The three boys stumbled through the snow and blowing wind, Brennan calling out to the woods in an attempt to let everyone know they’d found Hamish. William was trying not to cry, muttering to his best friend that they were getting closer. They were so close, almost there. Just a little closer. William had never been happier in his whole life than he was in the moment that he saw the truck, and he let out a relived laugh, squeezing Hamish’s arm.

    “We did it, Mish. We got back. We made it.” 

    “Oh my God.” Mary sounded like she’d been crying as she and Maureen ran foreward. Brennan passed Hamish over to Maureen, then sprinted the rest of the way to the truck, letting out a long blast with the horn.

    “VAL! ADIEN! WE GOT HIM! COME BACK!” He ripped open the back seat, then slid in backwards, motioning for William and Maureen to help load Hamish in with him as he grabbed one of the blankets.”Will, if they aren’t back in five minutes go find-”

    “Mish.” Aiden grabbed the side of the door as he skidded to a stop. 

    “That’s everyone. Ok we have to go- we have to get him to a hospital.” Brennan nodded and waved for everyone to get in.

    “Is he wet? Did he fall in the river?” Mary asked breathlessly as she climbed into the back seat, squeezing in next to Hamish.

    “What does it matter?” William snapped a little, watching as everyone else crammed into the truck, seeming to refuse to want in the back, away from Hamish.

    “No, she’s right.” Valeria said from her shared seat with Maureen as William pulled out of the parking spot, “Wet clothes will just keep him cold.” 

Mary pulled the blanket open, gently grabbing at Hamish’s coat sleeves and frowning. “Here, yeah.” She and Brennan pulled the zipper of his coat down as William cranked the heaters up as high as they could go, angling them back towards Hamish. 

Aiden had pushed the window between the cab and the back of the truck open, twisting to fish out the blankets they’d brought with them. By the time he had gotten them free and had closed the window again, Mary and and Brennan had pulled Hamish’s wet coat, sweatshirt, and t-shirt off of him. Valeria and Maureen had both pulled off their scarves and coats as well, passing them back to Mary. She wrapped them around Hamish and draped the jackets over his shoulders and chest as Brennan went back to wrapping blankets around him.

Hamish’s eyes had closed again and his head lolled, his body still convulsing with shivers as his fingers curled loosely around the blankets. 

“Where’re we goin?” He asked, hiccuping a little as his head drooped to the left.

    “We’re taking you to the hospital, hun.” Mary explained patiently, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and gently rubbing his arm. “They’ll warm you up.”

    Hamish nodded a little, his head drooping farther to the side and his eyelids fluttering. 

    “Hey. Hey you gotta stay awake, buddy.” Brennan said, wrapping his arms around Hamish as well. Hamish let out an upset sound and a few words in Gealic that William didn’t catch from the driver seat. 

    “Mish.” Maureen called, reaching back towards him, “Mish, come on, you can’t pass out on us, man. Hold on, ok?”

    “’M tiered.” Hamish groaned. 

    “I know.” Maureen said, “I know, but you have to hold on. You have to.”

    “Can’t I jus’ sleep?”

    “No, Mish. No, we need you. We all need you to stick around, ok?” Mary said, pulling him into as tight a hug as she could manage. “We need you to- to-” She hiccuped a little and sobbed before Aiden kissed her head.

    “We need you to help us with homework.” He said.

    “And to remind us to drink water.” Valeria said.

    “We need you to keep playing football so that we have an excuse to go to the games.” William piped up.

    “We need you to make us watch stupid movies and put up stupid Christmas decorations.” Brennan said.

    “We need you to keep running the Revolution.” Maureen’s hand reached out for his, but her fingers barely brushed his knee.

    “We need- We need you to stay awake.” Mary hiccuped again.

    Hamish blinked a little, his breathing still labored and and slow. “I need...I need you guys too.” 

    Aiden reached around Mary and pulled a blanket tighter around his friend. “Hold on, man. Just keep holding on.”

[marmeladednd]

(Bren, Astrid und Eodwulf waren mal alle zusammen im Kinderchor und haben Kling Glöckchen gesungen)

HAHAHAHAHA YES OMG JA das ist SO süß ich sterbe

Die wichtige Frage ist aber: wer von den Dreien hat Oh Tannenbaum auf der Blockflöte gespielt? 

[translation: 

anon: Bren, Astrid and Eodwulf were all in the children’s choir and sang Kling Glöckchen (a german christmas song) together

me: that’s so cute I’m dying

[caladhel-iarian]

Never Have I Ever...

Asked someone to marry you? — “That would require finding someone worthy of me.” [Innocent.]

Kissed one of your friends? —  “Kissing and telling is for giggling grade schoolers.” [Guilty.]

Danced on a table in a bar / tavern? —  “... Don’t ever become an archer, Dead Eye. I am not my brother.” [Innocent. But Lin is definitely guilty, much to cheering and jeering of his brothers.]

Ever told a lie? —  “Anyone who tells you they haven’t is trying to sell you something. At this point, I imagine you would probably buy it, too.” [Guilty. Although he’s probably the most honest of the triplets.]

Had feelings for someone you can’t have? —  “I get what I want. If I don’t have it, then I didn’t want it.” [Guilty then and guilty now. But he’ll never admit it to anyone. It’s less that he can’t have them and more that he won’t let himself have them.]

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? —  “I see your ears are for decoration only. Refer to your second question.” [Guilty.]

Kissed a picture? — “I am not thirteen.” [Guilty, guilty, guilty.]

Slept until 5pm? —  “Unless I am ill, I am always on time.” [Innocent. He takes his time seriously and heaven help you if he thinks you’re wasting it.]

Worked at a fast food chain / restaurant? —  “I prefer real food over cardboard.” [Innocent. He has expensive tastes. If you try to take him on a date to a chain joint, he’s likely to turn up his nose and drag you to one of his favourite places. And then do all the ordering and pay because he thinks you’re a tasteless pauper and he will teach you some class.]

Stolen something? —  “Children are remarkably sticky at all times. Five seconds from a thorough bath, they are sticky again.” [Guilty. Kids steal until they learn better. And sometimes even after. Does he steal now? No.]

Been fired from a job? —  “While there are certainly people foolish enough to fire someone like me, I am fortunate to have avoided working for any of them.” [Innocent. He’s a model employee. Minus his attitude. Don’t hire him for customer service unless you want to go out of business.]

Done something you regret? —  “I am doing so right now.” [Guilty. Oh how guilty. His regrets eat at him.]

Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose? —  “Do you know how expensive stain removal is? No, thank you.” [Innocent. Dhel is only demonstrative and exaggerated in his anger. But he’s real good at making his siblings laugh until stuff comes out of their nose.]

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? —  “Aside from the first snow of the year, yes. Every time.” [Guilty. He loves snow. It’s his favourite weather.]

Sat on a roof top? —  “Of course. My penthouses have rooftop gardens.” [Guilty. He likes taking his tea in the garden Bren grows atop their Silvermoon and Dalaran penthouses. It’s also his favourite place to grade papers, write lyrics, and read.]

Kissed someone you shouldn’t have? —  “You seem terribly concerned with my lips and what they do. Is someone upset because they aren’t receiving my kisses?” [Guilty. One thousand percent guilty. But he’ll never tell.]

Sang in the shower? —  “At Lin’s insistence. He says the bathroom has excellent acoustics and I am inclined to agree.” [Guilty. Although when he’s not working out lyrics while he showers, he just hums snatches of music.]

Been pushed into a body of water with all your clothes on? —  “... Do I really look like a person easily moved?” [Guilty, but that is thanks to his brothers. Otherwise, Dhel is a huge elf. Not easy to knock him off balance.]

Shaved your head? — “Absolutely not.” [Innocent. The lady/ladies he fancies have admitted to liking his hair far too much for him to ever even consider this.]

Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry? —  “I have been told I am an onion.” [Guilty. Spend more than ten minutes in his company and his acid tongue will probably make you sniffle, if not outright tear up.]

Shot a gun? —  “In a manner of speaking.” [Innocent. His loved ones like to tell him that he has a mouth like a shotgun. But he doesn’t bother with actual firearms.]

Still loved someone you shouldn’t? —  “Do you have the attention span of a lightning bolt? You already asked something similar.” [Guilty. Always guilty. He’ll not tell who, though. And it is not an NPC or a background character I write for his stories.]

Have / had a tattoo? —  Dhel’s mouth says nothing; it doesn’t need to when his sour face says everything he thinks the interviewer needs to hear. Shirt sleeves rolled back, he holds out both arms for an inspection that reveals a wealth of tattoos painted across his skin in words, music, and scenery. [Guilty. From his jawline to his toes, the man is covered in ink, though much of it can only be seen when he is casting spells.]

Liked someone, but will never tell who? —  “... You must be an entire army. No single person is this foolish.” [Still guilty. Will still be guilty in the future. He’s pretty sure he’s already answered some variations on this question.]

Been too honest? —  “Some people have expressed this sentiment. Truthfully, I am surprised they had the wit to be wounded by my opinions. Or perhaps they were only disappointed by the fishing that day.” [Guilty. Dhel won’t hesitate to tell you exactly what he thinks about something and he refuses to sugarcoat most anything he says. Sadly, much of what he thinks tends to be insulting. Fishing for compliments won’t get you very far with him.]

Ruined a surprise? —  “No. That would be a waste of time and effort.” [Innocent. Dhel enjoys setting up unpleasant and often deadly surprises for people who cross him. People he likes usually wind up with useful gifts they were not expecting because he misdirected their attention. Just ask @eldya​.]

Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? —  “Yes.” [Guilty. And family doesn’t count for this one.]

Stalked someone? —  “While that would certainly be a role reversal, I am the one on the receiving end here.” [Technically guilty. Beware any gifts of jewelry he might give you; they’re pretty, sure, but they’re also likely to be scrying stones he can use to keep an eye on you.]

Thoughts about murder? —  “The more some people open their mouths, the more attractive the possibility becomes.” He shoots the interviewer a look filled with enough points to shame a pencil factory. [Guilty. Oh god, is he guilty.]

How about mass murder? —  “Extinctions are necessary on occasion.” [Guilty. Just look for the remains of some Amani villages in Eversong.]

Cheated on someone? —   “No. I was named appropriately.” [Innocent. Caladhel means “faith eternal.” If you have his attention, then you are the only lover who exists for him until the relationship ends. It may come as a surprise given their careers and temperaments, but he and his brothers are extremely loyal.]

Gotten so angry that you cried? —  “Anger is better spent implementing solutions. Tears are wasteful.” [Innocent. He rarely cries and that only when he is completely overwhelmed by grief.]

Tried to stay away from someone for their own good? —  “No. It is not my duty to slap adult hands away from the stove.” [Innocent. Babysitting adults is an extremely rare occurrence for him.]

Thoughts about suicide? — “If you’ve never considered your own death, then any time a thought crosses your mind, it must be a long and lonely journey.” [Guilty. Dhel believes every living person has considered this topic at least once in their lives.]

Had a girlfriend / boyfriend? —  “I was a teenager once.” [Guilty. Although still on the aloof side, Dhel was a much warmer boy before he went into apprenticeship in Dalaran.]

Gotten totally drunk during a holiday? —  “Lin drinks enough for the three of us.” [Innocent. Dhel isn’t big on alcohol. He drinks it on occasion, but his vice is painkillers.]

Tagged by: @bluexepher​ - Thank you very much for the tag and for thinking of this jerk. I really appreciate it!

Tagging: @eldya​ @kolabooc​ @safrona-shadowsun​ @sanasunbringer​ @loveherdekay​ @snowfallen-nymph​ @veleanthe​ @valishoneybee​ @the-wandering-orchid​ @alastar-wyatt​ @waroftwowolves​ @susan-gampre​ and anyone else who wants to do this thing. If you do it, please tag me so I will be sure to see it.

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

The Revenge of the Shadows (Who wants to see the world BURN) - Camren

47° edition of The American Music Awards ceremony - Microsoft Theatre Los Angeles, CA.

Lauren PoV

The day had come. It was the AMA's 2019 and I was screwed. Fucking nervous! Brenda insisted on accompanying me and I decided to bite the fucking bullet and appear alone at the ceremony. I didn't want to repeat the same scene last year with Ty and be his "companion." I went alone to this event despite knowing that the couple of the year would be here;

Camila and Shawn.

I knew that. I knew perfectly well that this day would be the same as my girl spent last year having to see Ty and me kissing in public because yes, last year Tara forced me to do a fucking show and apparently this year Roger and Andrew are forcing Camila and Shawn to continue theirs. I had had my share of shit with the birthday of the pretty boy. The bastards of Roger and Andrew created another circus on August 8th for Shawn's birthday, but I prefer not to think about that. I am already thinking about disappearing in the bathroom to smoke a roll of weed and relax. I promised myself that I wouldn't do it and I won't. The flashes blind me and I can hear the excited screams that announce the arrival of the couple of the year. When I finish going through the red carpet to parade for the press, Brenda approaches me and tells me that Camila and Shawn are giving a kissing show before parading through the same carpet that I already passed. I didn't curse and didn't say anything because I expected it but that didn't take away the fact that I died of jealousy inside. I can understand how Camila felt last year now and I have to say that the feeling is fucking shit. How we had to wait for the interview round I decided that I could take some pictures and upload them to my Instagram stories. I had already uploaded some, with my black Valentino dress, similar to last year's model but with a princess cut instead of the mermaid. I had dark brown ironed hair and black heels. I wanted to look elegant and Brenda helped me along with Carlene who did my makeup. I handed my Iphone to Brenda and she took a couple of photos asking me to smile but I did not, I wanted my fans to know that I was not very well with the Shawmila circus and I left that posted next to the legend: "Enduring the storm ..." I knew that my fans, our fans would understand. They have been the only ones who have not changed much during all these years and Camila and I know it very well. I had finished uploading my stories and I saw some photos of Camila, I know I shouldn't but I couldn't help it. She was beautiful dressed in red. It was a dress very similar to the one I used for the 2018 Grammys but this one had braces and showed her beautiful curves that I loved to draw but without any clothes. The dress looked very luxurious like all of it. Camila also looked nervous and sad. Her smile was false and did not reach her eyes. I hated that Camila. To the one who had to act on her feelings, the one who didn't feel anything she said she felt. The one that hid everything that she really was. And I missed her. To the real one. I was meditating on the subject until Brenda interrupts me and tells me that Chelsea Briggs wanted to interview me. Damn blonde who decided to stop supporting us ... I understand why she did it, even when still is fucked up that she denied my relationship with Camila when she knows the whole story, and that the story is fucking real. She did it for Camila and I understand it but there are too many mixed feelings and I hate having them right now. I looked at Brenda also dressed in black with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged. - It's Billboard - she warned me - You know how this shit is. - I know - I nodded and sighed mentally preparing not to make the same mistake as last year with this blonde. It was not long before the stunning blonde appeared with camera men and her microphone. She was dressed in white and looked so excited that I couldn't help smiling because her energy was contagious. She greeted me with the same enthusiasm that characterizes her and asked me the obvious questions about my musical career, my debut album and my music. I answered all the questions with an excited smile and she was happy with my answers until of course, She had to ask the awkward questions. About Ally and Normani who were also at the ceremony and about Camila of course. - What do you think that Ally and Normani are also here this year? - Chelsea wanted to know - Have you talked to them? Have you seen them? - I think it's great that the girls are at the event and that they present their respective music because that is what we have come to - I responded nervously fighting with my desire to twist my hands - We have come to enjoy tonight and music because it is the most important. And no, I haven't seen them yet or talked to them but I'm sure I'll find them out there and we'll do it. - That's awesome Lauren - Chelsea smiled delightedly - And what do you think of Camila's new music? Have you managed to see her again? - Camila's music is amazing - I answered sincerely without being able to contain myself despite my nerves - And no, I haven't seen her either but I don't know ... if I see her there maybe. I don't know... Chelsea looked at me smiling, the freaking blonde knew that her questions about Camila made me nervous but she saved me by taking the conversation to my career and my music again so I could relax. After answering a couple more questions about my singles and my tour, she signaled to the cameraman who turned off the camera and walked away, leaving Chelsea and me in an awkward silence until she apologized for making me nervous. I shrugged and smiled at him knowing how everything was and she came closer to me showing me her cell phone. - I have Camila in her interview - she told me while still smiling - Do you want to see her? I had never seen her as nervous as last year. I looked at Brenda who made an affirmative gesture and she lifted three fingers. I had three minutes to do it. - That's more than enough - Chelsea agreed and showed me Camila's interview that she had asked to send to her cell phone and advanced it to the part that interested me: She talking about me, about Ally and Normani - How about Ally, Normani and Lauren being present tonight? - Chelsea asked to my sun and Camila was very nervous looking at the blonde - Have you seen them or talking to them? - I think it's amazing that the girls are here sharing their music with the audience tonight - Camila responded with a completely acted attitude because she was nervous. I know that Normani is breaking it right now and Ally is on the same path as ... Lauren and I am very proud of them. And no, I have not seen or talked to them but I am sure that if I see them I will. I saw Chelsea nod in the video and Camila smile nervously looking where I assumed Roger was watching the interview. I saw Camila nod with a hint of sadness and Chelsea cut the video just as Shawn appeared next to Camila. Jealousy attacked me again but I was able to repress them. - Sorry - Chelsea apologized - I should have cut the video before ... - I already knew - it was all I could say until Chelsea said goodbye wishing me luck and Brenda joined me again. - Do you want to talk about that? - It was all she asked me. - Not now Bren - I suddenly sighed feeling tired - Not now.

When the AMA's started I knew that I would have to endure a new circus and I was not mistaken. Our seats were on the left and in the center was Camila next to Shawn and Taylor. I was very surprised when I discovered Karlie Kloss and Zac Stenmark in the same row as me. Zac was Shawn's boyfriend and Karlie was Taylor's girlfriend. I could not believe my luck. I couldn't help saying hello to both of them and of course talking about our respective partners that shone throughout the show. In spite of that, the three of us seemed to have the same fucking downer when we saw our loved ones at the hands of their beards. Tonight Taylor had also decided to bring Joe Alwyn but she was forced by the actor's manager so Karlie was on the ground. - Enough ... - I complained looking at Zac and Karlie who didn't understand my words - We have to do something. We can't let them beat us. - And what can we do? - Zac was elegantly dressed in black and his model bearing showed it - We are forbidden to approach them. I looked at Brenda and I knew she couldn't forbid me approaching Camila, exactly. I could not because of the contract and because the one that forbade it was actually Sylvia Rhode's daughter of a bitch and of course, Roger. Brenda looked at me and shook her head, approached me and warned me: - She will have problems, you know that? - she looked at me suspiciously - I know what you plan to do but be careful. - I will - I agreed and it was all I needed to get close to the guys and tell them about my plan. They looked at me, smiled and nodded. We already had it. They gave us a circus. And we were going to give them another one. But in  that moment Zac enjoyed Shawn's song that was for him, Lost in Japan. Karlie enjoyed Lover, the song Taylor dedicated to her I did the same with Camila when she sang Consequences. I went back to enjoy it and cried like the first time I did it. Camila was nervous again singing it but she did it in a spectacular way. - That girl loves you - Karlie encouraged me with an excited smile. I had changed places with Brenda and had her on my left side while Brenda was on the right side and Zac next to Karlie. "Camila loves me as much as Taylor loves you, girl," I said with a smile just as excited as Brenda handed me a tissue. I hated crying but I know that Consequences always It will make me cry - I've already seen them. - Well, it's true - the tall blonde dressed in white Armani shrugged - we are your mentors for something, right? - Touché - I laughed. This blonde always made me laugh every time I saw her. She and Taylor made a beautiful couple. It was my turn to get on stage. Camila had sung a couple of songs from her new album in addition to Consequences and Taylor, Ariana, Normani and Ally had already taken the stage. My presentation would be short because I had to choose between two songs. Of course, I chose Burning and Expectations. I had a couple of dancers for both songs and I tried to give my all with Expectations knowing that Camila would be the one who would see me sing this time. I prayed to be able to master my nerves behind the scenes before going on stage but my nerves increased when I heard murmurs, some laughs and Brenda cursing loudly in Spanish: -  ¡Niña! No puedes estar aquí, ellos pueden demandarnos! (Girl! You can't be here, they can sue us!) I turned around to ask Brenda what the hell was going on but a red shadow was all I saw before being surrounded by a pair of thin arms that hugged me tightly and a pair of lips that literally ate mine. - What...? - I tried to look at Camila but she just kissed me and I tried to kiss her back - Camz ... What ...? - You will do well my moon - she told me with an excited smile that I corresponded and kissed her again. - Five minutes Lauren! - Brenda yelled at me and then I saw Camila being ripped from my arms by an almost terrified Taylor Swift. - Mila we have to go! - She almost dragged my girl because she didn't want to leave while I tried to comfort her with soft kisses in her check - Shawn is desperate trying to distract Roger and Andrew, come on! - Taylor looked at me trying to apologize - I was supposed to accompany her to the bathroom but she ... lucky on stage Lau. - Thanks Taylor - I nodded with a nervous smile and saw Camila letting go of Taylor to run into my arms for the last time. - I love you Camz, but go with Taylor. Come on love, go now, okay? - I don't want to leave ... - Camila complained and I couldn't contain my emotions when I heard her scream my name from the door. Taylor had managed to take her away and I knew she must be crying in the blonde's arms. I hated what they did that to us. Keep us apart as if we were enemies knowing we were far from it. We could be together but our time was short. Measured and scarce but we enjoyed it very much. Brenda and Carlene helped me with the makeup because I had run so in record time the girls helped me to be ready just in time to go on stage. I sang Expectations dedicating it to Camila even though I couldn't distinguish her from the public. I looked where I knew she was and smiled as the audience applauded. I left the scene full of energy directly to my hotel room sending a message to Zac and Karlie to start with our own circus. Nor Camila, Taylor and Shawn  didn't know anything about that, but Carlene and Shawn and Taylor's assistants knew it too. They had the mission of taking our loved ones to our respective hotel rooms when the ceremony ended and they did so. Before that, of course, we needed food. Above all Camila needed food. She had posted about wanting to eat chicken nuggets and ice cream so that was what I asked for it at the hotel buffet. I switched to more comfortable clothes, black sweatpants and a white T-shirt and waited five minutes until our food arrived and three minutes later Camila appeared still in her ceremony dress without knowing that I was waiting for her in bed, with food and roses that I ordered Carlene to send to the room along with Camila's suitcase. I learned that Shawn and Camila and Taylor and Joe made a show that they were going to their hotel rooms together but everything was done for the press. When Camila arrived she was surprised to see me in the room and kissed me. I was so happy to have her in my arms again that I didn't stop kissing her and then we enjoyed the food until dessert arrived. Camila was so hungry that she ate with her dress on and left dessert for last. It was there when I took advantage of doing a couple of insta stories in the same way that Camila did with me last year. I recorded myself with my cell phone saying how tired I was and how I wanted to spend the rest of the night "alone" in my room. With good food, drink, (and ice cream with two spoons) and then I panned to the mirror where you could see the blurred silhouette of Camila in her red dress trying to take it off. I burst out laughing when I saw her almost fall off when she took off her dress but I quickly covered it up as if the phone was falling. I cut the video just before I heard Camila screaming my name and cursing because she was stuck with the dress to half removed. - Lauren! Stop playing with the phone and help me ... - she complained loudly - I'm freezing my ass here. I did it. I helped her with the dress while watching her finish undressing to make herself comfortable. Sweatpants and a long t-shirt of Ed Sheeran. We finished taking the ice cream and I sent Zac and Karlie a picture of Camila in my room. They sent me back other photos, Zac sent me a picture of him without a shirt lying on the bed next to Shawn also without a shirt and half asleep. Karlie sent me a picture of herself in a white bathrobe accompanied by Taylor that in that moment she was drinking a glass of white wine and was also wearing a white bathrobe. - It's done .... It was the three answers we needed to know. We won. The motherfuckers of Camila's teams, Shawn's teams  and Joe's tried to fuck us with the circus but we screwed them back knowing the risks we would run when the day came. But it was worth it. Our loves were worth it and the rest of the world could go to hell. The sun and the moon had their own eclipse and we would see the world burn. Literally.

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First of all, I have to say that this is my first Camran fanfic in English. That means apologizing for bad grammar if it exists. I had help with spelling but I'm still not sure of the rest (Tiff, thanks you so much for your help) This story is my idea of having a night like the one we had with Camren at the AMA's last year, but this time from Lauren's point of view. It's a one shot so it's a short story that I hope you like it.