#but also without each other its gonna be wors

[fortunatelyenchantingtaco]

I may have brain damage because of it but ma mama raised no quitter

[ablackfangirlwrites]

Jealous ll

Part 2!!!! I linked the sone again cause its a bop and I love it also heres pt one!

You had had enough

Thats what you kept telling yourself

As you got ready tonight

You weren't going sit in the house anymore waiting for keigo to show up whenever he felt like it

Tonight you were going out for you

You thought about how you used to have fun, how you used to be happy

And how miserable you had been lately and you decided

If Keigo didnt appreciate you anymore

Then you'd find someone who would

So thats why you found yourself looking in the mirror admiring how well you dressed up tonight to go out

You almost forgot how hot you were when you put in a little effort

You had originally stopped because keigo would tell you how beautiful and perfect you were without make up or anything

But now you were on the prowl for someone new to notice you and keigo's words meant little to nothing to you right now

Tonight you were gonna find someone to show you just a little bit of attention you craved so much and it wasnt going to be keigo

Just then you saw keigo staring at you from the reflection in mirror

he was home unusually eailer

"Dont you have to work?" You asked bitterly

"Where are you going?" He asked ignoring your statement

Sighed and rolling your eyes and picking up your purse you turned to him before leaving the bedroom, "Out. You don't have to wait up for me."

"You're being ridiculous y/n."

He said following you but you ignored him

"Y/n? Y/n?" He kept calling you, "You cant just go out an-"

"And why not?" You turned to him before you left the apartment, "according to you were not even really dating-"

"You know why that is." He told you seriously

You huffed out a fake laugh, "yeah, but its still okay for you to flirt with anyone?"

Keigo didnt respond to that making you chuckle, "Exactly...like I said im going out dont wait up." Then you slammed the door leaving.

You knew you were being unreasonable with him

You knew the two of you needed to just talk and make up

But you kept letting your anger from all your arguments cloud your judgment

Because you just wanted him to feel the same hurt and jealously you had been feeling more then anything

Keigo stared at the door you had just slammed

Things somehow got worse in the following days after your argument on your anniversary

You refused to talk to him

He tried to apologize to you but you basically brushed him off

Keigo wasn't sure what to think you said you hated him, you wouldnt sleep in the bed with him

Yet you hadn't packed up and left so that was good right?

But that distance that was growing between the two of you was wider then before

And he didnt know what to do to fix it

And now you were going out clearly dressed to find someone else

Did you really hate him? Had you really had enough of him?

Hell, he couldnt even blame you if you did he thought

You had put up with so much of him up until now

And maybe some of what you said the other night was true? Had he gotten too comfortable with you always being there?

But that was only because he loved you

Keigo was truly in love with you, and dispite you suspensions he never cheated on you

And he would never do that, you were the only one he wanted even now when you two seemed to be at each others throats

He still wanted you, and he couldn't picture his life without you

So thats why he ended up following you to the bar you were currently at

He made sure you hadnt noticed him staying in the back out of your sight

And he hated what he saw

He saw you having fun

You had met up with some of your girlfriends the three of you all laughing and drinking

You acting like you didnt have a care in the world, like the two of you didnt argue before you left out

Having a good time as if you didnt leave him alone in the house

He watched you dancing as though you were having the time of your life as other mean stared and gawked at you

He watched as a guy singled you out and was clearly flirting with you

And worst you let him and was encouraging him

You kept touching his shoulder laughing at his jokes letting him dance against you

Words couldnt describe the irritation he felt watching

He wanted nothing more then to rip that mans hands off you and fly away with you in his arms

But part of him felt like he deserved this

This feeling he had, was it how you felt?

If so he needed to fix this, was all that he could think

And he was about to go to you, but before he could someone called out his name

"Hey! Hawks is here!"

Fuck he said to himself when a crowd started to form around him

His eyes then connected with yours knowing you heard he was here

And for a moment he thought you were gonna come up to him

But instead you kept talking to the random guy ignoring him

Hawks wanted to go to you and talk to just take you back home

But was having trouble getting away from the crowd

He was all smiles talking to his fans but the whole time he kept his eyes on you

But somehow it became a battle to see who was going to be more stubborn

You continued to dance with the random guy, but now you knew keigo was here watching you

You convinced yourself not to care, you came here to have fun and he wasnt going to ruin it for you

But thats just what he was doing as you watched him talk to some random girl now

He was here to get under you skin, you were sure of it

But two could play this little game

Both of you having this little war with each other watching each other from across the room

And you couldnt lie you were enjoying it a bit

Seeing his eyes watching you, knowing he had to be feeling the sting of jealousy as another man held you close

But It all came to a head when you saw the girl he was dancing with lips on his neck

He wasnt looking at you when you saw that all his attention clearly on her

You couldn't deny the sharp feeling in your chest at the sight

And not wanting to see anymore you left the dance floor telling the guy you needed to go to the bathroom

Hawks pulled away from the handsy fan

Denying anymore of her advances

Yeah he had been trying to get under your skin now but thats was a bit much

But now when he looked up to find you again, only to see you were gone

His stomach sank

Where did you go? You had to had just seen that?

Did you leave with that guy? Hawks started to panic when he didnt seem him either

Where did you go? Why was he being so stupid just now? He should have just went to talk to you

Just then keigo noticed the guy you had been flirting with at the bar and went up to him

"The girl you were dancing with? Where'd she go?"

The guy looked at him like he was crazy "whats it too you?" He challenged him

But keigo wasnt in a playful mood and grabbed the man by the collar, "Answer the question asshole."

The guy quickly put his hands up in defeat, "she just said-

"Hawks?"

He heard his name called out and looked behing him to see you

"What are- you are so unbelievable." Yku shook your head storming off

You couldn't believe him he had the audacity to attack the guy you had been talking to

It didnt take much thought to figure out why

And it annoyed you to no end

So keigo could flirt and let girls kiss all over him but if you had a guy around you that was too much

He was such a hypocrite

You were angry your whole way back home

You stood in the mirror once you got back

But with a different feeling in your stomach then the feeling you had before you left

You felt defeated your plans of fun had been ruined and you felt like your back in the same spot you had been in

Hawks was giving you a little bit of space taking his time getting back home

Because now you were probably madder than before at him

When hr got in he saw you had just got out the shower

"Y/n..."

You heard him call out your name But you ignored him

Y/n, you have to listen to me."

You werent going to turned around but before you knew it he hugged you from behind

"Im sorry."

"Let go of me hawks." You spat out but he didnt budge

"Just listen to me y/n..."

"Why are we doing this to each other?" You asked quietly, "Why do you keep hurting me? What are we even doing? It clearly isnt wor-"

"Ive been an idiot, y/n."

Keigo buried his face in your neck, "I've been so stupid, but please please dont leave me."

You were trying to fight back tears, "I dont want to leave you keigo....but I cant-"

"Dont say you can't with me anymore. I need you." Keigo pleaded holding you tighter

You were so frustrated

You still loved him, you still wanted to be with him, because when things are good between you they're great

But the way your relationship had been it was becoming too much

But you wanted to stay with him

Because you loved him

You moved your hands and held on to his arms secretly enjoying his embrace that you missed so much

"I know you mean well keigo-"

"I love you so much y/n," keigo cut you off again, "I know ive been an asshole, ive been neglectful, ive been the worst, but dont give up on me. Please."

You finally turned around to face him and hugged him back

You could see the sincerity in his eyes as you did "I love you too keigo but I just cant do this- we keep hurting each other...thats not what your supposed to do to the people you love."

Keigo pulled back "You want me to tell everyone about us? I will." He told you, "You want me to tell you everything ive been doing I will, I promise you Ill to whatever it takes to fix us. I dont want to live the way we have anymore."

You knew he was serious and your heart leaped hearing his words but you werent sure

"You're the only one I want y/n" he said giving you a light kiss

Almost like he was asking for permission

"Ill do whatever it takes for you to forgive me."

He said inbetween kisses, "you're so important to me, im sorry i made you think you weren't."

You couldnt lie he was finally saying everything you wanted to hear

And you wanted to believe him

"You promise?" You asked him

"I promise."

[allforbtsu]

Save My Seoul From Comfort | Chapter 1

Ot7 X Reader (eventually)

Summary: With nothing else left from your aunt but debt, you have no other choice but to start working as a prostitude. After all this time of loneliness, you may have found seven boys in the same situation as you who are set on changing all your lives.

Warning: This series might be distressing to some readers as it includes indirect description of sex trafficking and rape. I do not condone any scene that violates Human Rights, this is purely fiction and used to set light on an international issues.

Word Count: 2.8k

Genre: non-idol au, smut, fluff

Prologue

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

The streets were full of life, people wandering everywhere, entering cafes, bars, and restaurants. It was a warm night, the air smelled of summer and fast food, and as you walked ahead the amount of lights that emanated from the stores gave you a sense of comfort. Contradicting the feeling that you had, feeling as if you had no other choice  tightened your chest, the feeling of no escape, nowhere to run. 

The store you were looking for could be seen from blocks away, luminescent, as if it metaphorically wanted to attract the flies to the fire. And there you were, walking through its doorstep with no other choice, with the necessity to comply with your needs.

Inside it was the complete opposite, the light provided barely allowed you to see the faces of the people, as if it wanted to hide away what was going on in the shadows. Clutching your belongings in one hand and the other tightly hidden in your jacket, you walked straight to the reception of the bar. Your aunt had given you clear instructions on what to do, walk to the reception, tell them your situation, and then they will see what they do with you from there. 

“Hello,” You say awkwardly

The desk was sticky and had every kind of substance stuck into it, there were even some pieces of food on top of it that seemed to have seen better days. Behind it, two young people came and went, a girl and a boy. They took the customers orders and handed them out all at the same time, and in their hurry of keeping up they did not see you there.

“Umm...Hi!,” Your voice went a little bit higher,  the girl looked your way, “Oh, I just wanted…” 

Pressing her hand up in a waiting motion she shut you up. Puffing you sat down in one of the chairs, your backpack pressed to yourself in a comforting manner. Waiting for one of the waiters to help you, you observed the place. Even though it was as dark as it could be, you could see some different scenes going on. 

Some tables were filled with boys not that much older than you, drinking and hollering between each other. Pretty sure their intentions after their meal, go to the back of the building and rent the cheapest girl back there and enjoy her for the night. Some other tables were filled with lonely older men who already had their companions for the night, caressing them and whispering in their ear.

You didn't know how to feel about the situation. You didn't have anywhere to go, no one to go to. Your aunt left a huge debt after her death and now that she's gone, you are the one by default to try and pay it out. Debt caused by the same establishment that you had walked in tonight. Housing debt and prepayment left you with what you have today, a debt that will just keep on growing and won't allow you to do anything else with your life. And you knew that, yet here you were, cause where else to go, what else to do. You didn't have a former education, not more than elementary school at least. It's this or nothing. It's also all that you know, what else would you be good at.

And as you stared uninterestedly to your surroundings a boy's voice brings you back.

“What do you need?” He asked right beside you.

The boy had slick black hair, his eyes were black, and had the fullest lips you had ever seen in your life. He was soft spoken, contradicting the atmosphere. His wide figure did not allow you to see behind him, nor others to see you, it was as if in a sense wanted to protect you from that place. You were more than thankful, for his wide shoulders didn't allow you to see the wandering stares from the people.

“My aunt sent me here, she said you could help” 

The boys stare changed to one of concern, knitting his eyebrows together. His posture was rigid as he stared you down.

“You're no older than eighteen at least”

“I know, but I heard it wasn't a concern here,” You looked at his face, and between his eyes flashed a sense of helplessness. He nodded. 

“Yes...Here, let me take you to the boss,” He let you stand up, “Allow me to take this for you,” He said referring to your backpack.

“Oh no, It's ok. It's not that heavy,” He nodded once again. 

As he turned around and allowed you to follow him, you began to realize that this was actually happening and there was no turning back. He led you through the bars back door, and to your surprise there was a backyard with a long trail leading to the door of another rusty boulding. The night seemed more dark without the luminescent lights of the avenue, it looked trapping. Your hand began shaking, and you noticed that it became a little bit hard to catch your breath. The boy seemed to notice this as he looked back at you three times before he said something.

“My name is Jin, yours?” He smiled warmly. 

You took a big breath before answering, the air getting stuck in your chest.

“y/n, nice to meet you,” You tried to smile, but a grimace came out.

“I know it is not my concern, but the aunt you told me about,” He began opening the door of the building for you, “Does she know you are here?,” He asked as you both entered,  and the first thing that you see is a pair of stairs, two hallways at each of your sides. You looked at him and shook your head timidly. He opened his mouth…

“She died a few day ago”

He closed it rapidly, his eyes widening.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…”

“No no, it's ok. I understand the concern, but I dont have nowhere else to go, and I need a job and a place to stay, and this is the only option that offers both.”

“I understand. I also have nowhere else to go. Here, this way,” He said turning right. “Upstairs are the dorms. As I was saying… I have also nowhere else to go. I have been here for a while actually, maybe a year or so.” 

You nodded as he walked you through the long hallway. The sound of both of your steps resonated in the isolated place. 

“The boss accepts almost everyone that comes, so I guess you won't have a problem. So just know that i'm here if anything happens, ok? This is a rough industry. I won't shame you, I understand what led you here, so don't be afraid to come to me,” He halted.

“Are you also in the industry?”

“Yes and no. I mostly work at the bar, but I take any job the boss tells me to do. I have been rented to go to parties and act as if I was someone's partner, or even once to clean the house of a rich man in only boxers. There's some weird shit out there.”

“So you have never…? You know, had..?”

“Sex? To have sex in exchange of money? Yes, of course. No one escapes from that here. And get used to talking about it, it will take a little bit of the taboo off it. Oh, and here we are”

He said as he pointed behind where you two halted. It was a wood made door, as cheap as it could be, white as the rest of the walls. You stared at it for a few seconds, and turned back to look at Jin, who had a sad smile on his face.

“He's not the sweetest human or earth, nor the kindest, but is the only option you have. He wont do anything to you, I promise. He's just a little bit intimidating. I will be out here for when you finish, yeah?,”

“And the bar?” You asked pointing in the direction.

“I already finished my shift, now go,” He gently pushed you closer to the door.

“Knock” He said under his breath, slowly demonstrating it with his hand. You nodded. 

After knocking softly on the door, you were met with silence. You turned to face Jin once again, but before you could do that, the door was janked wide open. A short but muscly man stood right in front of you, a half shaved mustache on his face and the soulless eyes you had ever seen. 

“Yes?,” His voice sounded rusty, as if he did not wanted to speak at all.

“Hello! My name is y/n. Jin told me you are the boss?,” Silence, “So...I wanted to take up a job here, if it's possible.” 

The man gestured to you inside. Looking behind you Jin nodded at you in comfort, and you went in. The room was as basic as it could be, just one table, two chairs on each side, a cabinet filled with papers and a window, nothing more.

“Take a seat. My name is Park Sunho. Now what exactly are your expectations of this place? Do you know what we do?”

“Yes...My aunt worked here”

That seemed to strike up his interest, as he leaned his body against the table. 

“What was her name?”

“Kim Aeri”

The man nodded and stood up. His back was now turned to you, his hands searching  something frantically on the cabinet. As he turned around, you could see one sack of papers in his hold. His posture was one of an old man, even though he was no more than fifty. His hands shook slightly as he helped himself to sit down again.

“You have debt,” He said uninterestedly, reading the papers he took out.

“Yes, that's why I came,”

“Ok, I'm gonna sign you up and you will be on the market from then on. Usually I will arrange the meetings for you until you get a hang of everything, until then you are under my supervision or one of the other managers.”

You gulped, anxiously realising what is going on. He took another look at the papers, knitting his eyebrows. 

“The debt is several thousands won. I don't know how fast you are gonna be able to clear it out, it depends on how much money you can make me. You have two options”

He left the papers on the table and stared at you, leaning his body forward. 

“You can live in one of the dorms, and not pay rent, but be on constant work hours, or go and rent an apartment somewhere else, which will make you take longer to pay out the debt, due to rent and less working hours, so you tell me.”

Without a second thought you answered.

“I would like to live in one of the dorms, please.”

He seemed pleased, that seemed to be the right answer. 

“Ok, then. I'm gonna sign you up and specify your debt,” He opened a little notebook he had on the side of the desk, and started typing away, “The dorms are actually a room with a bathroom, so you will have to figure out the food thing on your own.  We also don't have many of them, so you will have to share, man, woman, boy, girl, whatever, your luck.”

Your chest tightened even more as you sank down a little on your chair. Feeling helpless as you picked on the skin surrounding your nail.

“Name again?”

“Kim y/n” 

“Right. Usually you also use the dorm to tend a client if they don't call you to meet up somewhere else. And because you are new, I will try to make sure you start working under my roof first. Okay, all set.”

He said standing up, allowing you to do so as well.

“Your dorm is 37B, shared. So good luck.”

You nodded as you headed to the door, desperate to get out and cherish Jin's comfort words, but before you could open the door, he cleared something out.

“If you once mention my work to the authorities, directly or indirectly, I will make sure your debt is tripled and you stay here the rest of your life to pay it out. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” You seemed to not be able to inhale any air anymore.

“Now go, Jin will show you the way to the dorm.”

As Sunho opened the door, you could feel his body even closer now. He smelled of dirt, as if he hadn't showered for days, and you were sure his breath almost smelled of the acid scent of alcohol. Jin stood there, facing the door, his stare long lost on the dirty patches on the walls. As he saw you walk out, a smile spread out on his face. 

“Show her to her dorm Jin, it's 37B,” Before anything could be said, Suhon enclosed himself in the room again.

“Let's go,” Jin said, getting himself off the wall.

Putting your backpack with all your belongings on your back once again, you started following him. Down the hallways, up the stairs you went. The first floor already smelled different, there was a mixture of food, sweat and sex. You could hear the sound of fans, the sound of skin slapping, laughs, and if you paid attention to certain doors, there were wails of sorrow.

The dorms already seemed to be set on an alternative reality. Somewhere where nothing matters, where you're from, what you feel, what is your situation. Everything is set on one thing, offering a service and getting money in return, how you do it it doesn't matter. 

Walking up one more set of stairs, on the second floor, two doors to the left, and besides the broken window, Jin stopped.

“Here we are, 37B,” He pointed to the metallic 37B on the door, “I'm actually two floors up, If you ever need anything, 53C. But you can also find me on the bar, almost every night and so. We will run into each other again, I promise.“

You puffed air out of your nose, rubbing your arms in comfort.

“Thank you Jin, really. But...do you know who I'm sharing it with?” You asked pointing to the door.

He shook his head.

“No, sorry. A lot of people come and go. I have my group, I stick to them, I trust them. I promise you will find your people.”

“How will I meet people here?”

Silence.

“Usually when you have to work with them for a client.”

“Oh..”

Jin laughed. His eyes getting smaller and his bread cheeks appearing. His hand brushed against your shoulder. 

“I told you to get used to this. Try to find me when you're assigned your first client, ok?”

Nodding, you bid him goodbye. You didn't want to let him go, finding too much comfort in his presence, mostly in this new environment. Sighting softly, you put your hand on the door handle. Pushing forward once, your body hit against the door, breathing out, you turned the handle stronger and went forward. The door opened this time. 

Inside two beds could be seen and one wardrobe. The walls were white, the paint coming off in some places, humidity tainting them.  But what caught your attention immediately was the figure sitting on the window sill. There sat a boy, not much older than you, staring directly your way. His hair was black, curls in every way, his doe eyes shined under the soft lightbulb hanging from the roof. With his mouth a little bit opened, a little bit of smoke came out, making you aware of the cigarette on his hand. A hand which was covered in tattoos, contrasting the cleaness of his other arm, lackless of ink.  

“You wanna come in?” He asked, leaving his cigarette on a hole in the wall. 

When he stood up to come closer to you, you could see something you hadn't noticed, he was only in his boxers. When he realised your stare, he chuckled timidly and scratched his neck.

“I'm sorry, I didn't expect them to assign me a roommate so soon. I just attended one of my first clients.”

For the first time you observed the unmade bed in the room. Sheets and pillows tousled everywhere, some wet stains on the mattress. When you turned back to look at him, he was blushing even harder.

“Im sorry, I will clean it right away…”

“It's ok, no need to rush. The more we talk about it, the less taboo it is, right?”

The boy seemed to relax a little.

“Right. My name is jungkook, yours?”

“y/n”

He smiled.

“Well let me organize all of this, and you can get comfortable, put your things away and we can get started”

That seemed to startle you.

“Start what?” You softly asked.

“Your training period”

This new life was gonna be harder than you thought. 

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

Hi everyone! I hope you can enjoy this fic. Please like, roblog, comment, It means the world to me. Thank you so much for reading!🥰

[kiarasukulele]

Hate That I Love You (r.c.)

Summary: Where your drug, alcohol, and sex fuelled relationship has turned you into a cold and detached person. Both running from things in your lives, you and Rafe Cameron lose yourselves each night in each other and any substances you can get your hands on. 

(not my gif, if it’s yours let me know so I can credit)

requested: no

warnings: drug use & dependency, sexual content, swearing, drunk driving, toxic/violent relationship, ANGST ANGST ANGST (I'm sorry if I missed anything)

word count: 3.4k (issa long one oops)

(A/N): omg hi, it’s finally done. This is the first piece of writing I'm posting on here so I’m extremely rusty so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Also, I am in no way trying to romanticize toxic or abusive relationships!! If you are experiencing something like this or have in the past, it is not love and you all deserve the world♡. Also thank you to @adoreyoudrews​ for just being supportive since the beginning and throughout this whole process (ilysm). Enjoy!!

He could be crazy, but some would argue that you were crazier. You’ve always been an impulsive person — but you both brought out the worst in eachother. You used to spend your days with the pogues who you called your best friends, but as you grew closer to Rafe he slowly put the idea in your head that you were better off without them. You would do anything Rafe asked you to, which might scare you to death. But your drug and alcohol-fueled relationship didn’t leave room for you to feel scared.

You squeezed your way through the crowd of intoxicated teens that were currently surrounding a game of beer pong in the kitchen of Kelce’s house. As you brushed past some of the familiar faces you would whisper, “Rafe is in the pool house, come if you have cash.”

You and Rafe became a team over the course of your relationship. The king and queen of the kooks. It was summer, and you had been doing what you wanted, whenever you wanted with your boyfriend. Days usually consisted of hanging out at the country club, golfing, or boating but they always ended with you and Rafe getting high or drunk together. The only time you ever felt bad was when you stopped the cycle, so eventually you just decided you wouldn’t stop. You were constantly around him, which your old friends would call “unhealthy” — which is exactly why they’re now old friends. All you needed was Rafe.

Once you spread the word to enough people about Rafe’s new supply of the “finest coke in the obx”, you made your way back to the pool house excited to try it yourself. As you were exiting the house, you passed a few acquaintances who would greet you with a smile and offer you a shot, which you happily accepted. The day someone sees (Y/N) (Y/L/N) refuse a drink will be the same day hell freezes over.

Opening the French doors of the pool house, you see a small group surrounding your boyfriend. Laughter and twenty dollar bills were being exchanged. You stood there for a minute to admire him. Cracking jokes and telling stories with these people before they would take a bump or in between them. When he wanted to be, he could be the most charismatic and magnetic person in the room, but it often flipped like a switch. The way that he could captivate an entire room of people whenever he wanted with seemingly no effort always left you astonished.

Sure, you guys fought like you hated each other sometimes but when you loved each other... holy shit you loved each other. And there was no inbetween with you and Rafe — your relationship was either scalding hot or freezing cold, it was never lukewarm.  

You strut towards Rafe with a devilish smirk. You eagerly pushed past every person standing between you and your boyfriend. He makes eye contact with you and his face lights up immediately. This is the atmosphere both of you have been happiest in lately. You were both running from things in your home lives that each of you knew better than to bring up to one another. As long as you and Rafe were running in the same direction, you didn’t care how tiring it would often feel.

He eyes you up and down as you approach him. You’ve discarded your shirt since the last time you saw him that night, your black bikini still damp from the pool.

“Get over here, baby” he mutters, firmly grabbing your wrist and pulling you onto his lap. The surrounding conversations continue as you make yourself comfortable on top of Rafe. He leans around you, gathering the white powdery substance into neat lines while you roll up a loose twenty dollar bill. When it comes to this, it’s like a ritual. The two of you move like it’s a dance you’ve rehearsed every night for the last few months — you leaning over, him holding your hair back, your nose brushing up against the cold surface of the table as the drugs enter your system. You lean back into your boyfriend as the euphoric sensation takes over. He eagerly begins to lean forward, to finish off the lines you left behind.

“No,” you mutter, grabbing a hold of his bicep to pull him back. He looks at you with furrowed brows, confusion written all over his face.

“What the fuck do you mean, no?” he spits. As mentioned, Rafe could flip like a switch at any moment. The bruises that would often litter your frail figure could attest to that, but you forgave him every time.

“I mean…” you trail off as you twist your body so your back lays flat on his lap. His demeanor calms immediately, as he catches on to what you’re asking him. He gathers the coke and lays it between your cleavage. As the drugs disappear from your chest, he kisses the surrounding area. If you were sober, you would maybe feel slightly embarrassed as the two of you had gathered somewhat of an audience. But sober you were far from. In this moment there wasn’t a trace of the guilt, anger, and sadness that would often plague your sober thoughts. You’ve convinced yourself it’s easier this way; and you really believed that you loved this boy.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

Rafe was recklessly driving back towards his house with you in the passenger seat, head out the window and giggling uncontrollably.

“Get back in here.” he slurred, pawing at your skirt to try and get you to sit still in your seat.

You began to laugh even harder at his attempt to reel you in. Your whole upper body was leaning into the cool summer breeze passing you by.

“I’m not fucking kidding.” Rafe said firmly, losing his patience. Your laughter softened as you sighed, “Fine.”

Sitting in your seat you began to get bored after only a minute. Over the past few months you have grown to need constant excitement in your life. Things always needed to be fast paced and you craved the adrenaline that accompanied your reckless behaviour while under the influence.

You stared at Rafe for a moment. His eyes were hazy; hand switching back and forth from your thigh to a bottle of beer he’d been drinking as he sloppily navigated the streets approaching tannyhill. Your own eyes widened with the idea that suddenly came over you. Lifting Rafe’s hand that was resting on your thigh, you raise it to your mouth.

He glances over to you, a smirk spreading across his face. His index finger finds its way into your mouth and you begin to gently suck. His eyes are hungry as they flash between you and the road in front of him.

“You’re so hot, (Y/N).” he practically moans, a bulge appearing in his shorts. Roughly, he grabs hold of the back of your neck and pushes you down towards his crotch. Leaning over the centre console, you take him into your mouth.

If the drugs weren’t fueling your relationship — it was the sex. Taking place anywhere and everywhere — his father's boat, the office, the beach, or simply in between his french-imported sheets. It was while he was inside you that he unleashed much of his aggression and rage, especially if you had just been fighting. It might bother you, if it didn’t feel so damn good. You didn’t mind that he could be rough, violent, or cold towards you. You were all of those things too.

Between the drug haze, intoxication, and the feeling of your mouth around him his driving was becoming more and more reckless as he pulled into the long and swerving driveway of his house. He closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the feeling of pure bliss. As his eyes were shut, the car began to swerve. You jolted forward as you came to an abrupt stop.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Rafe muttered in a panicked tone, zipping up his shorts and roughly shoving you off of him as he exited the car. He had collided with the marble statue that resided at the edge of the Cameron’s driveway. Wiping the edge of your mouth, you exit from the passenger door to assess the damage.

You couldn’t help the laughter from escaping your lips as you looked upon the statue that was broken into pieces before you. Rafe was anxiously pacing, shaky hands running through his hair.

“What the fuck is funny, (Y/N)? My dad is gonna lose his shit!” he spat at you, still not able to keep your laughter under control. You couldn’t help it, you always found that statue of a naked man hideous and borderline creepy. Through the laughter you uttered, “Holy shit, it’s dick broke off.”

Rafe was getting angrier with you by the second. You picked up the cracked and detached marble phallus and started making obscene gestures with it, which Rafe didn’t happen to find as entertaining as you did. “What? Are you jealous, baby? I’ll save some for you don’t wor—” before you could finish your sentence, Rafe’s hand swung to knock the piece of marble from your grasp as he grabbed a hold of your jaw to keep you from talking. “Shut the fuck up.” he angrily slurred.

You pushed him back with all of the force you could muster. “Don’t you fucking touch me.” you spat. He took a few steps back due to the abrupt force of your shove. As much as he could push you around, you rarely sat there and took his shit without fighting back although you were no match to his 6’2 frame.

“You know what…” he trailed off. Rafe was looking between you and the shattered pieces of the statue that Rose had treasured. “Go the fuck home.”

His statement, the way he was looking at you with utter disgust, and the throbbing pain from where his hand had been gripping your jaw was enough to cause tears to form in your eyes. “What do you mean, go home?” you asked softly. Rafe had strayed from the usual pattern of events that would take place. Usually, you would have it out and scream at each other like maniacs for a good amount of time, before you each would break down and lose the argument somewhere between the sheets. Home was the last place you wanted to be right now. The place that should be associated with warmth and love could not be said about your large blue house with the wrap-around porch. Your mother and father hated one another — their least favourite characteristics about each other were reflected in you, their daughter. Most of the time they couldn’t manage to look you in the eyes, much less hold a conversation.

“I mean, I don’t want you here,” he explained to you in a condescending tone, as if you were an unknowing child.

All of a sudden, the anger you had just felt towards him was replaced with absolute desperation. Desperate to stay, for him to forgive you, for him to hold you even if it hurt. You’re not even sure what you’d be asking for forgiveness for — but you’d do it without hesitation.

Your shaky hands find his chest and you snake your arms around his waist. He stands frigid and cold, unresponsive to your touch.

“Please, I’m sorry baby.” you mutter into his shirt. “Let’s just go inside…” you trail off as you use the tip of your finger to trace shapes on his back, a weakness of his. You begin to feel him slightly relax into your touch.

Trying to diffuse the situation you add, “We can make something up about the statue. I know how Ward can be sometimes...”

He tensed up again. You knew better than to bring up his dad, especially in the state he was in right now. You were already blaming yourself for whatever would come next, before it even happened.

Rafe ferociously pushed you off of him sending you into the ground, knees scraping against the pavement. “You think you know everything.” he spat, “You don’t know shit, (Y/N).”

Rafe walks away and you sit there for a moment. All that can be heard is the pounding of your heart and the crickets chirping. You begin to think from this angle, you and the shattered statue didn’t really look much different.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

Walking the streets of figure eight, you begin to feel the effects of the stimulants wearing off. The distractions you so desperately seek are beginning to crumble around you — leaving you completely and utterly alone with just your thoughts, bloody knees, and shaky hands.

These streets were painfully familiar. Under the amber glow of the street lamps, memories uncontrollably flooded your mind. You were seeing it like a movie scene — from the days that you spent with the pogues riding bikes together fading into more recent memories of Rafe carrying you on his back on your way home from a houseparty. Sometimes you think of that girl you used to be. Even if you wanted to be her again, you had no idea how. Riding on the back of JJ Maybank’s bike while the sun was setting and the rest of your friends trailing closely behind you. You remember the sound of your laughter while your arms and hair danced in the wind. The thought reminds you of earlier that night in Rafe’s car and the similar sensation you had felt while leaning out the window. You immediately felt guilty for thinking about the past — you loved Rafe… and they didn’t want you with him.

Attempting to keep your thoughts from slipping out of your control, you begin to start thinking of what painkillers you could steal from your parents medicine cabinet. Continuing to stumble home while considering whether or not there was enough oxycontin or vicodin that could be stolen without someone noticing. Nobody ever did.

Noticing headlights approaching, you stagger to the side of the road. The streets were usually vacant at this time. You look to your right to see the van you once spent much of your time in, with the paint still chipped and surfboards strapped to the roof. You immediately avert your eyes, desperate to disappear into thin air. The constant presence of Rafe basically ensured that whenever you crossed paths, all of you would just look the other way.  

“(Y/N)?” you hear the familiar voice as the van slows down beside you. You hesitate before looking up, meeting the gaze of John Booker Routledge. You’re grateful it is only him in the van, seeing all the faces that represented your old life would be too overwhelming while you were in this state. You don’t slow down your pace, but he drives slowly alongside you awaiting a response. All that you do is quickly glance up with a forced smile, panic rushing over you as you think of what Rafe would say if he knew who you were talking to.

“(Y/N)… are you okay?” he asks, noticing the blood running down your shins and unsteady steps. “I’m great.” you reply, eyes glued to the road ahead of you. Your voice comes out sounding harsh. You feel a pang of guilt, but you’re not the same girl that John B remembers. You’ve become detached and full of anger — ready to unleash it on anyone in an instant.

“I can’t let you walk home like this.” he states with a sigh, looking between you and the road as he drives alongside you.

“You’re not letting me do anything,” you retort. “Besides, Rafe would beat the shit out of you if he found out.”

John B scoffs, “I’m not scared of your boyfriend.” You should be, you think to yourself. “And besides, I don’t see him anywhere.”

That comment caused you to stop in your tracks and stiffen up. John B hits the brakes. You constantly craved Rafe’s presence and standing on the side of the road bloody and bruised and practically sober, you never felt more alone.

“Shut up, Booker.” you almost whisper. His eyes softened at the use of his middle name that he only ever let you call him by, “Listen, I’m sorry. Just let me take you home.”

You think the faster you get home, the faster you make it to the medicine cabinet. So you get in.

What would’ve been a 30 minute walk was just a short 6 minute drive. Silence had filled the space between you and the boy who you once called your best friend. After what seemed like forever, your large blue house finally came into view. You were prepared to make a quick exit with just a simple ‘thank you’ but John B sighed as he put the car in park, obviously wanting to say something.

“(Y/N), I know it’s been almost two years but—” you cut him off, “We’re not doing this. Thank you for the ride but, we are not doing this.”

You manage to open the passenger door slightly so you can make a swift escape from the last conversation you want to have but John B reaches over you, slamming it shut and making you flinch which doesn’t go unnoticed. “Please let me say this.” he pleads. You sit there staring at your hands as he continues, “We never stopped caring about you. I don’t care where you are, or who you are with. Pogues for life… I don’t care how much of a kook you or everybody else thinks you are.”

You shake your head, “You think you know everything.” you recycle the words you had just heard from your boyfriend, “You don’t know shit.”

“You’re wrong.” he replies, “I know you, (Y/N).”

You break your gaze from your hands, looking at him in the eye for the first time. The words come out soft and sort of sad, “Not anymore.”

You exit the car and begin to walk towards the door of your cold and harsh home.

“(Y/N)!” John B shouts. You spin on your heels, with a sigh. What more can be said, you think. “You know where to find us… if you ever need anything.” With that, he drives away.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

You collected the pills that you hoped would make you forget the events that took place and snuck into your bedroom. Leaning against the counter of your ensuite bathroom, you stare at yourself in the mirror. Someone with messy hair, smudged makeup, and bloodshot eyes stares back at you. But what caught your attention was the hand shaped bruise that was beginning to form on your jaw. Your fingertips graze over the area as tears form in your eyes. You suddenly felt sick to your stomach. It wasn’t Rafe’s violent nature that scared you. It was realizing that no matter what he did, you would still love him. You pop the pills and head to bed.

❁❁❁❁❁❁

The sunlight peeking through your blinds wakes you up. With your head pounding, you reach for the aspirin that you kept on standby as this is how you were left feeling most mornings. Reaching for your phone, you hoped to god that you had messages from Rafe. 

No new notifications, just your lockscreen with a picture of you and him kissing from last year's Midsummers staring back at you. Unlocking your phone, you open your contacts. Scrolling to the letter ‘B’ you find the contact information that has laid idle for nearly two years. ‘Booker.’

You stare at the name for what seemed like hours, something inside you willing you to be brave and reach out.

Before that voice got too loud, it was interrupted by your ringtone. ‘RAFE♥’ spread across the screen and your heart rate picked up. You eagerly answered, “Hello?”

“Hi baby girl. Can you be ready in 15 minutes?” he asks, “I just picked up from Barry’s and we’re going to spend the day on the boat I think.”

You hesitate, remembering what it was you almost did mere seconds before you received Rafe’s call. “(Y/N)?”

You snap back into reality, “Yeah, I’ll be waiting on my dock.” you confirm.

“That’s my girl.” you smile at his words, “And hey, sorry about what went down last night. We were both really fucked up.” he chuckles.

You had forgiven Rafe before he even said the words, “Don’t worry about it.”

“I love you, (Y/N).”

“I love you too, Rafe.”

[beckitty]

Hey, feel free to ignore if this is a weird question, but you've been pretty open about going through something like this, so I was wondering if you had any advice. I had longterm plans to move in with my partner of a couple years, but as 2020 luck would have it, the move coincided with the recurrence of some debilitating chronic pain he has that can hopefully be mitigated with physical therapy, but the recovery road will be long and uncertain. So I ended up handling almost all of the move, and now we've kicked off living together with me taking on all the household work and him doing tons of physical therapy and rest and just trying to get a couple pain-free hours. I'm also trying to be a supportive sounding board for his frustration at being in this really exhausting situation, so it often feels like I only do that, work fulltime, and do chores. (We both have therapists, but being frustrated about this can't exactly be limited to once a week.) I am... tired, but I also my partner physically and emotionally has nothing to give right now, and he already feels bad enough about that. Your stories about your husband's illness really reminded me of this. Do you happen to have advice? Sorry if this is weird!

It's not wierd at all, and its definitly a tough situation to be it!

The absolute first thing I would suggest you do is to prioritise your own self-care. It's a lesson I learned the hard way as my husbands carer, and now my nursing degree is trying to drum into all of us: You cannot take care of anyone else until you have taken care of yourself. Its much easier said than done, my first instinct is to drop everything to help and I imagine you feel the same right now. But you only have so many resources, you need to replenish them to spend them. You will be able to help your partner better that way too.

One of the things I would suggest would be to see if there is anything your partner can take on to help you. Even if it's just small things like managing the bills, or meal planning, even if he cant cook right now. Anything that takes a little load from you, and also gives him a role in the household, which will help him too. It could be worth him talking to his physical therapist about what he can do to help you too, they may have suggestions.

With the housework, dont be a perfectionist. It's ok if things get a little messy, as long as the basics are down. If the dishes are clean, and there are 3 towels and a change of clothes each available, that's good enough on the bad days. Do more when you can, but forgive yourself for the days you cant.

My absolute top tips for living with someone with chronic illness and/or chronic pain, it to have time for yourselves, and time with friends. Both of you. Even if it's in the same house, you both have to have time (and you should absolutely schedule it) where you spend your time not worring about him, not worring about anything, and just doing something nice for you. In that time, if it's not an emergency, you can ignore it. It's your time.

You will both need support from more than just each other. Reach out to friends and family, ask for their support. Even if it's just calling a sibling to rant or having a laugh on a group chat with your mates, it helps. There will be times when you need to get away, and go do something else for a while (once that's an option again) and yours and his friends cam help you out by being there for him if he needs it and going out with you when you do. My sister would come visit me once a week with her kids to visit, and would clean my kitchen for me while she was there.

Encourage your partner to reach out to his friends and family, so you arent his only sounding board, and because it helps to talk to people outside of the situation.

My husband and I have a shared friend group, and there have been times when its been too much, so we've told them so and they've all rallied round. It would have been so much harder without them.

I'm glad you asked me for help, please ask for help when you need it from whomever can help you. This includes his medical team, you would be suprised the resources they have to help both of you. Find out what local support there is for carers in your area too.

I'm not gonna lie, this is going to be hard on both of you. You will argue and fight, and some days you are going to have had enough. You are going to get tired and overwhelmed. That's ok, it's normal! When the worst days hit, forgive yourselves, forgive each other, order something nice to eat and do something easy you enjoy together. It's ok to take a day off. Finding time to just be together and enjoy each other, even if it's not always to plan, is important as well.

Not knowing the details, I cant give you anything more specific, but I hope this helps.

If you want someone to talk to, have questions, or you just need to rant, my inbox is always open. I've been there and I am happy to be there for the 2 of you.

[edendaphne]

“Discordant Sonata”- Ch. 14

Sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter! (>////<)  I hope you enjoy the continuation!

>>Read it here on Ao3<< >>Read it here on Wattpad<<

CHAPTER 14: RUBATO

Music glossary: Rubato (Italian: 'stolen/robbed') - Musical term for the elasticity of music, most often expressed in time, or rhythm. In essence, by 'stealing' time, or borrowing it, rubato allows the performer to achieve greater musical expression and freedom. The player may deviate from strict tempo regularity by stretching certain beats, measures, or phrases and compacting others, in a musically correct method of atonement.

(Mood Music: "One Man’s Dream" - Yanni)

Ladybug was falling. Her body felt like it was floating, yet she could see a myriad of objects zooming past her: buildings, vehicles, street signs, people, as if her world had been rotated ninety degrees and gravity was pulling her across the street instead of towards the earth. She dropped down (or was it sideways??), further into the blackness. Time seemed to have slowed down, although she couldn’t be sure. It was as if she were a stone that had been dropped into a vast ocean, its currents violently rushing past.

Where am I?

She looked up towards the only source of light, which dimmed more and more as she fell. When it was merely a speck, she wondered if she’d plunged into a complete, terrifying darkness, all alone. Was there no way out? Fear gripped her chest, and she struggled to hold in a whimper.

A sudden brightness blinded her and someone, or some thing, caught her, preventing her from falling any further. Panicking, she squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of lights, and she struggled to wrest herself free. She squirmed and tried to shove the unknown entity away, but it was all in vain, as she was merely squeezed even tighter. The unknown force was simply too powerful to fight off in her confused and disoriented state, and although the grip wasn’t rough or painful, it was firm and unrelenting.

“Let me go!” she cried, still scrambling to get away. “Please, somebody help!!”

She felt someone’s face lower next to hers. “Easy, easy, it’s just me. You’re okay,” a deep voice cooed, their warm breath tickling her ear.

Her struggles ceased; she knew that voice.

“Chat…?”

Ladybug forced her eyes to focus, and they traveled up to meet his. She felt her body relax a bit as she looked into the familiar green glow. Could it really be him? How much of this situation was real?

“What happened? Is it really you? Am I… is this a dream?” she asked.

Chat Noir gave her a self-deprecating smile. “As much as I’d like to joke about being the man of your dreams, you’re actually awake right now.”

Ladybug quirked an eyebrow. Well... he certainly sounded like the real Chat.

She ignored the sudden heat in her face and asked, “Where are we? How did I get here?”

She felt Chat shrug as he held her, his face mirroring her own look of confusion. “It’s… I’m not exactly sure how to explain.” His eyes looked distant as he recounted what happened. “I saved the people from the vehicle that the akuma threw, and then started running back towards you guys. But I saw that she had you cornered, and I realized I wasn’t going to reach you in time. I was so scared. But then, like…” His face scrunched as he tried to articulate what happened, as if he were still trying to make sense of it himself. “Something stopped me. I got this feeling, this urge, that I needed to go inside this building. It seemed like a really stupid idea, but it’s like I couldn’t ignore it. So, against my better judgment, I followed it. Then when I was inside, I heard Plagg’s voice in my head. He said… ‘BLACK HOLE’.”

Ladybug blinked. Black Hole? Why did that sound so familiar…?

“So I repeated the words, and just like with Cataclysm, this... power activated in my hand; one I’ve never used before. And then it was like, somehow I knew what to do next. I put my hand on the wall and I focused, thinking about you and your location. I made a hole appear under you, and you fell through it. And then you landed here.”

Ladybug’s eyes grew wide. She realized that the power he was talking about had been briefly mentioned in Fu’s writings and records about other miraculouses, but no other details had been available.

“Chat, that–that’s remarkable,” she breathed. “You discovered a brand new power when it was needed the most… That’s amazing! Thank you.”

Chat looked away, cheeks reddening. “I-it was nothing. Just doing my job.” He cleared his throat, then nodded at the Lucky Charm in her hands. “S-so, uh... I noticed that you’ve got an interesting looking lightbulb there. Got any ideas?”

Oh. The Lucky Charm… she’d somehow managed to hold onto it during her odd trip through the black hole.

Right on cue, her earrings rang out their first beep.

She shook her head. “Not yet. But let’s go back outside so I can look around and see what we can use.”

“Good idea,” he replied with a fond smile, then seemed to be waiting for her so he could follow.

Her face felt warm again, and she added awkwardly, “Uhh… you’re gonna have to set me down first. I’m fine now, really.”

Chat’s eyebrows flew up, finally realizing that she was still nestled in his arms. “O-oh! Right! H-here you go,” he stammered, quickly setting her down onto the floor. They looked at each other, wringing their hands and chuckling awkwardly.

She turned and began to walk away when she felt him gently grab her arm.

“Wait,” he said, his expression turning forlorn. “I-uh… I wanted to apologize. For what my father said. He said a lot of really horrible things to you, and you don’t deserve any of it. He wasn’t always like… like that. I know he was just trying to turn us against each other, and I wanted to argue back, b-but it’s like I’d open my mouth and nothing would come out, and I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

She turned her body around to face him completely. Was he really apologizing for what had happened back there?? She had to consciously fight the urge to step forward and wrap her arms around him, as overzealous physical affection probably wasn’t what he needed right now. Especially not after what Hawkmoth said to him about her and her… motivations.

“Chat…You don’t have to apologize. The things Hawkmoth said, the things he does… you have no control over any of it; none of it is your fault. You’re not responsible for his words and actions. The man currently wearing the butterfly miraculous isn’t your father. He’s a villain, and extremely mentally disturbed. He’ll do and say anything to achieve what he wants.”

Chat looked away, his fists squeezing tightly. “B-but… what if he’s right, about some of it? Do you really need me? Would it be better for me to just hand you my miraculous so you could wish for him to go away, or wish for his miraculous back? I’m partly responsible so I should be the one to accept any consequences. Would I be more useful if I simply disappeared? Would it fix everything? Would it... save him and make him go back to normal?”

Ladybug felt her body stiffen and a sudden nausea settled in her gut.

Chat still loved his father. He wanted to save him.

She looked up at him, her determined eyes meeting his fearful ones. “Chat… don’t ever think for a second that things would be better off without you. Take a step back and look at the whole picture. You literally just discovered a new power, in the middle of battle, to save me from an akuma. That’s incredible!”

Chat’s cheeks flushed and he looked away, rubbing his arm shyly.

Ladybug continued, “If you don’t trust yourself yet, then trust me. I don’t need your miraculous.” She slowed down, emphasizing each word clearly. “I need YOU.”

“I…” he gaped at her, at a loss for words. A wave of emotions flickered through his face in quick sequence. Shock. Relief. Affection. Hope. Finally, he replied, “Th-thank you for saying that. You have no idea how much that means to me. And... I do trust you. It’s just… I just feel so powerless whenever he’s around, almost like I revert back into being a little kid, too afraid to talk back, too weak to act. Sometimes it feels like I’ll never escape him.”

Ladybug gulped and decided to chance stepping closer. She took his hands into hers, squeezing firmly, her eyes searching his to make sure her actions weren’t unwelcome.

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. But I assure you, you’re doing the right thing. It’ll take time for you to feel more confident around him, but I know you can do it. We can defeat him. YOU can defeat him. I believe in you, Chaton. I believe in us. The ladybug and cat miraculouses are back together where they belong, and as a team they can bring back balance. Together, our magic is greater than his. And I’ll do everything in my power to help you be free of that man.”

Chat bit his lip, gazing at her fondly, looking like he was moments away from tackling her with a hug. Instead, he shook his head with a dreamy sigh. “I don’t deserve you, My Lady.”

Ladybug ignored the heat that rose to her face, and booped him on the nose. “Stop saying that, you silly cat. You deserve every possible good thing to happen to you.”

Chat raised her hands to his lips and left a lingering kiss. “You’re already the best thing that’s ever happened to ‘Chat Noir’. Thank you,” he said softly.

“I–I...”Her breath caught slightly, the huskiness in Chat’s voice producing a pleasant tingle that traveled down her spine. “Y-you’re welcome,” she managed to stammer out.

“Also… I know this isn’t the time, but after we defeat this akuma, I’ll tell you everything about my mother. She’s the reason why we did everything. We were trying to save her. She’s… well, at first I thought she was sick, but things are more complicated than that. Anyway, I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

Because I really do trust you, and I need you to know that , his eyes seemed to say as they bore into hers.

She smiled at him. “If she’s anything like you, I’m sure she’s an amazing person.” Chat looked down at her, his emotions threatening to spill out at her words.

He was about to reply when his ring beeped out its first alarm, and they were startled apart.

Chat walked back to her with a smile. Linking his fingers between hers, he said, “Let’s do this, Bugaboo. We’ve got an akuma to take care of.”

(Mood Music: “Never Say No” - Abel Korzeniowski)

The pair peeked out from behind a wall, locating the akuma, who was still searching for them after Ladybug’s mysterious disappearance.

Ladybug whispered to Chat, “Do you have any idea where her akuma could be hiding?”

“I think it’s in her necklace. It lights up right before she uses her powers.”

Ladybug looked around, searching for more clues, as Chat stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders, keeping guard. All the streets and buildings were so dark, it was hard for her to see anything. Occasionally she would ask Chat to read out a sign or placard, taking advantage of his night vision. Squinting, Ladybug’s eyes landed on a certain building, and finally an idea planted itself into her brain.

“So… she sucks up all the light around her, like her own version of a black hole.” She brought out the small, polka dotted lightbulb, turning it with her fingers. “But what if we give her more light than she can handle?”

Chat noticed the building she was eyeing. “Got a plan?” he asked curiously.

“I think so. You think you can lure her into that shop?”

Chat stepped away with a cheerful salute. “Can do!”

“Great! Give me a minute or so to set everything up. Once you’re inside, follow my lead,” she instructed.

Chat winked at her. “Aye aye, partner! See you soon!”

A few well-timed puns and taunts later, Chat had the akuma exactly where he wanted her. He baited and goaded her into the building (which turned out to be a photography studio), as Ladybug had instructed.

Indoors, however, the tight quarters made it much more difficult to keep the akuma occupied and stay out of harm’s way. As they reached the middle of the studio, Chat backed up into a lone tripod and lost his footing. The akuma used the opportunity to strike him with an uppercut that landed him on the ground, disoriented.

“I guess I have to put you down first before I can take care of your Lady friend,” she said as she raised her blackened palm towards Chat, the pendant in the middle of her chest beginning to glow.

Before she fired, however, she heard Ladybug call, “Hey, Night Terror! Leave my Kitty alone and watch the birdie instead!”

The woman looked around in confusion to find the source of the voice, only to be met by a cacophony of camera clicks and dozens of rapidly flashing lights. Ladybug quickly replaced the flash lightbulbs with fresh ones to continue the onslaught of light, and Chat used the opportunity to knock the akuma over with his staff. The woman shielded her eyes helplessly as she fell with a sharp cry, and Chat yanked the necklace away from her. He flung it across the room to Ladybug, who threw it on the ground and stomped on it.

“Off you go, you pesky butterfly,” Ladybug grumbled as the purified akuma fluttered away. She called for the Miraculous Cure and tossed the polka dotted flash bulb into the air, and everything around them quickly went back to normal.

The former akumatized victim sat on the floor, massaging her temple with a light groan.

“Uggghhh, where am I?”

Chat Noir knelt down beside her and asked, “Are you alright, ma’am?”

The woman turned her head towards him, opening her mouth to answer, but shrieked upon recognizing who was speaking to her. “Chat Noir!! S-stay back! Wh-what do you want?!”

Chat’s expression fell and he raised his hands to show he meant no harm, backing away with a quiet apology.

Ladybug made her way towards them, clambering over the plethora of cables and photography equipment. She placed her hand on Chat’s shoulder and explained, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid. Chat Noir works with me now. He’s here to help. You were akumatized. Can you tell us the last thing you remember?”

The three made their way out of the building while the young woman prattled at length about a group project she’d been a part of for the past few weeks that had been making her life a living nightmare. Hours before the due date, one of the group members had revealed that they hadn’t completed any of the assignment, and everything else just fell apart. Ladybug and Chat groaned in understanding and solidarity.

“Group projects are the worst,” they all agreed.

Before they could offer to walk the akuma victim home, however, a barrage of video cameras and microphones was shoved in their faces, startling them back into the moment.

Reporters.

Lots of them.

Ladybug sensed Chat stiffen beside her in discomfort.

Then the bombardment of questions began.

“Ladybug! Are you and Chat Noir working together now?”

“Is this permanent or just a temporary alliance?”

Ladybug donned her professional interviewee persona and began the tedious task of clearing up some of the events that had happened recently.

“Chat Noir and I are now allies, and we’ll be fighting Hawkmoth as a team from now on,” she stated simply.

“Why has Chat Noir worked with Hawkmoth until now?”

Ladybug answered, “Hawkmoth has been controlling and blackmailing Chat Noir for the past few years, and he’s only recently managed to escape him. Hawkmoth is the true villain.”

An angrier voice clamored, “What are you going to do to keep your cat on a leash?! He can’t be trusted!”

“Will you be taking his miraculous away as punishment?”

“Did you find out Chat Noir’s identity and threaten him to help you?”

“Did you kidnap and brainwash him with your ladybug magic?”

Ladybug fought the urge to facepalm herself all the way to Mars. This was quickly spiraling out of control. “Ugh, wow. No, that is not how magic works. Unlike Hawkmoth, I’m not threatening him or coercing him.”

A familiar face popped up from behind another reporter. “Ladybug, are you and Chat Noir sleeping together?”

Chat flinched in horror, looking quite like he’d swallowed a fly, but Ladybug managed to answer with a straight face and stern voice, “That question is highly inappropriate and I won’t be answering it, Nadja .

Nadja Chamack didn’t seem to be phased by the fiery glare that Ladybug was sending in her direction; but before she could follow up with another invasive question, a friendly voice by a certain bespectacled novice reporter chimed in, “Mr. Noir! What brought about this change of heart?”

Ladybug bit back a reprimand about how Alya should really be home at this hour, and instead, stepped to the side to let Chat handle the question. She’d been wanting to shield him from all of this intrusive media attention, since he probably wasn’t used to all the unwarranted personal questions. But she also understood both the need for him to experience this, and the fact that he was perfectly capable of standing up to them on his own.

Chat replied somewhat timidly, “I… I guess I realized that he was going too far. I was trying to help a loved one, and he led me to believe that we needed the ladybug miraculous’ powers to save them. He told me that we were doing a good thing. But I didn’t realize just how much our actions would affect everyone else, until now. I’m truly sorry I’ve caused you all so much trouble these past few years.”

Someone in the back yelled, “Simply saying ‘Sorry’ isn’t gonna fix everything!”

Chat resisted the urge to shrink away. He replied, “I know it won’t. What I did was wrong. And there’s nothing I can do to change the past. But actions speak louder than words, so I’ll just have to prove myself to you. I promise that you have nothing to fear from me. I’m here by my own volition, not because Ladybug is forcing me. I truly want to make up for all the wrongs the people of Paris have had to suffer. From now on, I’ll do my best to atone by helping Ladybug protect the city, and we will bring Hawkmoth to justice.”

The multitude murmured and buzzed with equal parts uncertainty and interest, still trying to figure out the new hero.

A sharp trill broke through the air, and Ladybug had never been as grateful to hear her earrings beep as she was at this moment.

“We have to go. Will the police please escort this young lady home?” she asked, making eye contact with the police officers nearby, and they nodded in reply.

She motioned for Chat to follow, and they disappeared into the skyline together.

Before she and Chat parted ways themselves, however, he tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. She turned her body to face his, looking up into his concerned eyes.

“We don’t have much time; I’ve only got about ten more minutes left til I transform back,” he said. “But I think it’s finally time I tell you about my mom.”

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

Notes:

Chat Noir's "Black Hole" ability from this chapter was based on one of Chat's powers in the original PV version, as seen in the concept art below:

Next chapter: The first day of school! It's the last year before they graduate, and they'll be meeting up with some of their old friends and classmates.... Including a certain two-faced brunette with a penchant for lying >:3

[peter-pan-on-neverland]

Why don’t we share?

Summary: Pan and Felix walk in on you.

Pairings: Pan x Reader x Felix

Warnings: not full on smut, just oral, lol, Some really and I mean REALLY bad dirty talking. I'm sorry if it's bad.

**This is to say thank you to everyone for 500 followers and also for sticking with me**

His piercing blue eyes were like slits, eyebrows knitted together and lips slightly parted as he focused on the wooden target hanging from a tree limb, it was that expression on his face which made him look adorable. Felix had always been a reserved and emotionless, trying not to let anything show on his cold, untouched features, but that expression made him look vulnerable for once. Slender fingers tightly hooked themselves around the wooden bow as he stretched the arrow back as far as he possibly could before the thin string would snap. In one quick motion his fingers lost there grip, wishing fair well to the arrow before it soared across the sky, spinning and twirling in delight as it flew and berried it's sharp head into the now splintered wood.

"Not bad, Felix." Our leader proudly commented, his arms folded as he leaned his body against the rough bark of a tree.

His broken emerald eyes scanned his surroundings, searching for his next pray that he would pluck out of the group and force to come up and shoot. They darted from: Ed, to Liam, to Noah, to James, Oliver, then Elijah. I silently let out a breath of relief which I didn't know I was holding in as his eyes skipped over me, I hated shooting in front of the boys, I wasn't any good at it. Those evergreen orbs danced along the crowd of boys before he had spotted his next victim.

"Devin," he pointed, "why don't you come up and have a go?"

With a smug expression the boy proudly made his way towards Felix, yanking the strong bow out of his hands, but my eyes were wondering else where. They lingered over the king of the island, Pan, there was something about him which drew me in. The way his jaw locked and eyes flooded with determination made me fall for him, his chestnut brown hair swept perfectly over those green eyes, but the power and authority he had made him even more attractive. 

If falling for the Demon king himself wasn’t bad, there was also another person on the island I had seemed to take an interest in: Felix. If I were to stick you in a room with these two boys and asked you to identify one as a Devil and one as an angle I am almost certain you would get them the wrong way round, Felix's intimidating scar and dark eyes would put you off at first sight and even make the bravest people a little uncomfortable. He towers over people like a sky scraper and the heavy, wooden club he always had slung over his shoulders wasn’t doing his caring side any favors, but even thought he seems mysterious and dark like a twisted magician he’s actually the sweeter of the two. The boy who would never grow up looked more like the sweet, innocent angle at first glance, but the devil never comes dressed as your worst nightmare, he comes dressed as everything you’ve ever wanted.

Devin raises his arms and focused of the target ahead before letting the arrow cut through the air and bury itself in the target, landing just below Felix's shot.

"Dammit." Devin quietly cursed to himself before angrily stomping up to the wooden target, like a three year old, and bitterly pulling the arrow out. Gripping it so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, he made his way towards Pan, handing the tools back to him before standing with the crowd once more.

“You’ve done well today boys.” He announced with a proud grin, “I think it’s time we had a little fun.” 

The boys roared in excitement, eager to play a game and unwind for the day, after all the island is basically one big playground. They all argued among themselves over what game to play as my eyes sank to the dirt floor, occasionally I would look up. Seeing the happy smile on Pan's face as he and Felix watched the boys, once in a while their eyes would meet mine but only ever do often, until it became frequent. Every time my eyes flicked towards them they would already be staring back at me, an attractive smile played in their lips before diverting their eyes once again. I could feel my face flush red at their actions, did this mean something or am I reading into it too much?

"Hide and seek!" A boy from the crowed yelled out, snapping me out if my thoughts.

"No! No! Truth or dare!" Another bellowed, the boys seemed intrigued but the look on Peter's face told me he was far from impressed.

"What about..." he trailed, a slender finger resting in those pink lips of his as he pondered, "truth or dare or die."

I could feel my blood run cold, I was in no mood to be doing dirty dares or spilling secrets, let alone die.

Hollers and cheers could be heard from every nook and crannie on the island, the boys all rushed back to camp in a hurry, excited and ready to play. I on the other hand trudged along, not fully aware of the tow boys which were quickly following after me.

"Y/n." The sound of Felix's husky voice pulled me out of the little world inside my head.

"O-oh... um hi." I stuttered.

His thick eye brows knitted together, "Are you ok? You're acting strange."

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." I responded, maybe a little too fast for the second in commands liking.

"Are you sure, love?" Peter cut in, his thick British accent ringing in my ears, "you're face is a little pink, are you sure you're not sick?"

Before the pair could bombard me with anymore questions we had reached the camp, the lost boys waiting patiently in a circle on the floor. Pan and Felix strolled over, squeezing into the crowd of boys as they got ready to play.

"Y/n, are you not going to join us?" James piped up, casting a glace in my direction.

"Not tonight, I think I'm just gonna turn in early." I spoke up before my feet began to guide me towards my tree house.

"What's the matter?" One of the boys chimed in a mocking tone, "are you scared?"

"No, what's there to be scared of its just a stupid game." I shot back.

"Then come and play." They demanded, acting high and night in order to make the other boys laugh.

"Just one round Y/n," Felix chimed wearing a sweet smile in his pink lips, "please."

"Fine." I angrily muttered, making my way over to the boys before plonking myself down in between Noah and David.

And so the games began, James went first, "Nick, truth or dare." He asked in a sinister voice.

"Dare." He replied without hesitation, sitting up a little taller and a little prouder.

"I dare you to... remove your socks with your teeth!" The lost boys laughed at the strange request as Nicks legs flailed around in the air. Grabbing his foot he bought it as close to his mouth as he could before stripping his feet from them.

"Easy." He cockily proclaimed, his eyes scanned the crowed searching for his victim, "Josh, truth or dare."

The curly haired boy looks startled, looking up with a confused look etched into his face, "um... truth?"

He pondered for a minute, tapping his slender finger on his chin in thought, "if you were a girl for one hour, what would you do?"

The poor boy couldn't say a word, he only blushed in response.

"Well we all know what he's thinking." Pan laughed, the rest of the crowd quickly joining in, even I had to suppress a little giggle.

"Ok, ok, I want to ask a question." Pan insisted, "Felix, truth or dare."

"Dare." He bravely spoke, not skipping a beat.

"I dare you to fill your mouth with water and each person in the group must tell the funniest joke they know. If you spit up the water, you have to eat a spoonful of dirt." The boy grinned.

One by one the boys took it upon themselves to try and make the stone faced second in command laugh, each and everyone one of them failing miserably, until it got to Lucas.

“Two elephants meet a totally naked guy.”  He begins, already the rest of the lost boys are shooting him weird glances, “after a while one elephant said to the other: ‘I don’t get how he can feed himself with that thing!’”

Sure enough Felix spat the water out of his mouth laughing so hard he was almost crying. After he had calmed down he soon remember that consequence, is eyes hopped over to Pan, silently pleading with him.

"A dares a dare Felix." He smirked and the blind boy shoved a spoon full of dirt into his mouth, Felix's features scrunched up in disgust and distaste as he swallowed.

As the game continued the dares became more and more dirty, Danny was forced to admit that he had a crush on Noah and after that they got bombarded with dares such as: "sit on his lap for the rest of the game", "kiss" and "make out". Of course they didn't seem to mind, but I sure did when I was dares to kiss Elijah, I wasn't sure if it was just my eyes playing tricks in me but two particular boys didn't seem very happy about it.

"I want to ask a dare." Oliver enthusiastically proclaimed, "Y/n, truth or dare?"

I could feel my blood run cold, I didn't expect to get picked again and I certainly didn't want to make our with another lost boy, well those who weren't Pan or Felix.

"Truth." I happily stated.

He thought for a moment, wondering what to say, "which would you rather sleep with, Pan or Felix?" He asked.

No.

No way this is happening to me.

I don't even know which one if them I prefer, a pink dust coated my cheeks as I though about it, just for a moment.

"Aww, look at that, she's blushing." Noah said, his arms still wrapped around Danny's torso.

"Maybe she has a crush on one of them." Someone from the crowd spoke up.

"Or maybe both." Another yelled out.

Pan raised an eyebrow at the boys remarks, "You think so boys? Well then, Oliver I grant you permission to change the question."

"What! That's not fair!" I bellowed.

"My island, my rules. Besides love I think we all already know the answer." He stated and by the way I had been acting he was probably right.

"Yes, I like both of you." I mumbled under my breath, but it was too late, the boys were already silently waiting in anticipation, my words cut through the air seeming more like a speaker on full volume rather than a barely audible whisper.

"There's no need to be shy, love." Peter exclaim sending a quick wink my way before letting out a low chuckle and licking his pink lips.

"O-ok... well I'm going to bed now.... night boys." I rushed to my feet and sprinted to my tree house before anyone could protest.

I shut myself in, slamming the heavy oak wood door behind me, the feeling of dread and embarrassment washed over my tiny frame as I leaned against the door. I would no doubt endure teasing tomorrow in the following days to come, and on top of that I had to see Pan and Felix everyday.

Without saying a word I quietly climbed in between the crisp, untouched covers of my bed, closing my eyes and letting my thoughts take over.

My mind played back to the two boys, as if often did, and the question Oliver had asked me. I didn't need a mirror to see I was as red as a tomato just from the thought of it.

Imagining Pan's hands gripping my hips and Felix's fingers trailing over my body sent shivers down my spine, as goosebumps littered my arms in excitement. I could feel that pleasant tingly feeling grow more and more intense as my fantasies continued to play out in my head, my hand slipped inside my underwear, lightly toying with myself before I heard a creek outside. Swiftly scanning the area, I saw that no one was there, quickly I discarded it as my imagination, the boys were too preoccupied with their game.

Soft moans escaped from my lips as I pushed my fingers in and out, letting myself get taken over by bliss.

"Hello, love." A familiar British accent rung clear in the air as I grew still, not daring to move it even breath while the hairs on the back of my neck stood tall and proud.

When I mustered up enough courage to meet his gaze I saw he wasn't the only figure leaning against my wooden door frame, there the leader and his second in command stood, smirks on there faces with lust clouding their dark eyes.

"Um...." I blushed bright red, trying desperately to cover up my exposed skin but it was already too late, their eyes had already danced across my body, drinking every inch of it up, I had never felt more embarrassed in my life.

“There’s no need to try and hide princess.” Felix spoke, his voice growing huskier by the second as the two boy’s made their way inside my room, sitting beside me on my bed like I were a trapped animal with nowhere else to go.

“Tell us, love...” Pan began, combing his fingers through my h/l h/c hair as he softly spoke before staring at me with those evergreen eyes, “Were you thinking about us?”

I was unable to say anything, I just sat there shocked at the leaders words as he continued to stare at me.

“Well?” Felix chimed in, placing a hand on the part of my thigh the blanket didn’t quite cover.

“Y-Yeah...” I managed to breathily stutter out, what is happening? They had never shown any interest in me before, so why now? Is it because I know seem like an easy target, or is it something more?

“You know,” the blonde angle to my right gently whispered, his warm breath tickled the side of my neck, “this is an island of imagination...”

soft, wet kisses were littered up and down my neck as long blonde hair brushed upon the side of my face, his hands travelling higher and higher until they just about reached the placed I wanted him to touch me the most as my breath hitched in my throat. I was practically begging them for it, for anything, but just as quickly as this had all happened, it stopped.

“But we’re not going to do it unless you want us too, love. We’re willing to play nice and share, but only if you’re willing too.” Pan spoke, his breath tickled my ear lob, sending shivers to dance up and down my spine, “What do you say?”

without uttering a word I nodded at them, giving them all the consent and confirmation they needed. The king started to attack my neck, leaving love bites and hickey’s all over my s/c skin like a tattoo while is second in command lightly traced his fingers over my entrance.

“She’s so wet already.” He smirked to his friend who returned the favor, swiftly sliding his hands down to feel for himself.

“Naughty girl.” The leader whispered, those two, simple words were enough to make my cravings for these boys intensify as I bit my lip.

Without warning Pan slipped his fingers inside, causing a moan to tumble from my lips as he pumped in and out at an agonizingly slow pace while Felix massaged my breast sending waves of pleasure to course through my body. The second in command leaned in closer, hungrily smashing his lips to mine as Pan worked his magic.

“Fuck.” I whined, missing the way he made me feel, as the king pulled his fingers out of me. They glistened and dripped before he placed them in his mouth licking them clean.

“It’s not fair if we’re giving all you the pleasure darling, don’t you think?” he British boy asked me, 

A smirk spread on my face as I licked and sucked on the boys neck, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses all the way down to the hem of his shirt before removing it. my journey of kisses continued all the way down his toned chest until I got to the hem of his trousers. Hooking my fingers around his waistband I slowly pulled them down, letting his cock spring out and hit his stomach before taking it into my hands and licking it from base to tip. sharply inhaling at the pleasure it gave him, his fingers tangled themselves into my hair as I continued to tease him a little. My other hand was working on Felix’s trousers, unbuttoning them and taking his dick to my hands, slowly pumping him as he blissfully grunted.

“Stop teasing me.” Pan exclaimed with heavy breaths, I took him into my mouth, circling around the tip and licking up his shaft while grunts poured out of his mouth, “Fuck.” 

Giving the king of Neverland one final lick before before switching to his trusty second in command, the blonde boy moaned as my tongue ran round and round his tip in circles before taking all of his cock into my mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ok so I'm going to be posting this in two parts because I don't feel like this is that good tbh and Idk how the smut thing is going..... help please?

I hope you liked it so far and I'm sorry it was a little slow in the beginning! ❤😘 xxxx

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Happy Together : 6

Domestic Distress

Character(s): (deceptively) dark!Steve

Warnings: this is a dark!fic, it contains non/dubious-consent elements. It goes without (and with) saying that this is 18+.

Series Synopsis: The reader is stood up while awaiting a blind date, instead finding herself keeping company with the restaurant’s famous owner; Steve Rogers. After that night, she tries to forget her humiliation but she just can’t shake one thing about that night: him.

Masterlist

Chapter Summary: The reader tries to appease Steve.

Notes: Okay, so we get some more crazy Steve. It’s gonna be a holding pattern but we’ll slowly turn up the heat in the coming chapters. I’ve also restructured a few parts so this one is a bit longer than previous ones so without further ado, jump in and enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who reads and as always, I looked forward to hearing from you in the replies/reblogs/tags/asks. <3

You spent the night in a limbo between wakefulness and sleep. An unsated drowsiness tugging at your eyelids as the man next to you snored peacefully. Every time you were on the precipice of dozing off, you recalled the weight of his arm still around you and were jolted awake in terror. His constant embrace reminded you of the scene which had preceded this place; running from him only to be easily trapped. Your heart beating raggedly as you were overtaken by your unseen captor. And now, the realization that it was the very man you had convinced yourself not to worry about.

Your reproached yourself. You should have been more vigilant. Kept your guard up. Yet, you were so insignificant in this man’s world that it had seemed preposterous to think otherwise. Why would he be interested in you? Your eyes filled with tears but you swiftly wiped them away. You should have known. How had he coincidentally run into you at the park? And the bookstore? You had seen him across the street from the cafe. Had he been watching you? Following you? He had been so obvious and you had been so obtuse.

As the windows shone pale with the arrival of the day, a metallic ring broke the silence and you winced as Steve’s arms released you at last. He rolled over to smother the analog alarm, the clock stilling in an instant. He turned back to you, another kiss on your cheek as you gritted your jaw. You were tired of him touching you; his presence; as if he owned you. This same oppression was the reason you had left your last relationship. Less than a day and this man had you under his thumb. Trapped.

“Morning, honey.” He nuzzled your cheek, smelling your hair as he held you to him.

Your voice thrashed your throat, “Morning.” You echoed, resigned to appease him until you could think of anything else. 

If you could keep him happy, he might spare you worse than a sleepless night. His arm slithered back, his palm against your stomach, edging closer to your pelvis than up towards your breasts, but never going further. Never completing its path as if waiting for a cue. You would not give him whatever he expected.

“Come on,” He sat up suddenly, “Time to rise and shine.” He turned his back to you, muscles rippling in the dim as he stood. Your blood was chilled as you looked down at your own weak body, nothing compared to the super soldier. What hope did you have? You pushed yourself to the edge of the bed and slowly rose, crossing your arms across your chest, trying to disappear into yourself.

Steve approached the central door of the far wall, you hadn’t noticed the hooks before. Every time you looked around this place, you found something new. Another detail carefully crafted by him. He pulled on a striped robe but let it hang open, taking a silky peach robe from the next hook and turning back to you. He opened it and waited for you to respond. You reluctantly dropped your arms and spun around to let him guide the sleeves up your arms. You stepped away, pulling closed the robe and tying it tightly as if it was armour.

“So,” He began as you cautiously turned back to him, “Are you ready to be good today?”

You wanted to shrug and roll your eyes but his gaze was hot and dangerous. Even with his unwavering smile, his aura was dire. Say or do the wrong thing and he’d have you against him in an instant, like when you had tried futilely for the door. Holding you, crushing you, suffocating you. The walls around you were enough of a prison that you didn’t need him baring in on you. 

“Yes…”

“Call me sweetheart,” His hands were at your waist again, “You don’t have to be shy.”

You lashes fluttered and tried to keep your face blank. You nodded, “Yes, sweetheart,” You uttered quietly. His hand rose to touch your cheek, thumb running over your lips. He seemed to be fighting with himself as he hummed in approval of the pet name.

“Come on then,” He took your hand as he drew away from your lips, “I’ll get you all set up for the day before I go. I have some errands in the city but I should be home for dinner.” 

He guided you around the bed as he took the key from its drawer and led you to the third door along the far wall. He unlocked it and slipped the key into his robe pocket, pulling it open as he drew you into the next room.

He reached over to flip the light switch, a conical shade overhead lit up adding to the light from the single window over the counter. It was a kitchen, large and from the looks of it, only recently constructed. It matched the vintage flair of the bedroom. Canary and white tile alternating along the floor, white counters with silver trim and handles, matching cupboards, a small door which opened to a walk-in pantry to your left, a dish towel hung from the small stove with thick teal edging, and matching curtains framed the window. It was just as surreal as the rest of this place.

Steve finally let go of your hand and crossed to the counter, picking up a small booklet and returned to you. He held it out to you; ‘A Woman’s Day’. He tilted his head slightly, urging you to take it before he lost his patience, so you did and hesitantly flipped through the pages. You hid the boiling rage which piqued within you as you realized it was a guide for a housewife straight out of thirties; beauty tricks, cleaning tips, recipes, how to re-use old clothing, etc. Your grandmother would have loved this man. Your hand trembled despite your restraint and you came to the end. A daily schedule for you to fill in your task; beauty, cooking, cleaning, and even hobbies. You doubted the last category would have anything beneath it.

“You should make a schedule for yourself. Help you keep organized,” He explained, “I’ll try to adjust my own schedule accordingly. Some nights, though, I can’t help but be at work, you see?”

You softly closed the book and nodded, chewing the inside of your lip as you looked past him. Is this what he wanted you for? What were you supposed to take care of him like his mother? Was he so lost in this century that he needed to live in the past? You hid your frown as you looked down, bending the booklet slightly as you stared at it.

“I know it’s different,” He touched your elbow, “But I promise it will be better. The life you were living before, that was chaos. This is paradise.”

You pulled away from him, biting back the words which bubbled in your mind. You were shaking your head as you fought with yourself. You couldn’t spend the day locked in the room and you knew that would be the result if you lost it now. You took the book in one hand and smacked it against your other palm, turning back to him as you cleared your throat and forced away your spite.

“What would you like, sweetheart?” Your voice quavered only slightly, not enough for him to notice and he smiled.

“I’ll show you how to use the coffee pot,” He pulled the door closed, convinced of your compliance, and waved you over to the stove. You followed dutifully, hoping to distract yourself in the basic tasks until he left. Then you could really think.

---

Short of helping you figure out the mechanical percolator, Steve hadn’t helped with much else. Rather, he had watched you with an air of supervision, as if judging your skill while you readied breakfast for him and yourself. When the meal was ready, he opened the other door in the kitchen, opposite that you come in through, revealing a finely furnished dining room. A cherry wood table with matching chairs, a lace tablecloth across it, all beneath a chandelier of small lamp shades and pointed bulbs. A table by the window with a bouquet of flowers atop a doily. It felt like you were at your great-grandmother’s home; only vague memories of the woman before she passed. You were but a toddler then.

That was the extent of your freedom. Your leash was still drawn tight. You ate your breakfast, picking at it as your appetite was yet to truly appear. You forced yourself to eat only to please him. Finished, you cleared the tables and he locked the door to the dining room behind him. He left you to clean the dishes as he readied for his day, leaving the bedroom open as you went about your work. 

You looked out the window, the birds hopping after each other and you long to join them. You wanted to smell the grass, bask in the scent of pollen as the wind swirled your hair. It had barely been a day but you felt as if you hadn’t been outside in a year.

Steve emerged as you were putting away the dishes, as suave as ever. A patterned button-up of grey and blue dots beneath a dark grey blazer, jeans lending a casual air to his outfit. He looked as much the debonaire entrepreneur as the day you had met him. It curdled your stomach to think he could be so deceptively nice. Even now, his demeanour seemed but a mask to a much deeper and darker man.

“I should be home around six. I trust you’ll have everything done and dinner on the table,” His hand went to your neck and he pulled you near to kiss the top of you head, “Have a good day, honey.”

“Goodbye..” You replied dumbly, your tongue sour as you did your best to fake joy, “Sweetheart.”

He was pleased with your last word and kissed you again, this time on the cheek. He seemed to be lingering just away from your lips, resisting some deep-seeded urge. His lips were soft but the force of the peck foretold of a baser intent. He pulled away and you folded your hands in front of you, waiting for him to leave. He slowly retreated, longingly looking back before parting through the dining room door, he sound of the lock followed quickly. You sighed and your careful veneer fell.

You didn’t move for a couple minutes until you were certain he was gone. You exclaimed through your teeth madly, slapping the counter in your sudden burst of anger. You reached up to grab a glass, spinning to whip it at the door he had just left through. You screamed and slammed your fists against the counter, pounding it until you were out of breath. You hunched over the linoleum on your elbows, holding your head as it vibrated with anger.

Why was he doing this? What was even more infuriating than your confinement was that he didn’t even acknowledge it. He acted as if this was normal, as if this was some sort of relationship. You had only met the man three times before and he had somehow got it in his head that you needed to be domesticated. Whatever it was, he was truly and completely insane.

You covered your face with your hands as you stood, turning blindly as you exhaled, measuring your breathing as you tried to calm yourself. You couldn’t be rash. You had to think rationally or you were doomed. He had seemingly planned for every ounce of resistance you had to offer and thus you had to get his guard down. Play along, honey. You cringed at the pet name.

You dropped your arms and pushed your shoulders back. If he wanted you to be the perfect woman, you’d be the best programmed droid he could find on the market. Dutiful, polished and preened, detached. You’d go with it but inside you’d let the flames burn until you were ready. Until the day when an escape presented itself, you only prayed that it would not be too late.

You picked up the booklet and set about your daily tasks. First get washed, do your hair, moisturize, make-up, get dressed. Next, cleaning. Much of that was done already. Cooking. Well, the roast would take some time so you began your prep around noon, in between trying to figure out the more difficult hairstyles in the magazines. 

The reflection in the vanity could barely be your own. A lilac dress with short cap sleeves, another dramatic waist, the usual affair underneath. Uncomfortable as the brassier pinched your flesh and the garters scratched your thighs. You were a dame plucked straight out of the wartime hurrah. The careful eye liner reminded you not to cry and you struggled to keep a breakdown at bay. 

How many days would be spent in such tedium?

You were reading an article on how to keep bread fresher for longer when the handle turned. This damned place made it impossible to know when your captor had arrived. You sat on the sofa, feet on the floor in beige heels that went well with your dress. You went rigid as Steve appeared from the other side of the door, lowering the magazine to your lap.

“Dinner smells good,” He commented on the scent of herbs and onions which emanated from the kitchen.

“I was waiting for you to get home before I took it out,” You stood, speaking in a placating tone. “I can go get it ready now.”

He stopped you, blocking the door as his hands settled on your forearms. “No hurry,” He smiled, slowly leaning down. “I missed you.” He was getting closer, his lips were right in front of yours as you had no choice but to crane your neck up to look at him. This time he went straight for the lips, kissing you softly but urgently. You made no move to resist. You could tolerate it if it meant he wasn’t angry with you. “You look nice.” He said as he drew away, his hands traveling the length of your arms, slipping beneath and settling on your hips. You could see the flames licking at his irises as his pupils grew. He closed them suddenly, as if reminding himself of something, and parted from you. “You know what? I am rather hungry.”

He stood beside the door, waiting for you to pass through. You walked carefully, heels clicking on the sleek hardwood and onto the linoleum. You could feel him watching the unintentional sway of your hips and he followed closely. You swallowed as you searched for an oven glove, fearing he’d snap and carry through with whatever had shaded his eyes. He kept his distance as you opened the stove and you cursed as you had to bend to remove the large roast pan.

You placed the pan on the stove and turned the dial to off. You went about setting out two plates, picking out cutlery, steak knives, and finally a large carving blade. You held it up as it caught the light, staring at the blade as you were struck by its sharpness. Could it go deep enough to hurt him? Would he let you get that close? He was quick; trained to fend others off. You sensed the tension as you pondered the hypothetical battle and smiled. You turned instead to the cooked meat and sunk the knife into its tenderness. It wasn’t worth the risk. Not yet.

You filled each plate with a slab of roast beef and a healthy scoop of seasoned potatoes and carrots. You carried them out to the dining room which he had left open. You set them out as he sat at the head of the table and you returned to the kitchen for cutlery and glasses. You paused at the table, smiling sweetly through the bitterness on your tongue. 

“What would you like to drink, sweetheart?” He liked that. You could tell by the way he gripped the edge of the table as if tempted to rise.

“What would you like?” He asked, his voice airy, his eyes grazing you up and down.

“I was just going to have water,” You answered, “I have a stomach ache today.”

“Oh,” He looked down, considering you answer, “Do you need something for that?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” You assured him, “I prefer water, anyway.”

“I’ll have water too, then,” He answered with a smile and you diligently clacked away to fetch glasses and a pitcher.

You poured for him and yourself before you sat, picking up your knife and fork. You carefully cut into the beef, wishing it was him beneath the blade. How were you going to get out of here? You knew it would be foolish to go after him then. Not with such a small knife and surely not so quickly. It had only been a day. He didn’t trust you yet; he was vigilant. You carved out a square and bit into it, chewing without tasting the seasoned flesh.

“How was your day, honey?” Steve asked between bites and you looked up almost in shock. You shook the thoughts before they could show.

“It was...good,” You replied, popping a piece of potato in your mouth to save yourself further explanation. “Yours?”

“Mmm, it was fine. Some mix ups with the delivery today but we got it sorted out.” He stilled his fork, tilting his head at you keenly. “I...like coming home to you like this. Did you miss me?”

You blinked. Were you that skilled an actor? Your lips parted slightly but you couldn’t summon the lie. If you said no, he’d be annoyed and if you forced an obvious fib, it might be worse. Instead you froze, your fork and knife clattering onto the table beside your plate. All you could do was flutter your eyelids like butterfly wings.

He grunted. His smiled disappeared and he pushed his plate away and scowled. “Answer the question.” He demanded and your lips opened and closed repeatedly. 

You couldn’t breath. Your stomach lurched and you stood suddenly, the few forkfuls you had managed were on their way back up. You raced to the door but he caught you before you could flee. As he clung to you, you wretched and vomited spewed forth onto the floor, just in front of the door.

He let you go suddenly and you caught yourself against the door frame, careful not to step in the mess. You whined in embarrassment, shakily wiping your mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” You began to repeat, afraid of what he would do next.

“Are you okay?” He touched the small of your back gently, “I didn’t realize you were that unwell, honey.”

“I just...I think it was the lobster last night.” You lied as you straightened up and looked to him. He squinted and nodded, as if weighing your words. “I’ll clean it up.”

“No...no,” He raised his hand, “No. I’ll take care of everything tonight. You just go get washed up and lay down. I can’t have you getting sicker.”

You considered him a moment. You weren’t sure he believed your excuse. Had he caught onto your ploy? Was he devising one of his own? Of course, he already had questionable intent but you wondered if he was trying to turn this around on you. Was he trying to lure you into a sense of security? Taking care of you like this. This was more than him playing house but you couldn’t quite wrap your head around it.

“Thank you,” You said quietly and stepped over the pool of vomit, “Really.” 

Even if his offer was entirely double-sided, it allowed you time to yourself. Time to think.

+

tags:  @alexakeyloveloki @lanabanana-86 @sathlens @jessieray98 @lilithhellfire @kellyn1604 @ahideousthinginside @ironlady1993 @kloe-iel @grayxswan @myboyfriendgiriboy @tanelle83 @patzammit @they-call-me-le @iheartsebastianstan @spaghettirogers @buckycaptspideypool @bethanyzed @biasedtittes @bbyspiiice @glitterypinkkitty @selinbaskaya @dil-emmuh @metalarmlover @queenoftheunderdark @lilly-evans-and-the-kpop @captainfreecandyvan @collette04 @this-is-my-design- @yagurlrosie @kweenkxtrina @heavenlyblyss @secretlyactivated  @vitamingrant  @breezy1415 @selinbaskaya @alexakeyloveloki @beautiful-and-strange @phoenix21love @momc95 @buckycaptspideypool @justballoonfishthings @ms-munchkin @whosmarisaaarw @thoughtlesstales @kxllyxnnx @calspixie @lilithhellfire @imdiegohargreeves @satinprincessxo @amethyst-the-thot @docharleythegeekqueen @iiqueer-vibesii @carol-damn-vers @l0rd-disick @jilldsumner @hufflebucky @lanabanana-86 @nerdypinupcrystal @notyourtypicalrose @blackpantherimagines @pink1031 @agent-spidey @wassupbitchesssss @lucifersnipnips @thirstyforsomeyandere @xxm3xxj @roses-and-absinthe @stuckybarton @ruff-m3rc @xxxelettaxxx @rainbowkisses31 @heartbeats-wildly

[justfor2am]

steven universe the movie au but it’s sanders sides

I’m calling it the Thomas Universe AU! 

(creative, I know)

okay but hear me out

anyone who is human irl is still human in this au...this would take place in FL where Thomas lives, and this goes with the assumption that the sides are real and his friends + family know/can see them. patton + deceit appear unconventionally, and i know it wouldn’t make sense for the canon sanders sides universe rules, but i’ve already disregarded most of those so...

also, i know it wouldn’t work EXACTLY like the movie obvs and some stuff would have to be left out (like the diamonds....sorry babes) 

also also I’m sticking a cut in here because i just realized this is gonna be a long one

Characters

Steven/Pink Diamond: Thomas (I’ll explain the PD later)

Garnet: Roman + Remus except it’s the opposite of a love story; learning to love themselves “unfused” as individual creativities (no remrom here please)

Amethyst: Virgil (i considered him as Pearl and you could make a case either way, but song-wise this works slightly better)

Pearl/Pink Diamond: Logan (see above, you could also make a case for him as Amethyst, and I’ll explain the PD later)

Bismuth: JayisJo (because i love them)

Lapis: Joan

Peridot: Talyn

Spinel: Patton + Deceit Fusion (yes, i know i know. i’ll explain)

Plot

Thomas is his best self, healthy, happy and surrounded with friends + family. They’re in the middle of fixing up their new office (Little Homeworld), and home (Thomas’s Apartment) is stable. The sides are all getting along, even as insufferable as Remus can be.

In this universe, Patton + Deceit were never thought to be “real” like the other sides. Whereas Thomas would film using his actual sides, he and Joan “invented” Patton and Deceit for the series’ storyline. They were, accidentally, repressed to the back of Thomas’ mind, and finally through their feelings of abandonment, come forth as one fused side called “Ethos”.

Ethos plants a bug in Thomas’ mind that would repress all of his sides back into his mind. He wouldn’t be void of personality, but it would hurt, and ran the risk of contaminating his friends. Since his friends don’t have sides, it would drain their personalities instead, and it’s a race to get Ethos to stop the bug.

Title Character Backstories

Steven Universe is self-explanatory enough, title character yada yada. Thomas also being Pink Diamond is meant as a younger Thomas, more so as a symbol of immaturity and also because I didn’t want to use Thomas’ actual mom because that literally wouldn’t have worked. 

(For Logan, see Songs: Drift Away)

“Garnet” would have been the result of the great Creativity Split. Roman and Remus, once expected to stick together as one side, have learned (sort of) to co-exist with each other. In this universe, Thomas has accepted Remus (after a lot of wor) and the two creativities are more brotherly. 

“Amethyst” would have been a reflection of Virgil’s time with the “dark” sides. Young and impressionable, him learning to accept love from the “light” sides and be himself despite the fighting between the two halves.

“Pearl” is a call-back to Logan’s quickly shifting from “Teacher Guy” on Vine to “Logic” in Sanders Sides. He felt his only purpose was to help Thomas; any emotions he felt were meant to be disregarded.

“Spinel” as a Patton + Deceit fusion still has her original stretchy powers, because with Deceit’s constant usage of shapeshifting and Patton’s joking manner, it just makes sense. They have Deceit’s Director!Patton Disguise, with four arms and two eyes, one blue and almost constantly tearing up, the other Deceit’s snake eye. There’s a monocle on the blue eyes, and small patches of snake skin. They also have a top hat, because snazzy.

alternatively: pick whichever fusion of them that @fangirltothefullest​ drew because that’s kinda the best way to visual them. 

Weapons

• Instead of a scythe-style Rejuvenator, Ethos have a collapsible staff that can be split in two, each half with a long, thin blade inside. Swiping the sides with a blade does the same as a Rejuvenator + plants the “bug” in them. For Thomas, it only plants the bug.

• Roman uses his sword, and his shield to launch Remus in the air for attacks. Remus sticks with his morning star. Neither have future vision.

• Virgil doesn’t have a weapon, his “power” would be speed and darn good punches. He still has his “tempest tongue” ability, when his anxiety is extremely high.

• Logan has a shortbow, but is not above straight up wacking people with it.

Songs

Let Us Adore You:

Since I don’t have a Diamond equivalent, this song only really matters during its reprise.

Happily Ever After:

Moves the plot from Thomas’ house to “Little Homeworld”. Logan is being taught the bass by Jamal at his house (Logan is summoned by Thomas to the office later). Thomas drives to the office and talks to Roman and Remus, who’re play-fighting and writing scripts. 

He walks into a room to be stopped by Virgil, because he was about to step into a can of paint. (This is one of the unfinished rooms). Joan, Tayln and Jay are there too, helping out. By the end of the song, Thomas is standing outside with all of his sides, enjoying the sunshine and being happy.

Other Friends:

Ohhhh boy. Ethos monologues at them for a bit, perched up on a lamppost. Logan recognizes them (this will be important later). They’re clearly unstable, and the sides get ready to fight. 

Ethos uses their instability to their advantage, fusing and unfusing quickly around them to avoid getting hit. Ethos also uses their rubber powers to throw Logan into the air and letting him fall, trapping Virgil in a tree, and knocking Remus’ and Roman’s heads together. He finishes it off by scaring Thomas and pushing him into the ground, jumping back on the lamppost.

They all regroup, in pain, and after Thomas’ obvious lack of recognization, Ethos is only more unstable, yelling. He pulls out the staff and poofs the sides. Thomas manages to poof Ethos as well, but not without getting hit first.

system/BOOT.PearlFinal(3).Info:

We have this nice intermission where we see all of the sides “reset” and Logan narrates as his episode 1 self. Here we see Remus and Roman fuse automatically, without showing their individual forms. They pose still and quietly, without their individual quirks. Virgil forms as his Pre-AA self, bitter but also quiet, looking very nervous and trying to blend in.

Ethos reforms, but not fused. Deceit and Patton are both happy and friendly, acting like a Spinel-duo. Patton specializes in jokes + puns while Deceit does more physical humor. Deceit’s outfit is white instead, and he has no hat. Patton’s outfit is is original cardigan one. Patton and Deceit also finish each others sentences.

Thomas beings to notice the bug affecting himself, stinging him occasionally.

Who We Are:

Thomas is moping around while Jay, Joan and Talyn try to help figure out a solution. They set on the plan to make them all remember who they are.

Isn’t it Love?:

Remus and Roman accidentally unfuse, and they both feel a breath of fresh air. Neither of them have a proper “form”, and they take the song to pick out who they want to be. While they’re both much happier apart now, they still don’t know themselves.

No Matter What:

One of my favourite songs from this movie, and the key reason why Virgil would work better as Amethyst. Thomas takes Virgil back through his memories, showing him the music he used to like, how to sew, and they retake the sorting quiz together and talk about it.

Thomas puts on a few Halloween movies and Virgil starts to come back. He goes to stand in his corner by the stairs, and Thomas runs up to his room and gives him the ‘famILY’ card. With that, Virgil comes back.

Disobedient:

I don’t have as much to say here, but for funny purposes Logan “belongs” to Jamahl.

Independent Together:

A Thomas/Jamahl duet, they don’t “literally” fuse, but they’re still singing together. Logan remembers who he is and duets with Virgil. It’s a sweet moment.

Drift Away:

Ohhhh boy (part 2). Deceit and Patton are singing over each other here. The “Garden” is Thomas’ mind, and Logan/a younger, immature Thomas are Pink Diamond. Inadvertently, as Thomas was maturing, he wanted to put silly, childish things behind him. Logan, acting as his Logic, realized that meant Ethos, and went to “put them away”.

He told them Thomas was growing up, and that he would come back to them soon. But Thomas was young when this happened, and he soon forgot about them. Deceit is the one to pose the question: “Is this how it works, am I doing this right?” Patton is unwilling to ask such things, not wanting to doubt Thomas.

They stay there, mostly silent together. They see Thomas grow up, but never the other sides after Logan, because they don’t know the two are stuck back there. Patton keeps making excuses for Thomas, that he’s not ready yet, that he’ll be back soon.

The tipping point is when Deceit’s “character” is introduced. Patton was more than happy to excuse his own “character” into the Sanders Sides Series, but Deceit wasn’t. Upon seeing himself, and hearing Thomas and Joan talk as if Patton and Deceit weren’t really there, broke him.

Deceit called Patton out for excusing Thomas’ behavior, and grief breaks over him. With Deceit’s anger and Patton’s sadness, the two fuse into Ethos. Deceit wants revenge, Patton wants answers. While Deceit is the stronger of the two in the fusion, Patton does have his moments of fronting.

Found:

Thomas talks to Ethos, offering him a place in the Mindpalace again, and apologizing. Ethos takes him up on the offer, Patton clearly fronting. He turns off the bug in the sides and in Thomas.

True Kinda Love:

Remus and Roman finally come to themselves, play-fighting again before working together to protect Thomas + co. from Ethos. Ethos reactivates the bugs to work faster, and runs away from Thomas’s office to his home. Joan and Tayln offer to look after the sides while Thomas goes to find Ethos, who’s perched on top of his house, curled up. 

(work with me here,) Thomas goes up the fire escape to the roof, (pretend his roof is flat would y’all?) to face off. 

Change:

Ethos is ready to fight. Thomas is not. He actively avoids hitting/getting hit by Ethos, moving the fight back to the ground and darting between the park near his house, letting Ethos punch the trees instead. He talks to Ethos, who’s starting to come undone. After getting punched into a tree, Patton pulls himself out of the fusion and goes to help him.

Deceit sees him do this, and after a moment of self-frustration, refuses with Patton to turn off the bug before unfusing again. Thomas takes them back to the office to check up on the other sides, who are now doing just fine.

Let Us Adore You (Reprise):

Finally, this song comes in handy! Instead of the Diamonds singing to Spinel, the sides offer Patton and Deceit a place back in the Mindscape with them, while Thomas says that if they need some time alone, he understands.

The sides all apologize, especially Logan for leaving them alone for so long.

Patton all but jumps at the idea of having a real home, and is thrilled to have a place. Patton sings first, “Today, right here, right now, I'll love again. I've already found someone.”

He starts walking toward them, but stops. Deceit has his arms crossed, and is standing farther back. Patton offers him a hand, and Deceit finally takes a step forward. He’s more hesitant, mostly because like ten minutes ago he was trying to kill all of them. But he misses playing with Thomas, even if as a side his purpose has corrupted with time.

“Yes, I know that you're not her and I was her's. You know what it meant to love her, and you remind me so much of her.” A group hug ensues, and Deceit and Patton are both holding on tight to Thomas. A few tears are shed, and the healing has started.

Finale:

Thomas is continuing to work with all of his sides to make sure Patton and Deceit are adjusting well. The office is eventually finished, Patton and Deceit even get to play themselves in the series. All is well, and Thomas is looking forward to the future and what it brings.

And yeah, that’s all folks! Feel free to do whatever for this, I might write some things for it too. But if y’all do stuff with this, please tag me, I’d love to see whatever y’all make! :-)

[mylordshesacactus]

I’ve only ever watched the WoR segments once each, and I haven’t watched the earlier ones since we uh. Learned that the narrator was both an actual character and also the primordial queen of darkness. So, some thoughts, in order:

Sweet fuck is this weird. This is so weird. I’m so uncomfortable.

I’m getting a first-grade science lesson from Salem and I don’t know how to handle it.

I am still going embarrassingly Sam Traynor for Salem’s voice oh god 

ANYWAY

WoR 2.1: There’s an...inscrutable but distinct shift in her voice when she mentions that humanity still doesn't actually know anything about Dust or how it came to be.

I’m sure that won’t be relevant or significant in any way

I don’t like Salem saying that humanity doesn’t understand how its involvement with Dust will “change the world of Remnant” and this is RWBY, I don’t trust that to be a platitude.

WoR 2.2: Just as in the opening narration, Salem sounds...almost proud? Almost approving? Of human tenacity and the fierceness with which we struggle for our existence.

I really, really want to learn more about Salem, and not just backstory. I want to know what her deal is, how she really feels about humanity.

She has this fond little half-laugh when she mentions that there are still people who prefer to live outside the kingdoms, just as fond as her voice when she mentions their tendency to disappear. 

Seriously, I’m getting the impression that Salem respects humanity and is even lowkey delighted by its better qualities. Maybe humanity is her Worthy Opponent?

Who are you, lady

“....as long as they stand united.” There was just enough relish in that to be missed when watched in continuity but stand out chillingly well once you Know, getting Jen Taylor onboard was a wise investment

WoR 2.3: yes Salem please do tell me all about the creatures of Grimm

“For as long as humanity can recall walking the surface of Remnant...” nice third person there, what are you

“Newer study does not support this hypothesis” bitch

I swear to god this segment is Salem reading one of Oobleck’s scientific journals or like, a Beacon textbook out loud to a snickering conference room, her voice is just a little too sincere.

This is one of those things where it would be almost impossible to write Salem fully IC without giving away her identity, so I’m assuming any weirdness with her inflection or apparent lack of knowledge is just unfortunately unavoidable.

“In fact, the common belief is that the Grimm are not obligated to feed. They choose to.” Is it. Is that the common belief, Salem. 

“Even more...unsettling...” What is Salem’s deal. What does she actually think of humanity. What does she actually think of the Grimm. Who is she.

WoR 3.1: I remember when I thought that switching to Ozpin as the narrator was an upgrade from a Generic Female Voice to a real character.

ha ha. ha. h a.

It’s so calming after a season of Salem telling me facts.

WoR 3.2: The position of Huntsman “was established” after the Great War

okay Oz

nice passive voice, Oz

“...and never succumb to the darkness” with Ruby silhouetted against the moon? I dislike.

WoR 3.3: The Grimm preventing effective communication for centuries is a brilliant move by Salem, whose explicit goal is to isolate kingdoms from one another.

It’s not a coincidence that her main target in Vale was the CCT tower.

WoR 3.4: This is clearly the at least partially mythologized version, not the more accurate one he gave Pyrrha, but. Where was Salem during this story, Ozpin. Who is she. Where did she come from.

...My god is it possible Oz and Salem switched positions in whatever chess game they’re playing? Oz was originally the jaded dismissive one who couldn’t stand humanity and Salem started out liking them and then got burned out?

Answer me Roosterteeth

WoR 4.1: HI QROW

“Well, school’s definitely out...” qrow please

I don’t...like...how close Patch and Vale in general are to the creepy dragon-shaped continent of evil. I dislike being on Mordor’s doorstep and am glad Team Oz is on the other side of the planet at the moment.

WoR 4.5: “There are some areas that no one’s gone into and come out alive.” yeah I just fucking bet there are.

WoR 4.7: Yeah Jacques Schnee is absolutely gonna sell Atlas out to Salem.

“Jacques Schnee doesn’t care about people. He cares about winning.” And Salem knows exactly how to exploit that.

WoR 4.8: Oh man here we go. Where are you, Oz. What did you do, Oz.

“An incident in Mantle” yeah just like RWBY v1-3 was “an incident in Vale”

“The people of Mantle had come to believe that they would be much safer from the Grimm if they could simply keep the emotions of the masses in check.” And that happened all on its own, did it, Salem

“the King of Vale did everything he could to avoid armed conflict” hi Oz

“To this day no one knows who shot first” probably one of the Inner Council of the time

Oh man there’s actually fires of war on the southern border of Mordor, shit got real

Alternatively: who the HELL decided to try to colonize Mordor

Hi, Oz.

“and his scepter” yeah it’s not subtle

“unusually violent weather conditions” mmhmm

And he founded the Academies, so like, yeah that’s actually explicit canon.

“the Grimm came in droves” I feel like there were two battles for the future of the world that day, and most people only knew about one of them.

Conclusion: Who is Salem and what is her deal.

[crossoverstarfinding]

The Kingdom

Steel Quasar takes a moment to admire his city and celebrate with his inner circle.

It was perfect, the fluorescent city below him, the neon lights, the hardwood in his office, and especially the artificial intelligence that greeted him every day upon his arrival. Yes, this empire, no, this Industrate was quite possibly the best thing he ever created.  Yes, this was “Steel Quasar’s” best work, and it’s always a sight to behold when waiting for the regular duo to enter meeting area.

“Is there sssomething out there that’sss caught your eye, Quasssar-dono?”  The voice hissed, its source being a reptilian humanoid clad in what was traditionally recognized as “samurai” armor.  The plated being stood there, without helmet, awaiting the response from Steel Quasar.

“The whole thing, Yemegrabe, the entirety of the city below.”  The man gestured to the window in front of him, sweeping across the landscape that lay below them, “Through the help of the three of you… I’ve created this kingdom.”

Yemegrabe could only nod, he knew how much this city had meant to his new master, and the new beginning it was to him and others.  His small moment of concentration was broken by a knock at the door, opening right after with no regard for a response.

“Sonan, you know you don’t need to, like, knock on the door if he’s expecting us,” The first voice of the two filled the room, it could best be described as… preppy in some way, “He called us to his office first, if he isn’t ready he wouldn’t have messaged us.”

The steel frame of the woman is what entered the room after, she was what they all considered to be the first success, a cybernetically enhanced woman who’s more robot than human at this point, but still human beneath the skin.  Her clothing reflecting her personality, her coat only masking the ridiculous t-shirt she wore beneath, jeans completing her outfit underneath that.  Her black hair, still with a blonde streak up front, was let completely let down just above her shoulders.

“Jessica!” Her name was called out afterwards, presumably by Sonan.

“Whaaaat?” Jessica responded, rather annoyed.

“Just because he’s called us does not mean we have to, to skip out on these formalities!  He is our lord, after all, you cannot simply just barge wherever you like!”  The more professionally dressed Sonan retorted.

His outfit also reflected his own personality, a vest over an ironed shirt, a tie wrapped around his neck and neat, black slacks finishing off his own outfit.  Sonan’s own hair neatly braided into a ponytail, draped just over his shoulder as he glared over at Jessica.  His demeanor softened and rested in a neutral expression as he turned back to Steel Quasar afterwards.

“My lord, I am sorry for Jessica’s tomfoolery, I tried to tell her to be much more respectful of you on the way over.”  Sonan being the suck up he usually was.

This always entertained Quasar, Sonan being as flustered as he was with Jessica just helped to ground Sonan in a way.  It helped Sonan realize that, despite being a cog in this machine, you were still a person. As much as that might annoy Sonan, it was necessary in a way.  Though, Quasar would never tell Sonan this, just allowing Sonan to continue to suck up to him.

“Nyeh, nyeh, I’m Sonan and I have to suck up to Jack every time I’m in a meeting with him and Jessica.” She punctuated this statement by sticking her tongue out at Sonan.

This really did show off how human Jessica still was, despite her own body being primarily metal and cybernetic, she still had her emotions and easily acted annoyed, flabbergasted, excited, just about every range of emotion one could consider was able to be displayed by Jessica thanks to her human mind.  Despite being her own experiment, Quasar couldn’t help but consider her a friend in a way, it also helped that she was consistent and reliable in all the missions he sent her out on.  So she got slaps on the wrists most the time, unless she really made him angry. That was never the case most the time, it was mainly Sonan’s bad end that she got on.

“I do not sound like that, Jessica!” Always the clever one Sonan was.

“I dunno, could’ve fooled me.” Jessica retorted.

It would have continued like this were it not for Quasar clearing his throat, he wasn’t going to allow this to go on for much longer.

“Ah! I’m sorry, sir!” Sonan bowed almost immediately.

“Yeah, uh, sorry Jack.” Jessica awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

“If I could, I’d like to tell you why I called you here.” Quasar’s tone was no nonsense as always.

Sonan gulped, Jessica fidgeted a bit in place, they didn’t know what was so urgent that he needed the both of them there.  It was a rare occasion that this happened, and usually, it wasn’t good.  Jessica ran through her memory, what the heck happened recently that could cause Quasar to call them into the office.  Sonan’s own mind was running as fast as Jessica’s processes, he didn’t know, was it something he did, was it a project he could have turned in earlier, it was probably something that Jessica’s tomfoolery resulted in, whatever it was he didn’t know.

“Meri, I have something to request of you.” Quasar said aloud.

In almost an instant, a projector turned on displaying the image of a green-skinned, yellow-eyed humanoid figure antennae hanging from her head as she wore what could best be described as an outfit a pop idol would wear.

“Yes, Mr. Quasar, sir! I am here to do anything you need!” Meri exclaimed before doing a little bow.

“Tell the two others what I’ve marked today as.” Quasar was quick with his command.

“Hmm…”  She was quiet for a moment, pulling up a calendar from hammerspace, “You wrote down ‘Anniversary’ here in the calendar, sir.”

With that Quasar began to do a small clap, a smile spread across his face which was met with confusion from the Samsaran and the Human.

“What? Anniversary?” Sonan trailed off as he began to think again.

“Anniversary for what?” Jessica asked turning to face Quasar.

“For the four of us finally meeting one another!” Quasar continued with a small smile, “Without the four of us, this Industrate would never have lifted itself up off the ground after all, so I thought it would be reason for a small celebration.”

“Sir, with all due respect, I really should be going back to work.  This is may be a monumental occasion but I cannot fall too far behind on my current wor-“ Sonan was interrupted before he could finish.

“Sonan, I know you’re at least two weeks ahead on your project.  A small celebration that would take maybe 15-30 minutes will hardly put a dent on that.” Quasar quickly shut down the argument.

“I-uh, yes sir.”

The defeated Samsaran looked down for a moment, before his sulking was quickly interrupted by the jovial tone of Jessica.  She was bouncing up and down excitedly hardly finding a way to keep still whatsoever.

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you kept track of that!  How are we gonna celebrate? Oh, Yemegrabe you should celebrate too!” Jessica walked over to Yemegrabe, circling him energetically like a puppy.

“Pleassse Jesssica, hold ssstill, you’re making thisss a far bigger deal than it actually isss.”  He hissed beneath his helmet.

“Yemegrabe, please do join us, there’s enough for everyone.”  Quasar motioned to a tray in front of him, several glasses of scotch lay on his desk.

“Sir, you know I don’t, erm, drink.”  Sonan continued to look down dejectedly.

“It’s only one drink, and it’s really not that much.  After all, it is a very expensive and very fine bottle of scotch I used for this occasion.”  Quasar looked over at Sonan, flashing a smile that showed of his… immaculate teeth.

“Ah, o-of course, sir.” Sonan hesitantly lifted a glass off the tray.

Soon the remaining three did the same, each taking their own unique glass to celebrate with.

“To fresh starts and new beginnings.”  Quasar lifted his glass up first for a toast.

“To fresh starts and new beginnings!” The rest followed, clinking their glass with his.

They each took a sip of their glass soon after, Sonan wincing heavily as he sipped his, but it leads to a happy sight from all four.  It was these four that lead to the creation of this Industrate, each playing their own important role to the foundation.  It would be these four that would be the pillars of this empire for years to come, and it was up to these four to ensure that this empire… remained as an Industrate.

[crushing83]

Okay, guys... I’m sick with some sort of flu-like plague (working in an animation studio is worse than preschool, germs-wise, I swear!) and I want to write but I just can’t stop coughing long enough to even think about writing. I’m going to go curl up with a movie or two, and hopefully pass out in a cough-syrup-induced snooze... and in the meantime, if anyone seeing this feels like reading the little snippets I’ve pasted below and weighing in on what you feel like I should tackle first, when I’m feeling better, I would appreciate it!

(There’s SPN (slash, gen, char/ofc, char/reader) and AB/BtVS (Willow/Asher) and SPN/Criminal Minds (Spencer/Gabriel) and Tolkien/FF (Owen Shaw/Thranduil) under the cut...) 

1. “Bring it on Home,” the current MOL AU story...

"What if it *was* my fault?" Sam interrupted.  

The words were out of Sam's mouth before his brain---and all its worries---could hold them back and keep them in Sam's mental vault of secrets. He saw Dean's eyes widen and then he looked down at his feet; he didn't want to see Dean's face when the truth was between them.  

"Sammy... no, it... if you'd seen traces of sulphur or anything weird, you would've protected her."  

Sam sighed and moved away from Dean, taking a position against a couple of crates that seemed to be doubling as a table. "I'd been having dreams of how she died," he admitted, still looking down at his feet. "For weeks, before. Not after. I mean, after, too, but those were dreams. These were... they felt different. But, I shrugged them off, because we don't have psychics in our families... because if you found out and thought I was a witch or something---"  

"Hey, no," Dean said, softly but quickly. "Never. Sammy. You are my brother and nothing else matters."  

When Dean came closer, Sam wanted to move away but Dean tapped his chin and forced him to raise his eyes. He wasn't scowling, he wasn't frowning. He wasn't smiling, either, but he looked more pleasant than upset.  

"Do you really think any psychic on either side of our family would've 'fessed up?" Dean asked.  

2. “Six Months,” the current vape shop AU (Sam/Gabriel) story...

"Good boy," Gabriel murmured. Sam felt his face heating up in reaction to Gabriel's compliment. "Now. What do you need to do?"  

"Wash up. Find sweatpants? And call Donna. Oh, and text you before I leave."  

Gabriel made a soft, pleased sound before he spoke again. "Good," he said, his voice still soft. "If I don't hear from you in an hour, I am going to come looking for you."  

Before he could curb the reaction, Sam was smiling into his phone. Gabriel cared enough to worry, enough to come for him if he took too long. Maybe he and Gabriel were becoming real friends. The idea was enough to dissolve the guilt in his head. He knew he'd do the same thing for Gabriel, if he ever came to Sam for help, and... it felt *good* to let himself believe that they were more than customer-and-proprietor.  

"Thank you, Gabriel," Sam whispered.  

"You're welcome. I'm happy I can be here for you," Gabriel said. "Just... get here, okay? I'll handle the rest for a little while."  

Sam nodded, even though Gabriel couldn't see the gesture, and he ended the call with another few grateful words. When he pocketed his phone, he looked around the room and decided to wash his face and change his shirts before calling Donna. He could do the rest while they talked.  

3. “Untitled,” an ace-spec!Sam/pan-Gabriel story I’ve been messing with...

"You're kidding me, right? The whole point of this is to mingle---and probably hook-up---and you want to invite the celibate kids to put a damper on things?"  

"They're not celibate!"  

Sam sighed and closed his eyes. He liked Charlie and he knew his brother considered her practically family, but studying was pointless when she was in their apartment. Dean had come out a year ago, and Charlie had basically gotten him on every committee she could after that; he was on a Safe Spaces board, something that worked with local businesses to create a directory of services and resting places for <I>everyone</i>, and he'd also been roped into doing volunteer work with kids, giving them older role models who weren't heterosexual, and he was on the Pride committee, too. Sam was impressed with Charlie's tenacity in getting Dean to commit to so many activities, but the fact that she was in each group, too, probably helped. The only problem was when they were organizing an event they were in the apartment; that did nothing to help his academic focus.  

He was in another room and they were still interrupting him. Though, to be fair, he could usually ignore their arguments about who the hotter porn star was because he didn't care *at all* about who won.  

"Oh, c'mon," Dean groaned. "Everyone has sex. It's a neurochemical drive or imperative or whatever. Just because they haven't met the right people yet, or just because they're choosy or saving themselves for 'the one,' that doesn't give them special status. No one discriminates against them."  

"I can't believe you just said that," Charlie replied. "After everything you've been through, after everyone you've met, you can't imagine that attraction is a sliding scale just like gender or orientation? You can't imagine that it's hard for them to meet people and connect with them in a positive way?"

Dean's grunt might as well have been a punch to the gut. Sam felt... abandoned. Any shred of hope he had tucked away, after the incident with Andy, seemed to shrink inside of his heart.  

Sam couldn't tell him. He couldn't have those words directed at him---not from Dean. Hearing them directed at a nameless, faceless group was hard enough.  

4. “Falling is the Easy Part,” my Criminal Minds/SPN crossover...  

"Where is Sam, Dean?" Spencer asked.  

"Out," Dean replied. He sighed again. "Cas told me Ezekiel was an okay guy, for an angel, and at first, I thought... I thought it'd work out. Even if I had to trick Sam into it. But..."  

"It's not going the way you expected?" Spencer asked.  

"Not really, no," Dean said. "I shouldn't be telling you this."  

"I don't mind," Spencer replied. "I know you two go through a lot, and right now, things are difficult. It's Sam I have history with, sure, but you're the most important person in his life, and even if it were only for that reason, I'd be more than willing to listen to you."  

"You're not gonna confess your undying love for me, are you?" Dean asked.  

Spencer snorted. "No," he said. "Your virtue's safe."  

"Don't have much of that left, Doc," Dean said after barking out a brief laugh. "But, ah... well, thanks. For listening."  

"It's no problem," Spencer said. "We're in Virginia. I don't know what sort of trouble we might encounter on the road, but we'll do our best to get there in a couple of days."  

Dean sniffed once. It didn't sound like a crying sniff, but Spencer wasn't well-versed in Dean's sounds. He waited, trying to listen to see what Loki was doing; Loki's silence was unsettling and it pressed upon the parts of his mind that was trying to piece together the mystery Loki wouldn't share.  

"That sounds good. Gives me time to try to put Kevin somewhere safe and figure out what the fuck to do," Dean said. "Be careful. If anything looks angelic, just hightail it out of there."  

5. “Out of the Box,” a SPN fic with an OFC where I’m not sure if there will be a pairing yet...

His footsteps come closer and I inch back a bit more, trying to make myself as small as I can in the darkest part of my cage. I must have whimpered because he makes low, crooning noises so unlike anything I've ever heard before that I'm peeking out at him before I remember how wretched I am.  

"Hey there," he murmurs. "I'm Sam. The other guy's my brother, Dean. We're not here to hurt you."  

"Someone's in there?"  

"Looks like a woman," Sam says, without taking his eyes away from mine. "Dean, start looking for the keys or a way to open this."  

"Do a silver check," Dean replies.  

It makes sense. I know enough about the devil's other hobbies. If they're like him, even a little, they are aware of everything that can bite and kill.  

"Hey," Sam says. His attention is on me again. "Can you give me your hand? I have a knife. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to put it on your skin. Just to make sure it won't burn you."  

I shouldn't but I know what happens when I disobey orders---even when they're disguised as suggestions. To avoid more pain, I force myself to move my hand towards Sam. He slides his through the bars and presses his palm against the back of my fingers. He's so warm.  

The devil is always cold.  

"Easy," Sam murmurs. He has the knife in his other hand. When he presses it to my hand, nothing happens. He smiles at me. "There. See? You're okay. We're gonna get you out of here."  

"If Ketch had the place rigged to explode, it could've been to keep people out, but it also could've been to keep people in," Dean says. "Might not be the only trap."  

6. “The Pitch,” the first story in a (maybe) series with an ace spec OFC and Sam, Dean, and Cas...

"Dean!" she called out.  

"Uh... no," I said, quietly. "Charlie, no."  

"Charlie, yes," Charlie countered. "Dean! Get your fuzzy butt over here!"  

Dean was the one that made me blush earlier when he threw a wink and a couple flirty questions my way. He seemed like a good person; a lot of the community seemed to turn to him and two others if there were problems or if someone needed help. But, he and his friends were too handsome to ever put me at ease around them.  

Before I could slip off of my stool, Dean appeared over Charlie's shoulder. After he kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, he said, "I got waxed yesterday, Charlie. I am as smooth as a baby's bottom. *Everywhere.*"  

"Ugh, gross, TMI, Winchester!" Charlie hissed.  

The use of a last name surprised me. A lot of people used nicknames. If anyone used their first name, they never gave out their surnames. It wasn't like fetishes were completely taboo anymore, but some of the club-goers didn't want to be outed to their bosses or families. I was included in that group; I worked in a casual environment and I knew no one would care but I wanted to keep my private life separate from my work life for as long as I could. Sometimes, I forgot that other people didn't have that need for separation or compartmentalization.  

Dean chuckled and peeked at me before turning his attention back to Charlie. "You love it," he insisted.  

"Dude."  

He kissed her temple. "Sorry, Queen of Moons," he teased, using the name she used during The Strap's infamous Dungeons and Dragons weekend event. "How may I be of service?"  

"Are you still looking for a live-in sub?" Charlie asked.  

Not bothering to be discrete, I aimed a kick at Charlie's shins. She winced, swatted her hand against my knee, and turned her attention back to Dean.  

"Well?" she asked him.  

"Charlie, may I have a word with you *in private*?” I hissed.  

"Nope."  

Dean rolled his eyes. "Charlie, you didn't even give her a clue?"  

"Kitten takes too long to make a decision," she huffed. "And, when bad things are happening, she gets bummed out and can't see the awesome happening around her! I'm doing my toppy duty and taking over."  

7. “Untitled 2,” a Sam/Gabriel/OFC fic from nearly two years ago that I’ve never gotten very far along...

I woke up with a scream in my throat and a distant wail in my ears. That was hardly unusual, given my current predicament. Since being grabbed off of the street over a year ago, nightmares were a regular thing no matter if I were awake or asleep. I'm in Hell---though my cellmate assures me Hell is something altogether different---and there is too much horror for my mind to process.  

As I brought my left hand up to rub my eyes, I felt fingers curl around my right hand. They were gentle fingers. I knew that touch. I turned towards my cellmate and managed a small smile.  

"Hey," I whispered.  

He smiled back at me and held up a bottle of water.  

"Thanks, Lo," I whispered.  

I pushed myself into a sitting position and took the bottle from him. He stood up before sitting down on my cot, being careful to keep a little space between us. Across those inches, I could feel his energy. It was different from other people and other monsters; he said he was the real Loki, and I found that hard to believe, but I couldn't deny that he felt *different* than everyone else I'd ever encountered. That different feeling---his presence in my life---was the only good thing about where we were.  

"It's all right," I said.  

Loki sighed. "Nothing is all right," he said. "If I were up to full strength, I'd have a shot at getting us past the warding, but..."  

"Sure you could," I murmured.  

"One of these days I'll do something to convince you I'm the real deal," Loki said.  

8. “Alive at Last,” my Buffy/Anita Blake crossover...

She didn't know much about the ardeur. Any time it was talked about in her presence, it was likened to a hunger. But what she'd felt crash into her wasn't hunger. It wasn't an attack. It was... something else.  

With a bit of daring and a lot of curiosity, Willow lowered her shields. She only relaxed them a fraction, only the same amount she'd done to light candles when she practiced elemental magic, and she hoped it would be enough to give her more information.  

Something lapped at her---not at her skin, but at her magic. Asher's grip tightened on her as if he could feel it. It didn't feel... directed. If anything, Willow would have said it felt curious.  

Was the ardeur sentient? Was it possible to have a self-aware power that fed through others on sexual and emotional energy?  

Willow shuddered.  

9. “I have to run; I’ll find you when it’s safe,” the latest instalment in Bullets & Blades (Owen Shaw/Thranduil)

After slipping into the humid room, Thranduil hopped onto the countertop. Leaning against the wall and drawing up his legs, he focused his gaze on the shower, on the man underneath the stream of water and behind the glass doors. When Owen opened his eyes and saw him watching his performance, he grinned before belting out another (much more cheerful) song. Thranduil grinned and waved; Owen waved back.  

When Owen finished his song and dance routine, he emerged from the shower stall and wrapped a fluffy green towel around his hips.  

"I tried waking you," he said, bending slightly to kiss Thranduil's knee, "but you seemed to be very cross with Elrond."  

Thranduil snorted as he realised he'd been talking in his sleep. "Understatement," he muttered. "We were having quite the argument."  

"I picked up on that," Owen said. He leaned over and kissed Thranduil's cheek. "What were you two fighting about?"  

"He thinks I should gather the others like me and leave for a secret location," Thranduil replied. Seeing Owen's frown, he reached out and threaded their fingers together. "It does not matter. It was only a dream," he added, before smiling a little. "Elrond was an old friend, of sorts."  

"Of sorts?"  

"We mostly frustrated each other," Thranduil said, smiling more. "I haven't dreamed of him in a long time. It's fine."  

10. “The Winchester Gospel,” which is a ridiculous collection of ficlets I’ve been writing that span 2017-2081, approximately

"You really think I was born, and then able to help Leto birth Apollo?" Artemis asked as she sat down at the table in the war room. She smirked when Dean shrugged and Sam leaned forward in interest. "There's a reason some still consider me the goddess of the hunt---of hunters.

"The world has always needed balance. It doesn't always get it," she said, crossing one leather-clad leg over the other. "I was born in a time when Eve had all the power. It was like Purgatory. Dangerous. Vicious. Wild. I almost died again, this time protecting a family from my village. And the Light brought me back. Or, his Messenger did---on His orders."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. The mask of a confident deity slipped away to reveal a nearly-human expression. "I don't remember what the creature was. It's been a very long time," she said, smiling at them a little, no edge to her expression. "Gabriel taught me what I'd need to know. And when he was done---"

”Gabriel?" Both Sam and Dean asked at the same time.

Artemis snorted. "It's a small world, isn't it?" she asked. "But, yes. Gabriel. He didn't stay long. But he taught me enough. And after, the Light returned and asked me if I would help them spread the word. The lore. What kills what. What can be used for protection.”

”Eve," Sam said. "She... couldn't have been happy.”

”Understatement. But for... about a century, I was able to avoid her. I was able to get information to people, I was able to protect communities. I hunted," Artemis said. "When she caught up to me, I was able to put her where her creatures' souls went. It nearly killed me. But, I did it. And I thought the Light would abandon me. I was on the ground, at the foot of a great mountain, barely breathing. I thought the Light had abandoned me. But before I could die, Leto and I found each other. She was in labour, but she healed me---and then I helped her. I became her daughter that day, Apollo's sister because I helped care for him, and when Zeus arrived to see his son, he adopted me in thanks and imbued me with more power.”

Sam nodded. "You became his daughter from his decision to take you in. You were already smart. And fierce. And he liked that.”

”He really liked that," Artemis agreed. "He protected me, supported me... I thought he loved me. And maybe he did in the beginning. But, time changes everyone, as you two will learn.”  

[jewelphan]

Heart of Fire

Title: Heart of Fire (Phandom Big Bang 2017)

Author: jewelphan Artist: zhuletta Beta: senatorofsorcery Word Count: 18.7k Rating: PG13 Warnings: violence, weapons, death, kidnapping, blood, alcohol, near starvation

Summary:  Phil Lester, the most notorious pirate captain to sail the seven seas did nothing more with his time then capturing and selling supernatural creatures on the black market. Well, almost nothing more...Phil had always had an impractical dream to catch a dragon, a creature that had been extinct for years, or so people said. So imagine Phil’s surprise when he actually finds one—though, when secrets get revealed and emotions get in the way, things don’t go quite to plan.    

OR 

the one where Phil’s a pirate and Dan’s a dragon and things don’t happen the way they were supposed to

Author Notes: wow ok so this is finally a thing... I’m actually extremely happy with myself for finishing this, there were times where I thought I wouldn’t have gotten it done... needless to say I’m probably not gonna be an author for the PBB for quite a while... Anyway, a big thank you to my beta, @senatorofsorcery​ for helping me make this fic the best that I could and motivating me when I needed it, and thanks to my artist, @zhuletta​ for making such incredible art for this thing (you really outdid yourself, it’s AMAZING!) and also for being such a great conversationalist

here is all of the art (SPOILERS)... I only posted the cover because, well, the rest have spoilers, so if you finish reading, go ahead and check it out (I’ll link it at the bottom too)

The sun peeked out from behind the clouds as the last few loads of people shuffled their way off the ship. Their bodies were frail and starved and many were having difficulties walking, but Captain Philip Lester didn’t care; so long as he got a decent amount of money from selling them, he could not care less as to where they ended up. Whether they got drowned in the bottom of the ocean, or became a slave to some rich family, Phil didn’t care. They were monsters, abnormal beasts that weren’t meant to walk on the earth, so wherever they wound up, they sure as hell deserved it.

Phil let out an impatient huff as the last of the monsters dragged themselves off the deck of his ship. No matter how many times he went through this exact procedure, he couldn’t help but feel like it got longer and longer each and every time. It was exhausting. He sometimes wished he could just drop them off and leave, but, unfortunately for him, he had to stay for the auctions if he wanted his money.

The last of the monsters straggled their way off the ship, and all the prisoners maneuvered their way into as straight of a line as they could, as instructed by Phil’s crew. Their posture was sloppy and their legs locked or visibly trembling. It was clear many of them were having trouble standing, but Phil payed no mind to them. He just wanted to get this over with so he could set out back onto the seas again.

“Alright everybody, listen up!” Phil commanded. “I’m only gonna say this once, so pay attention. As many of you know, we’ve arrived on Glyra, the only island known to auction off the supernatural, ergo, all of you,” Phil gestured to everyone in front of him with a wave of his hand. “Here you will be sold off to the highest bidder, and if you even think of running, well, let’s just say it won’t end well for you. If you follow the rules and stay attentive, you may just end up with a sane owner, but I’m certainly not one to make promises. Who you get sold to is none of my concern, just the money I receive from your buyer. Have I made myself clear?”

There were quiet grunts and nods in response to Phil’s question, something he was used to. He had given this exact speech nearly a hundred times before, nothing the captives said or did ever surprised him anymore.

“Good,” he said with finality. “Now follow me and keep up.”

He started heading towards the auction house with the captives trailing behind him. Phil’s crew would occasionally hit them to make them walk faster. Phil was not a patient man, and he certainly didn’t have time to waste on these all-but-useless creatures.

Much to the probable relief of the captives, it didn’t take them but a few moments to get to their destination. The majority of the people who sold at the auction house came from overseas, so it seemed sensible to place it near the harbor. The auction house was the most desired location on the island, though it certainly wasn’t the only place that sold illegal merchandise on it. In actuality, the entire island acted as one of the most colossal and thriving black markets in the world, as far as Phil heard. He hadn’t been to many other underground economy islands, not that there were man, so he couldn’t confirm the rumors for himself.

“Captain Lester!”

Phil internally groaned as he turned around to face the very annoying, always subservient, and rather dull owner of the auction house.

“Mr. Thompson,” Phil greeted, trying his hardest to bite back any rude remarks that threatened to slip from his lips.

“It’s always a pleasure to have the infamous Captain Lester back on Glyra,” Thompson said gleefully, grinning from ear to ear as he did. He glanced behind Phil and his sickening grin widened. “I see you have a nice new selection of creatures for me to bid off today.”

“Aye, and I hope you do well in selling them. I’m not here to have my time wasted,” Phil said bitterly, his voice flat and serious without a hint of sarcasm. He wasn’t in the mood today. He just wanted to get this over with and leave.

Thompson’s smile faltered slightly before resuming in all its sleazy glory. “You know I always get the best bids from your, shall we say, items.”

“For your sake, let’s hope you continue to,” Phil answered dryly.

“Of course,” the auctioneer chuckled uneasily. “Now if you’ll just lead your captives to the backroom, we’ll start auctioning momentarily.”

Phil ordered his crew to guide the monsters to the backroom as he followed Mr. Thompson to the main stage of the auction house. Phil had been on the stage many times before, and truthfully, it never really changed. It had always remained the same; a small wooden platform pushed against the wall of a very large room. Throughout the years it had served many purposes, usually never for of good intent, but neither was the island it sat on. The stage, and the island, had become a sort of constant familiarity to Phil. What he did there he wasn’t always proud of; deep down, he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he hated everything to do with the supernatural, and as a pirate, he couldn’t find the time to feel guilty or care about what he did. Everything he did was all for the money.

For the most part anyway.

“So, are you still trying to follow that dream of finding a dragon?” a voice said from behind him.

Phil whipped his head around and a smile stretched across his face, shouting: “Finn!”

Finn was a thin guy with the personality and temperament of a child. He was always joking around and had a very bubbly aura. However, despite his childish ways, he was extremely intelligent. “What are you doing here? Last I heard you were in England digging up some lore on extinct creatures.”

“I was,” he said with a smile. “And I found some interesting facts on dragons, or rather, heard some things about them, and I knew I should tell you as soon as possible; that is, if you’re still trying to track one down?” he added questioningly.

“I am,” Phil said, always curious as for what his friend had to say.

“Well, then you’ll be pleased to hear that there have been some rumors going around,” Finn said, grinning.

“Continue,” Phil answered eagerly, a little frustratedly. He hated when Finn dragged things out, it really wasn’t necessary.

“Always the impatient one,” he giggled. “Anyway, just north of Norway, on this small island called Nolst, people have been talking. They say they’ve been hearing strange roars and howls, one’s that seem to perfectly imitate the cry of a dragon; according to how they’re described in the books anyway.”

“That’s interesting,” Phil murmured; it certainly spiked his curiosity.

“It’s not much, but it’s been awhile since you’ve had anything to go on. So I say, you check it out,” he suggested.

“I will,” Phil smiled. “Thank you, Finn.”

“Anytime, cap’n!” He gave an over-the-top salute and a large grin before wandering off.

This was incredibly good news for Phil. He had been searching for a dragon for as long as he could remember, and as Finn had said, it had been awhile since he had anything to go on. Now that Phil finally had a lead, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the chance escape him. He suddenly didn’t care much about the auction nor the money he was going to make from it. If the rumors were true, and there actually was a dragon, then Phil could earn eons more money than whatever a quick bidding could make him. And even if there wasn’t a dragon, losing a bit of money wasn’t going to hurt him.

Phil quickly made his way to the backroom and found Mr. Thompson getting all the captives into position for the auction.

“Thompson,” Phil called. “Something has come up and I’ll likely be gone before the auction begins.”

“But Captain,” the man started. “What am I to do with the money?”

“Keep it,” Phil said simply.

“Keep it, Captain?” The man asked warily. “All of it?”

“Did I stutter?” Phil asked with an annoyed glare.

“What about your crew, Captain?”

“What about them?” Phil snapped.

“Won’t they be angry about not getting their payment?”

“They’ll live,” Phil growled. His crew loved money and gold just as much as the next pirate. However, as soon as they knew what they were going after, they would gladly ditch a couple hundred gold coins to catch it. Dragons were fierce and deadly creatures, ones not to be meddled with, and their powers were not to be challenged, but that’s what made them worth so much. If there was a dragon roaming around in the world—which Phil knew there was, there had to be—it would be worth so much gold, Phil would be able to drown in it. Granted, gold wasn’t the only thing he was after; he was after something much more precious.

Something that could get him in very deep trouble if anyone found out.

“I’ll trust you’ll survive on your own, Mr. Thompson,” Phil said even as he turned away. “Have a good day.”

Phil walked off, gathering his crew and ordering them to get the ship ready. Mr. Thompson tried to call after Phil in choppy stutters, but Phil ignored him. Phil joined his crew in loading the ship with supplies. They probably wouldn’t be back on land for a few weeks, so he was sure to stock up on plenty of food and water. The crew wasn’t too big, consisting only of about fifteen people, but it was enough.

Phil had always been considered the most dangerous pirate to sail the seven seas. He wasn’t sure why he was titled as such, he wasn’t an especially cruel guy, he had met pirates much much worse than him, but for some reason, the world saw him as the worst. Perhaps it was because he became a pirate when he was only ten, or because he became a captain at only sixteen. Or maybe it was because he had destroyed thousands beyond thousands of unnatural creatures. It’s even possible that people only saw him as dangerous because he was the only one crazy enough to hunt down a dragon.

Whatever the reason, he was kind of grateful of his feared title. For if he wasn’t feared, it would be very hard to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was a dragon, something he was finally close to getting.

“Captain, we’re almost done preparing the ship,” PJ, Phil’s first mate said steadily. “When will we be departing?”

“As soon as we can,” Phil answered. “We have a dragon to capture.”

“Aye, Captain,” PJ nodded. “We’ll head out shortly then.”

“Aye, we shall.”

Phil clapped PJ on the back and headed towards his ship. Not only was he finally headed after a dragon, but he was also getting off this damn island. He never did like the stupid island, the only reason he kept coming back was for business purposes. It wasn’t Phil’s fault that Glyra was the only place that would auction supernatural creatures.

“Set sail for Nolst, in the northern fjords of Norway!” Phil commanded as he jumped onto the deck.

His crew scrambled to do some last minute preparations while Phil headed towards the ship’s wheel. It would take approximately a week to get to Nolst, but the weather was getting rapidly colder as the days went on, so there could be some delays. However, so long as Phil got that dragon, he didn’t care how long it would take.

Most people thought Phil was after a dragon because of the legends about them. There were many myths that the tears of dragons could heal almost any wound. That was one of the reasons dragons were so sought after, also one of the reasons they were extinct. The stories said that hundreds of years ago people hunted dragons and tortured them to try and get them to weep. It never worked and the torture sooner killed them; eventually wiping them from existence (or so people claimed). Though Phil didn’t care about the magical tears that dragons supposedly possessed, nor was he hunting one for the money that it would give. He was chasing one for more personal reasons; reasons that he would sooner die than tell. The truth was, Phil wasn’t entirely human. Phil had dragon blood in him. His father had been a dragon, and Phil hated it so, so much, at least, he did now.

He didn’t always hate his dragon side; he used to embrace that side of him, but then his parents ended up dead because of what his father was—because of what he was. And ever since that day he hated every ounce of dragon-blood within him. He was so young and filled with rage that it never truly dissipated, even after years. He was ashamed of what he was and he pretended that side of him didn’t exist. It wasn’t really that hard either, Phil could never actually turn into a dragon, but he had the heightened senses that came with it, easy to suppress as they were.

He supposed that was why he wanted to catch a dragon so badly, whether for revenge or justice; he just wanted some clarity, to feel better. He believed that if he caught one, it would solve all his problems, it would make the pain of losing his parents disappear. He had had the idea in his head ever since he was a kid, and it never truly left. Ever since, he had worked his ass off to find one, and for once, he was finally close. Despite everything everyone had told him about how impossible it was and that the creatures were extinct, he never listened. He knew they weren’t extinct, they couldn’t be. After all, his father was one—hell, Phil was one.

“Captain, the ship is ready,” PJ called, pulling Phil from his thoughts. “Are you?”

“Aye,” Phil took a deep breath and smirked. “Let’s go capture this damned beast.”

~

The trip to Nolst was longer than expected, especially with the rapidly dropping temperatures and rough seas, but after a little over a week, they finally arrived at the island off Norway's northern coast. Nolst was much larger than Glyra and filled with thick forests and small villages. It was a simple trading island, especially known for their sugarcane. Phil had never actually been to the island, but he’d heard about it. It was rumored to be a really peaceful place and the people were said to be very friendly.

“Captain, should we dock the ship?” Chris, one of the crewmembers and one of the more skilled swordsmen, asked.

“Actually, I want to bring the ship around to the north side of the island. The forests are thicker, the mountains are higher, the civilization is slimmer. If there is a dragon here, that’s where it would be,” Phil responded and Chris nodded.

Thus began their very short journey to the other end of the island. It only took about a half hour, but to Phil it felt like days. Throughout the entire trip to the island from Glyra to Nolst, each passing day felt like years to Phil. He had become so desperate and excited to find a dragon that time seemed to slow itself down just to mock him. And now that they were finally at Nolst, each passing second feeling like hours, it was driving Phil insane. If he didn’t find a dragon at Nolst, he might as well just give up all together, though he knew he wouldn’t; he would just continue selling supernatural creatures on the market until he caught wind of another rumor about dragons.

Phil internally groaned as the ship dragged through the water, slowly making its way towards the other side of the island. He leaned against the railing as he watched the forests begin to grow denser and the mountains get taller.

Eventually, after a great amount of minutes, they arrived at a cave that drilled into the side of the island in an almost-perfect cylinder. Phil, along with quite a few of his mates, found the cave to be very conspicuous and out-of-place. Phil’s heart leapt at the idea that it was a dragon’s den, and he wanted nothing more than to go and explore it.

Phil was about to command everyone to get the ship ready to dock on shore, but before he could say anything, a loud, reverberating roar ripped through the air. Phil felt as if his heart jumped ten feet in the air and his stomach flipped. He had read thousands of descriptions of what dragons sounded like, and there was no mistaking that what he just heard was the perfect example of one.

After years of dreaming of capturing a dragon, he felt like for once in his life he might actually have a chance, even though catching a dragon wasn’t easy, in theory or otherwise. They could fly and spit fire and they could grow as big as mountain tops. Though if Phil could manage to get the dragon in human form, things would become a thousand times simpler. However, even then it would be difficult to keep the dragon to stay in human form—for most people at least. Long ago, Phil had managed to get a hold of unique handcuffs that could keep any supernatural creature from shifting into an otherwise greater entity. Granted, not all the supernatural could shift into other things, but for the ones who could, the cuffs worked splendidly. Phil just hoped they worked on a creature as great as a dragon.

Another thunderous roar echoed through the air, only this time it was followed by the loud swoosh of wings. Suddenly, a beautiful, amber-colored dragon emerged from the cave, flying straight into the sky at incredible speeds before dive-bombing into the water right next to the ship. The ship swayed slightly from the massive waves that the dragon had caused. The massive creature surfaced and flew back up into the air; this time it hovered right above the ship and shook its wings causing water to spray all across the deck and getting everyone on it wet. Phil scowled at its actions for he knew the dragon did it on purpose.

The dragon then proceeded to circle the ship as if it were stalking its prey. Phil took this moment to appreciate the gracious beauty that the dragon held, with its amber scales and gorgeous golden-brown eyes shining brightly like the sun itself. It also had an air of boldness and pride about it, something that Phil would soon strip away from it. Dragons were known for their pride; they thought they were invincible and impossible to conquer. But their pride was the very thing that acted as their downfall. For the ones who believe that they are invincible are the same people who have no caution; and if someone isn’t cautious, they’ll eventually fall victim to those around them.

“Captain?” PJ suddenly muttered, breaking Phil from his chain of thoughts.

Phil suddenly realized that all the pirates around him were standing as still as a statue, awaiting orders from their captain. It dawned on him that this was it, after years and years of waiting he was finally about to capture a dragon. A huge rush of adrenaline flooded through him and he started to shouting out orders.

“Keep it distracted for a moment, I need to grab something from my cabin,” Phil commanded quickly.

There were only two ways to force a dragon to change into their human form: the first being to cause it immense pain (or drive it to near exhaustion). However, the amount of suffering someone would have to put it through to do so could possibly kill them, and Phil wasn’t about to kill the very thing he’d been chasing for years; not before he felt like his vengeance was fulfilled anyway. So that left him with option two which came in the form of an arrow. The arrow was filled with a type of liquid that (somewhat like the handcuffs) forced a supernatural creature to shift into their other form—whatever it may be. The liquid was extremely rare and Phil spent years trying to obtain it. He had to get a pureblood witch to make it for him—something he was not proud of—but it had been worth it.

The arrow was safely secured within Phil’s cabin and it had been sitting there for quite a few years, probably collecting a fair amount of dust. Phil was just happy that he finally had the chance to use it. The arrow itself was nothing special, but the liquid that resided in it was. When the arrow head hit a body, the liquid within it would flow out into the target’s bloodstream and successfully shift the desired target into its other form—in this case, a dragon into a human.

Throughout the years, Phil had gotten a lot of practice with a bow and arrow; for he couldn’t afford to fuck up this moment. He only had one arrow and if he missed he wouldn’t get a second chance, so he hoped all his training would pay off.

Phil was grabbing the arrow when he heard a loud growl rip through the air—followed by a bunch of yelling. He wasn’t sure how much longer his mates could hold up so he quickly readied the arrow onto the bow and rushed out of his cabin. Phil took a quick glance around his ship and noticed part of the deck was on fire (which a few people were frantically trying to put out) and there was a large tear through one of the sails. The dragon was flying just above the ship and nearly everyone was trying to fight it off, things were being thrown, cannons were being shot, and arrows were flying everywhere.

The dragon roared again as Phil began to make his way up onto the mast so he could get a clear shot of the massive beast. He had probably never moved faster in his life and although his speed was impressive, it also caused him to nearly slip and fall, but he ended up catching himself just in time. Once on the mast of the ship, he looked up at the dragon and silently cursed the sun for being so goddamn bright, for it was hard to tell what he was looking at, but he quickly gathered his bearings and tried not to let it affect him. However, the sun wasn’t the only problem, the dragon kept flying in circles and it was hard to follow its movements. But Phil would manage it, he had to. Not only did he have an entire ship full of people whose lives depended on it, but his own life did too. Not to mention how devastating it would be for him if he missed.

He took a deep breath and drew back the arrow. He hoped the arrow was tough enough to break through the skin of a dragon. It was specially crafted and supposedly able to break through bones as if a knife cutting through butter, so if it didn’t break through the simple scales of a dragon, then nothing could. But that didn’t stop Phil from having his doubts.

Phil took another rough breath before quickly aligning the arrow, he then followed the movement of the dragon before swiftly releasing the arrow into the sky.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the arrow flew through the sky. Phil could feel his heart thump against his chest and his breathing staggered. For a moment, Phil thought he had missed and a surge of fear ran through him, but he was quickly reassured when he heard a broken cry from the dragon. The arrow pierced its neck and the liquid quickly worked its magic. The dragon started to have trouble flying and was forced to land on the ship; its wings slowly shrunk down and its body began to take shape of a human. The creature still had its (his, Phil noted) wings, though they were much smaller, and there were small horns protruding from atop his head. The boy was naked, bloodied, and bruised and he couldn’t stand properly—though he certainly tried.

Phil rushed down to the deck and stood towering over the boy. Phil studied him for a moment and raked his eyes over the boy’s body. He wasn’t in the best of shape, not that Phil particularly cared, but there was something about him that made Phil drawn to him. He couldn’t quite place it into words, but it was almost like he wanted to protect him rather than harm him. But Phil suppressed the feeling and tried to seem as intimidating as possible. Which wasn’t too hard, Phil was generally considered a scary person, but for some reason, the boy didn’t seem frightened and actually had the nerve to glare at him, which only caused Phil to clench his jaw. Phil didn’t necessarily consider himself an intimidating person, but everyone else did and he took much pride in that. So the fact that this lowly dragon-boy had the audacity to glare at him wasn’t exactly pleasing Phil.

However, before Phil could get too mad about it he realized that the dragon-boy wasn’t actually restrained, and the only reason he hadn’t flown off yet was because of his injuries. Phil quickly reached inside his coat pocket and grabbed the handcuffs that were resting inside. He took a step towards the boy which only caused the boy to scoot back and let out a quiet snarl. Phil took another step forward, and the boy scooted back again. This went on for a couple more steps before the boy’s back hit one of the masts. Phil stepped forward once more and kneeled down so he was the same height as the boy. The boy stared Phil in the eyes, trying his best not to show any fear, and spat in Phil’s face. Phil tensed for a moment and tried his best not to lash out. He calmly wiped the spit that landed on his face and gave the boy a dangerous glare.

“You do not want to get on my bad side,” Phil snarled. He roughly grabbed the boy’s wrists and swiftly put them into the cuffs, not even giving the boy a chance to realize what had happened.

“Hey, kid, what’s your name?” Phil heard Chris say from behind him which was quickly followed by PJ scolding him for speaking up when the captain was in such a bad mood, but Phil didn’t particularly care because he was actually curious as to what the dragon-boy’s name was.

“Why should I tell you?” The boy spat, directing his glare to Chris.

Chris shrugged, but Phil answered for him. “Answer him, or face the consequences.”

“Honestly, you’ve beaten me enough already, you think threatening me is going to get you anywhere?” The boy asked, but Phil wasn’t having it.

Phil gripped the throat of the boy and was a bit taken aback when he felt like he had been burned. But it wasn’t nearly enough pain to make him let go. “Answer him,” Phil spat out, stretching out the syllables. He knew that he couldn’t choke the boy to death because of his supernatural abilities, but he was hoping that it hurt enough to make him give in. And luckily for Phil, he did.

“Dan,” the boy breathed out and Phil held his throat for just a moment longer before letting him go. Dan let out uneven coughs but got ahold of himself rather quickly. He looked up at Phil, but instead of his usual glare, there was a hint of curiosity and confusion in his gaze, which unnerved Phil quite a bit.

Phil took a couple steps back from Dan and looked at him one last time. It was at this moment that it really sunk in; Phil had successfully caught a dragon. All those years of hard work and dedication had finally paid off, and for once in his life, Phil let himself be pleased with what he had accomplished. He let a soft smile grace his lips and let himself be happy—even if only for a moment. Eventually though, he had to pull himself back into reality. So he took one more look at Dan before walking off, giving some commands as he went.

“PJ,” Phil called.

“Captain?”

“Tie him up in the cells and assign someone to watch him,” Phil paused. “And for the love of God, get him some clothes.”

PJ let out a small chuckle. “Yes, Captain.”

~

A couple days had passed and after the initial excitement wore off, Phil actually started to feel a little bad. Not nearly enough to let the dragon-boy go, but enough to start to wonder why he ever captured him in the first place. It didn’t actually fix anything, and it honestly didn’t make him feel any better about himself. If anything, it made him feel worse. His parents were still dead, he was still half-dragon, and the people who were responsible for his parent’s death were still breathing. Phil began to think that maybe his obsession with catching a dragon wasn’t about revenge, but rather about his own feelings. When Phil’s parents died, he blamed his father because it was his fault. He hated his father and everything he was. But it was only after his parents died that he started to despise him. Before, when Phil was still a child and a part of a happy family, he used to embrace his dragon side and his father would teach him all kinds of cool tricks. Granted, he couldn’t do much because he was still half-human, but there was still stuff he could accomplish that normal humans couldn’t. He used to love it so much and would always marvel at his father whenever he turned into his full dragon form. It had amazed him. But then some people found out and killed his parents for it, and they had almost killed him too. Of course, they didn’t spare him because they took pity on a child, they didn’t spare him at all. Phil had barely survived that day and he was lucky to get out of it alive.

The point was, Phil didn’t want revenge, not really. If he wanted revenge he would’ve gone after the people that actually killed his parents. In reality, he just needed someone to blame, someone to take out his anger on. It was just unfortunate that it had to be Dan. Phil wasn’t sure why he felt so guilty to hurt the boy because it certainly wasn’t the first supernatural creature he had captured, hell, it was his job to do so. Though there was something about Dan that just made Phil want to coddle him rather than sell him, and he needed to find out why.

With that thought in mind, Phil headed down to the cells where Dan was chained up. Despite the large ship, the way down to the cells didn’t take but a moment. When Phil got into the cell room the first thing he noticed was that no one was guarding Dan. Didn’t he specifically ask PJ to assign someone to guard him? Phil took a few steps down the hallway and passed some of the empty cells before coming to Dan’s. He looked past the prison bars and was shocked when he saw Dan. He was huddled up against the corner of the cell and trembling, his lips were blue and he was extremely thin, too much to be normal. His wings were tucked around his body as if trying to act as a source of warmth, but it didn’t seem to be doing too much. Phil suddenly became acutely aware of the cold atmosphere and realized it was much, much colder in the prison cells than it was anywhere else on the ship. And it was winter no less.

Phil could feel himself tense, but that didn’t stop him from running to get the keys to the cell. It only took him a second and he was back in front of the cage in no time. He fumbled with the keys for a moment and almost dropped them, but eventually got the cell unlocked. He ran over to Dan and grabbed his wrist to check his pulse, and became very worried when he could barely feel it.

“PJ!” Phil yelled, probably loud enough for the whole ship to hear, but he didn’t care at the moment. After about a minute, he was about to yell again, but stopped whenever he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. PJ came into view and Phil scowled.

“When the hell was the last time this boy ate, let alone drank anything?” Phil asked angrily, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

PJ looked between Dan and Phil a few times before his eyes widen. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Probably a while,” PJ said hesitantly, guilt clear on his face.

“What do you mean a while? I told you to get someone to watch him!” Phil yelled, his face burning red in anger.

“A-and I meant to,” PJ stuttered. “After we put him down here I went to assign Chris to watch him, but whenever I went to see him we got a bit… distracted. I must’ve forgotten to tell him, but I swear I meant–”

“PJ, shut up and help him, damn it!” Phil cut him off. He would yell at PJ later about forgetting to assign someone to watch and take care of Dan, but right now he needed help.

“Wh-what do you want me to do?” PJ stuttered helplessly.

“Go get some food and water, and get some blankets while you’re at it,” Phil commanded. “And hurry up.”

PJ suddenly scurried away and left Dan and Phil alone again. Phil tried to calm himself down, but he couldn’t help but worry for Dan; he felt weirdly possessive over him. Phil shuffled closer to Dan and hugged him to his chest to try and provide as much warmth as he could. He was a bit surprised when Dan didn’t protest (he didn’t even flinch), but Phil wasn’t sure if it was because Dan physically couldn’t, or because he knew it was probably for the better. The position was a little awkward because of Dan’s wings, but Phil hoped it would help him warm up a bit.

“Dan?” Phil called softly, but Dan didn’t answer, though he did shudder in Phil’s hold. Phil just sighed, but didn’t push it any further.

After another minute or so, PJ came back with some food and water, and Chris was behind him carrying a couple blankets.

PJ walked into the cell first, quickly handing Phil the food and water in his hands. Phil grabbed the cup of water first and gently brought it up to Dan’s lips. When Dan didn’t part his lips, Phil nudged the cup against his lips as if in encouragement, but Dan just groaned in response.

“Damn it, Dan, I’m trying to help you,” Phil grumbled, annoyed.

Finally, yet reluctantly, Dan opened his mouth and allowed Phil to pour the water down his throat. Dan took uneven gulps, but at least he was drinking something. After Dan drank a fair amount, Phil put the cup down and grabbed some of the food that PJ had set beside him. It wasn’t anything fancy, just some rice (most likely with little flavor), but Phil hoped it would suffice.

“Eat this,” Phil said, pushing the wooden bowl over to Dan. Dan barely managed to grab it before Phil let go, but once he did get ahold of it he held it steady in his hands. Dan cautiously began to eat the rice while Phil went to grab the blankets from Chris.

Chris handed Phil the blankets when he walked over, but he didn’t utter a word because he was pretty sure Phil wasn’t especially happy with him. Not that it was Chris’ fault that Dan nearly starved to death; PJ was the one who forgot to tell him to look after Dan.

Phil walked back over to Dan and noticed that he had eaten nearly half the rice in the span of a few seconds.

“Woah, mate, slow down, you’re gonna make yourself sick,” Phil heard Chris speak up from behind him, which only caused Phil to turn around and glare at him, despite the fact that Phil knew he was right.

Dan simply scoffed at Chris’ comment and continued eating at the same pace he had been; so much for being cautious about eating.

Phil crouched down in front of Dan and began to place the blankets around his shaking form. After he placed a blanket across Dan’s lap, he began to wrap some around Dan wings and nearly jumped when Dan spoke up.

“My wings,” he mumbled quietly.

Phil gave him a confused look. “What?”

“I don’t like it when my wings are covered,” Dan answered more confidently than before.

“Oh,” Phil muttered dumbly in answer. He dropped the blanket that he had been wrapping around Dan and placed it beside him instead. “I’ll just leave this here then.”

Phil let his gaze wander over Dan for a moment. Seeing Dan reminded Phil of his father, they looked nothing alike, but just seeing a dragon (especially one in human form) made him feel very nostalgic. And for a moment, he couldn’t help but miss his father and all the things he had taught him. Phil had hated his father for so long that he nearly forgot what it was like to love him.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” Dan asked. “It’s creepy.”

Phil was suddenly aware of the soft smile that had graced his lips and did his best to turn it back into a scowl. He quickly remembered where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Having Dan almost die scared him and he had a moment of vulnerability, but now that he knew Dan was alright, he had to jump back into reality and remember his objective.

“Alright,” Phil’s voice suddenly boomed. “Now that you seem to be getting better, I’ll have Chris watch you and make sure to keep you healthy. If you need anything, ask him, but don’t expect too much from him. And just because I was kind to you today does not mean that I will be in the future. You are a prisoner here and you’ll do well to remember it, got it?”

Dan smirked as he set down the now empty wooden bowl. “We both know that if I truly wanted something, you’d give it to me. You may act tough, Captain, but we both know how soft you really are. Today proved that.”

Phil grabbed Dan by the throat, the familiar burning sensation that he had felt the other day biting at his palm. “Do not underestimate me,” Phil hissed through clenched teeth.

Dan’s smirk didn’t falter and instead of trying to escape Phil’s hold, he leaned forward so his nose was nearly touching Phil’s. “I wouldn’t dare,” Dan whispered. “After all, it’d be dumb to get into a fight with one of my own kind.” After those words left Dan’s mouth, Phil jumped back a few feet and almost stumbled onto the ground. His eyes were wide as he stared at Dan.

“How-wha-” Phil spluttered stupidly. How could Dan possibly know his secret? No one knew about that, yet, somehow, Dan had figured it out.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Dan asked louder this time, and Phil hoped he wouldn’t say anything to anyone; it would get him killed. “I sensed it on you when we first met, it was part of the reason why I actually attacked your ship; I was curious. It’s weird though, you’re still part–”

“Shut up!” Phil yelled. Suddenly very afraid about what Dan could do with all that information.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Relax, I won’t tell anyone. But just know that you’re no longer the one holding all the cards.”

“So what? Do you want to be let go? Because there’s no way that’s happening,” Phil said. If he had to, he’d simply gag Dan, but deep down he knew that that wouldn’t actually work and it would probably just piss Dan off. Phil figured that just complying to the dragon’s wishes would be best.

Dan pretended to ponder a moment before answering. “No, I’ll play prisoner for now. I like the idea of you scrambling around this ship, constantly worrying about whether I’ve told someone your secret.”

Phil growled, but stiffly nodded his head. He knew it was beyond stupid to trust Dan, but he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Great!” Dan exclaimed happily. “Pleasure doing buisness with you.”

“Likewise,” Phil muttered through clenched teeth.

“I’m not exactly sure what just happened, but it was exciting.” Chris suddenly cheered from behind him.

Shit. Phil almost forgot Chris and PJ were still here, and they heard everything. Phil turned around and came face-to-face with his two longtime friends and crewmates. Chris was smiling happily, not at all worried about what just happened, and PJ was looking at Phil with concern.

“Phil,” PJ addressed, it had been a while since PJ had called him by his first name. “Whatever just happened, neither of us care. We don’t care if Dan’s got the upper-hand on you, for whatever reason that may be, we’re loyal to you. And whatever this secret of yours is, we won’t ask because you’re not only our captain, but our friend as well. And if Dan does talk, we won’t judge you for whatever it is, we won’t abandon you.”

Phil smiled sadly at them, he was grateful to the both of them, but despite what PJ said, he wasn’t so sure he’d still mean it if he found out that he was part dragon. For now, however, he just had to trust that Dan would keep his word, and that if everything did go to hell, that PJ would keep his.

“Thanks,” Phil said.

A moment of awkward silence rang through the air after that, and nobody moved, even Dan stayed quiet, but only for a minute. Eventually though, the silence became deafening and Dan decided to break it. “Okay then, glad you rekindled your friendship that never really went out in the first place, but can we get on with the inevitable pain you’re gonna inflict on me? Because I’m rather bored.”

Phil sent a glare toward Dan. “We don’t want to abuse you, Dan, we’re just keeping you here until we reach our destination, and then you’ll be sold to the highest bidder.”

“And what exactly do you think my buyer is going to do to me? Coddle me?” Dan scoffed sarcastically.

“That’s not my concern,” Phil said, his jaw visibly clenched.

Dan laughed. “Isn’t it?”

Phil had to keep himself from lashing out and hitting Dan, he knew Dan was trying to provoke him, and the worst part was that it was working. Instead of acting on his anger though, Phil simply growled at Chris to watch Dan before Phil—rather angrily—left the cell.

~

Another couple of days passed by, and Phil was sitting in his cabin, thinking. He had plenty of time to calm down, but this time he didn’t regret anything he said or did to Dan, not really. Dan’s behavior confused Phil to no end, he was so frustrating to deal with and Phil both hated and loved it. Yet what confused him more than anything was how Dan found out about Phil’s secret; even more importantly, why hadn’t Dan told anyone about it? Dan could very easily bargain his freedom, yet he didn’t even try. Phil was grateful that Dan hadn’t tried, but also very on edge. What if he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell everyone? Or perhaps he was waiting until they got to shore to tell everyone there. Glyra was a very popular place and rumors there spread like wildfire. Or maybe he truly just wanted to see Phil paranoid, and if so, then it was clearly working.

However, it would only take a day or two more until they arrived; and even though Phil wanted this whole nightmare to be over, deep down he never wanted it to end. He was very conflicted. Part of him wanted to just sell Dan and never think of him again, but the other part wanted to keep him by his side and learn everything he could about him. He wanted to know if Dan was truly the last dragon alive, and if not, where had all the other one’s gone? He wanted to know about all of Dan’s abilities, the things that Phil’s father never got to tell him about. He wanted to know Dan’s past and how long he had been living in Nolst. He wanted to know if the rumor about dragon-tears were true. But most of all, he wanted to know Dan’s interests and hopes. What would he be doing with his life if he wasn’t a dragon? Would he be sailing the seas like Phil? Would he be a farmer surrounded by animals and fields? Or perhaps he would be a lawyer and protect the innocent?

Phil wasn’t sure why he cared so much about Dan and his life, he simply felt drawn to him. Yes, Dan was beyond annoying and it was extremely hard for Phil to keep his temper when he was around him, but something about him was just so alluring; enchanting even. Something about him captivated Phil in a way that no one else ever has. Phil probably couldn’t explain it even if he tried, all he knew was that the feeling pissed him off in the best way possible.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded outside of Phil’s cabin. He jolted upright, which caused him to nearly fall off his bed, but once he gathered his balance, he grabbed his sword from against the wall and walked towards his cabin door. He took a deep breath before slowly opening the door. At first, he couldn’t see much due to the night sky darkening his sight, but after a few seconds, his eyes adjusted to the dark sky and he began to walk toward the general direction of where he heard the crash. As he was walking, he heard a lighthearted giggle coming from his left and he jerked his head towards the direction of the sound. His eyes widened when he saw the beautiful fire-colored wings that belonged to the ever-so-charming Dan.

“Dan?!” Phil nearly screamed out in surprise. What the hell was he doing out of his cell?

Dan turned around so fast that his wings managed to knock down a few wooden boxes behind him. “Phil!” Dan exclaimed happily, too happily. “I was looking for you,” he grinned and let out another soft giggle.

“How did you get out?” Phil asked angrily. “And where the hell is Chris?”

“I don’t know,” Dan shrugged, and then smiled. “I think he-e passed out.”

Phil’s eyes suddenly widened in realisation. “Are you drunk?” he asked in disbelief. How on earth did Dan get ahold of alcohol?

Dan raised his hand and held it there as if he were about to make a long and inspirational speech, but instead of a speech, he simply giggled and nodded dumbly, letting his hand fall back down to his side.

Phil let out an exasperated sigh; he really didn’t want to deal with this right now. He was beyond pissed at Chris, silently cursing Dan for even taking a drink in the first place, but above all, he was mostly just relieved that Dan hadn’t tried to escape.

“Alright,” Phil grumbled. “Let’s get you back to your cell.”

“But it’s so cold down there,” Dan whined. “And really dirty.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” Phil asked snappishly, his tone angry and annoyed. In truth though, Phil was actually kind of enjoying Dan act so childish. It was oddly cute, a bit annoying, sure, but still cute. It made him seem less threatening and more… human.

Phil paused his thinking for a moment.

What the hell? Dan acting human wasn’t a good thing, it wasn’t even remotely okay. Phil wasn’t supposed to find Dan cute or humanlike. He was a dragon for God’s sake—a beast from the very depths of hell itself. And if Phil had to literally beat that thought into his own head, then he would. Dan was a creature that lacked any type of emotion or feeling, nothing about him was human. Nothing.

“Let me sleep with you.” Dan stated confidently, fixing his posture slightly as he spoke.

Phil nearly choked. “W-what?” He spluttered.

Dan laughed, sobering up just enough to sound sensible, yet still very drunk. “Not like that, idiot.”

“Oh,” Phil muttered, a bit dumbly.

“You sound so disappointed,” Dan giggled.

“I’m not,” Phil growled. “And no, you’re not sleeping in my cabin with me. You’re going back to your cell, and this time, you’re gonna stay there.”

“Oh come on, Phil,” Dan grumbled. “I promise not to escape,” he tried to bribe.

Phil contemplated his options. On one hand, he could bring Dan back to his cell to sleep on the cold, concrete ground. Or, Phil could keep him safe and happy in his own bed, curled up beside him. Gah, this boy was messing with Phil’s head more than he’d like to admit.

The only risk was having him leave.

Phil rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he agreed. “But if I find you gone in the morning, I will hunt you down, and the next time around I won’t be so easy on you.”

“Fine by me,” Dan smiled.

“Follow me,” Phil grumbled, taking Dan’s hand to guide him to his cabin; he was surprised when he didn’t feel burnt by the touch like he normally did whenever he touched Dan.

“I burn people when I feel threatened,” Dan slurred, his sentence short and choppy, and it only managed to confuse Phil further. Phil wasn’t aware that that was something dragons could do, but instead of asking any further questions, he simply nodded and continued walking to his cabin. Besides, Phil wasn’t really sure Dan could fully answer any questions with the state he was in, and Phil was afraid to ask because he felt like the more things Dan answered, the more questions Phil would end up having. So he stayed quiet—for now at least.

The walk to Phil’s cabin was short, and as soon as they arrived, Dan ran straight for the bed and flopped himself down face first.

“Soft,” Dan said, his voice muffled from the covers. “I haven’t slept in a bed in forever.”

Phil raised his eyebrows. “It couldn’t have been that long.”

Dan looked up at Phil and shrugged. “A couple years, maybe.”

“Years?!” Phil exclaimed, his voice coming out a lot higher pitched than normal.

Dan hummed in response, but didn’t give any further explanation. Dan lifted the blanket off the bed and draped it over himself, cuddling up against it as if his life depended on it.

“Hey!” Phil chuckled. “You can’t take all the blankets, how do you expect me to keep warm?” He questioned, but his tone was lighthearted.

“Dunno,” Dan mumbled, closing his eyes. “That’s your problem.” He pulled the blanket up towards his chin and began to slowly sink down further into the comforts of the mattress.

Phil was about to complain, but Dan looked so comfortable and content that Phil couldn’t bring himself to destroy the peace he seemed to surround himself in. Phil simply sighed and went to grab the thinner (and much scratcher) blanket that was laying in a box across the room. He curled up next to Dan on the bed, nearly falling off of it because of the lack of space Dan had left on either side of the bed.

It was odd, being next to a dragon again. The last time he was voluntarily near a dragon that wasn’t chained or bound was when he was with his father so many years ago. Phil never thought he would willingly stay next to an unbound dragon ever again. It went against everything he had taught himself in the last decade, but for some reason, he was perfectly content with it.

And that feeling of content scared him more than anything.

~

Phil woke up at dawn, the sun was just beginning to rise and the seas were calm. Dan was beside him, still sound asleep and Phil sighed in relief when he realized Dan didn’t leave. He kept his promise—he kept all the blankets too. Phil smiled softly at Dan’s sleeping form; he seemed so peaceful and happy while he was asleep. It was kind of weird seeing him so unthreatening and… vulnerable.

“Quit staring at me,” Dan suddenly grumbled from beneath the covers.

“I’ll do whatever I please,” Phil replied snarkily.

“You’ve proved that plenty.” Dan laughed bitterly. He sat up in the bed and let the blanket pile up at his crossed legs.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Phil asked, his tone offended.

Dan shook his head. “Nothing in particular.”

“Whatever,” Phil scoffed.

A pause.

“Hey, Dan?” Phil asked warily.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you try to escape?”

“Because I made a promise,” Dan answered.

Phil huffed out a breath. “That’s a stupid reason, surely there’s something else keeping you here.” Phil said, though it came out as more of a question.

“You’d be right,” Dan hummed in thought. “Honestly, Phil. I was bored. I could’ve left the minute you captured me, and I think you know that, but I stayed because I really didn’t have anything to go back to. My life was boring before you came along. I’ve done the same consecutive thing every day for as long as I remember; all I’ve ever done is survive, but I want to try living.”

“So you thought hitching a ride on a ship full of pirates that want nothing more from you than a wealthy profit would be a good attempt at living?” Phil asked sarcastically.

“Of course not,” Dan said. “I just–I saw an opportunity to do something other than survive and I took it, and if I died in the process, then so be it.”

“So you threw away years of survival for possible death and almost guaranteed slavery?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Dan answered.

“You’re insane,” Phil grumbled.

“Maybe so,” Dan agreed. “But there was one other thing that made me want to leave.”

“And what would that be?”

“You,” Dan smirked.

Phil’s heart skipped a beat. “Me?” He questioned, trying not to let his voice waver.

“Yeah,” Dan said. “I had never seen a half-human dragon before you, never even heard of such a thing. So, I guess, you intrigued me.”

“I’m glad I could lure you into captivity with my charm,” Phil smiled, but it quickly faltered when he remembered something. “Actually, how did you know about that?”

“All dragons can sense when they’re near another one of their kind–well, I’d assume so anyway, I’ve never actually met another dragon before,” Dan said sadly.

Phil tilted his head in question. “What about your parents?”

Dan shrugged. “I never met them.”

“Oh,” Phil said stupidly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I can’t really miss someone I never knew.”

Phil nodded. He wished he could sympathise with Dan, but he really couldn’t. Sure, his childhood was fucked up too, but not quite in the same way. At least Phil had had parents at some point to love and care for, Dan never had anyone.

“Dan,” Phil started carefully. “You know this doesn’t change anything, I’m still going to sell you—we’re actually pretty close to our destination by now,” In truth, Phil didn’t really want to sell Dan, but if not sell him, he wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to do with him. Besides, Dan was strong, stronger than a lot of people, he would be able to escape captivity. It was better to just sell Dan and go on with life. Phil would get some good money from him, and Dan would escape and be back to safety in no time. At least, that’s what Phil kept telling himself.

“I know,” Dan muttered. “Besides, you’ve got a reputation to keep,” he chuckled dryly.

“Yeah.” Phil smiled sadly. “You know that means I’m gonna have to take you back to your cell; it’s not good for my crewmates to know that the oh-so-powerful dragon has been running around the ship freely,” he added.

“Right,” Dan said, his voice monotone. “You’ve got to scold Chris about letting me go anyway,” Dan smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

God, why did keeping Dan safe and happy matter so much to Phil? He was a dragon, damn it. A supernatural creature; he wasn’t meant to be befriended.

“Let’s go,” Phil said simply, grabbing Dan’s wrist and dragging him towards the door of the cabin.

“Damn, Phil, you don’t have to be so rough,” Dan chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but Phil didn’t laugh in response; he didn’t even smile. Phil was trying to block anything good about Dan out of his mind, he was trying his best to just focus on the fact that he wasn’t human.

They left Phil’s cabin and made their way back to the cell. When they got there, Chris was pacing back and forth and Phil could see the relief flood over his face whenever he saw Dan. He was probably just thankful that he hadn’t escaped.

“Phil, I am so sorry, I–” Chris started babbling, but Phil put his hand up to stop him.

“Leave,” Phil snapped. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Chris scurried off, leaving Dan and Phil in the cold, dark room alone. If Chris had just kept Dan chained up, Phil wouldn’t have come to the revelation that Dan was a good person, and he certainly wouldn’t be second guessing whether he should sell Dan or not.

Phil guided Dan back to the corner of the cell and started chaining him back up, starting with the handcuffs that prevented him from shifting. Phil was trying his damned hardest not to just unlock everything and tell Dan he could leave for good. Why did he have to get so attached?

“I guess everything’s back to normal then, huh?” Dan questioned once Phil was done.

Phil took a step back from Dan. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

Phil walked outside the cell and turned to lock the old, rusted lock on the bars, but before he did, he asked the one thing that had been eating away at him ever since he found out about the stupid rumor. “Hey, Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it true that dragon’s tears can heal almost any wound?” Phil questioned with genuine curiosity.

“I wouldn’t know,” Dan shrugged. “I’ve never actually had the chance to find out.”

~

“Shut up,” Phil groaned after being awoken by an incessant knocking on his cabin door. He sank himself deeper into his blanket and pulled his—not so soft—pillow around his ears. His bed felt oddly empty and cold, and he wasn’t exactly sure why. He originally thought it was because Dan wasn’t there, but he quickly shook that thought out of his mind because it was unrealistic. Why would he miss Dan when he literally only stayed in Phil’s bed once?

“Captain!” the voice (which Phil recognized as PJ) came again and the knocking became more persistent.

Phil sighed. “What?” He grumbled.

“Uh-we’ve reached land,” PJ said.

Phil shot up from his bed and nearly ended up falling out of it. “Already?” Phil asked surprised, his voice somewhat gravelly from sleep. Phil didn’t think that they would reach land so soon, he thought they had at least another day's worth of sailing. But clearly his calculations were off… by quite a bit.

“Yeah,” PJ answered. “Honestly, I was surprised too.”

“Are you sure that we’re on Glyra?” Phil asked, albeit sarcastically, he knew there wasn’t really any other island they could be on, Glyra was a very secluded place and the nearest island to it was almost a two day journey.

“Aye, Captain.”

Phil hummed in response but didn’t offer any further comment. Phil was hoping that it would’ve taken another day or two to arrive. Truthfully, he was kind of dreading telling a whole bunch of people that he had successfully captured a dragon. He was especially not looking forward to the response he would get. Everyone would most likely jump at the chance to be the one to buy Dan, and Phil wouldn’t be surprised if some people tried to steal him. For now, however, Phil would have to keep Dan hidden from as many people as possible until he could get the auction set up. He’d have to tell a few people, sure, but hopefully he could avoid anyone that would go spreading the exciting news.

The only good thing about this was that Phil could tell everyone ‘I told you so’. Everyone used to mock him for wanting to capture the apparently extinct creature, they always told him that it was impossible, that he should just stick to the creatures that for-sure existed, he was glad he’d finally get the chance to prove them wrong.

Phil sighed and pushed himself off his bed. He needed to get things ready before they set foot on land. He especially needed to brief Dan on what was going to happen, he couldn’t risk him fucking this whole thing up. With that thought in mind, Phil threw on a shirt and made his way down to Dan’s cell.

“Dan,” he called when he approached the cell.

Dan hummed in response. “What’s up?” He asked, somehow seeming completely unfazed by his situation; how he did it, Phil could only wonder.

“We’ve landed on Glyra,” Phil said simply.

“Huh,” Dan said curiously. “So that’s where we were headed all this time.”

Phil scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. “You hadn’t guessed that already? It’s the most significant black market in the world.”

“In case you hadn’t guessed already, I didn’t particularly get out much before you ‘captured’ me,” Dan snarled in defense, making quotation marks with his fingers around captured.

“Aww, how sweet. It’s so nice to know that I’m responsible for helping you get out and see the world,” Phil smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Though Phil did wonder why Dan hadn’t tried to escape yet, he said that he easily could’ve, but for whatever reason he hadn’t even tried. Perhaps he was only bluffing, though Phil highly doubted that.

“Yeah, right,” Dan rolled his eyes. “Anyway, was there something you wanted from me?”

“Yes, actually,” Phil said. “I came to tell you how all of this is going to work.”

“Oh,” Dan muttered.

“Unless, of course, you plan to escape between now and the auction,” Phil raised his eyebrows. “Because if that’s the case then there’s no reason for me to even try and sell you.”

“You almost sound like you don’t want to sell me,” Dan chuckled. “But if you must know; I’ll cooperate.”

Phil gave him a funny look. “I can’t imagine why, but whatever you say.” Phil almost wished he had told him the opposite, and it was an odd feeling. It was rather ironic, too: hoping that the very creature he had been trying to capture for years would escape.

Dan shrugged. “I’ve taken a liking to you, Phil. I might as well let you collect that large profit you’ll surely get from selling me. Besides, I’ll easily be able to escape from whichever dickhead decides to buy me.”

“Alright,” Phil started. “Well, to put it simply, I’m trying to keep you a secret from as many people as I can at the moment—we wouldn’t want anyone to try and steal you. At the moment, I have to go talk to Mr. Thompson and have him set up the auction. You, however, don’t have to do much except stay here until the day of the auction.” Phil concluded.

“Seriously?” Dan’s shoulders slumped in disapproval. “You’re honestly gonna make me stay here? Come on, Phil. I’ve been here for forever, surely you can let me out; let me get some fresh air, maybe?”

“What else do you expect me to do?” Phil asked. “Need I remind you that you are a prisoner here, not a crewmember,” Despite his words, Phil couldn’t even get himself to believe them. He had let Dan roam free on the ship once before, he even let Dan spend the night in his own cabin. And, while, yes, Dan was a prisoner, he wasn’t like any other prisoner Phil has had on his ship before. Dan was different, Phil… Phil trusted Dan; in a weird and peculiar way, but he did trust him.

Dan gave Phil a look of disbelief but didn’t offer any further comment. Instead, he sat silently, patiently waiting for Phil to retract his statement, for Dan knew he would.

“Argh, fine.” Phil nearly whined. “But only when I get back from meeting with Mr. Thompson. In the meantime, you’re staying here, and that’s final.”

Dan smirked. “It’s honestly so easy to make you do what I want.”

Phil glared at Dan, but decided not to say anymore on the subject. It was probably wiser to stay silent, besides, Dan was way too good at comebacks to try and argue with him.

“Is there anything else you need before I go?” Phil asked, trying to sound as indifferent as he could.

“Nope,” Dan smiled. “Be safe out there.”

Phil rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Always am.”

Phil made his way back up the stairs of the cell and headed back towards his cabin. He needed to grab a few things before heading out to meet Mr. Thompson (the bastard). Once in his cabin, he grabbed a couple of weapons, including his sword and a couple of daggers (just in case). Glyra wasn’t a safe place, not even for Phil.

After he grabbed his weapons, he made his way off the ship. Nothing was properly set up to smoothly get off the ship, but Phil had managed.

To Phil’s surprise, Mr. Thompson was waiting for him on land; a bit odd, considering he had never done so before.

“Mr. Thompson,” Phil greeted, confusion tinting his voice.

“Good morning, Captain Lester,” the man answered.

“What are you doing at the docks?” Phil asked, getting straight to the point.

“Ah-well, you’re never back so early, so when I heard that you had arrived back on Glyra, I just had to see what brought you back.” Mr. Thompson explained, looking carefully past Phil to try and see if there was anything unique onboard his ship, and his shoulders slumped when he couldn’t see anything.

“Well, I certainly brought something.” Phil smirked, stepping in front of Mr. Thompson’s wandering gaze.

“Oh?” He questioned curiously. “May I know what this something is?”

“A dragon,” Phil said simply, his heart skipping a beat or two. The news was finally out in the open, it was there for anyone to take and do what they wanted with it.

Mr. Thompson looked at Phil in disbelief and shock. “A-a dragon?” He stuttered, looking at Phil as if he were insane.

“Aye,” Phil answered. “Turns out they're not as extinct as everyone thought.”

“But-that’s impossible,” Mr. Thompson claimed, yet somewhat warming up to the idea.

“Fortunately not,” Phil said. “And whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you, but hopefully you will because I wanted you to set up an auction for the creature as soon as possible,” Phil paused, smirking. “Of course, if you don’t believe me I can always get someone else to help me auction it off.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Mr. Thompson let out a nervous laugh, clearly not wanting to miss the opportunity to be able to help sell a dragon. “May I see the beast?”

“I’d rather you not,” Phil said, grinding his teeth together, for whatever reason the thought of having Mr. Thompson near Dan pissed Phil off. “I think it’d be better if you waited for the big reveal like everyone else,” Phil explained, trying not to sound too possessive.

“Right, of course,” Mr. Thompson said, trying and failing to cover up his disappointed tone.

“Well, I better leave you to it, you’ve got a lot to do,” Phil said, forcing a smile.

“Of course, I’ll get on that right away,” Mr. Thompson declared and quickly scurried back to his auction house, Phil almost laughed; Mr. Thompson wasn’t kidding when he said right away.

Phil nearly sighed in relief when he left, he did not like that man, the dumbass was always trying so hard to impress Phil and it was beyond annoying.

Considering that Phil didn’t have a bunch of creatures to sell this time around, he didn’t have much to actually do on the island. Which made him somewhat antsy; he hated land enough as it was, but having to stay on an island with nothing to occupy his time just made him restless and agitated. Phil let out an annoyed huff as he made his way back to the ship, silently cursing at himself for not bringing back more creatures to sell.

Phil hopped back up onto the ship and worked his way towards his cabin, considering that he’s got nothing to do, he might as well sleep. After all, the upcoming auction was not going to be fun, there was going to be a lot of yelling and aggression; Phil wouldn’t be surprised if people started up a fight.

As Phil approached his cabin door, he noticed that it was cracked open just slightly—which was certainly discomforting because Phil never left his door open. He slowed his walking and lightened his steps to lessen any noise, then carefully pulled his sword from his scabbard and lightly kicked the door so it would open wider. At first, he didn’t see anyone so he slowly, and as quietly as he could, made his way into the room. The room was dark and seemingly undisturbed, but as Phil’s eyes scanned over everything in the chamber, he noticed a figure in the far right corner.

Phil narrowed his eyes at the figure and quickly made his way towards it; never letting his eyes waver from it. As soon as he was close enough, he shoved the figure against the wall and pressed the blade of his sword against the person’s neck, possibly and probably drawing blood.

“Ow,” the figure, which Phil now recognized as Dan, said with mock hurt.

“Dan?! What the hell?” Phil exclaimed, though he didn’t let up on the pressure of the blade. “What the–how the fuck did you get out?”

“You should know that those cuffs you put on me take away the ability for me to shift, they do not, however, take away my powers,” Dan explained, a smirk clear on his face. He leaned toward Phil which only caused the blade to push further into his neck, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned. “And for future reference, you should seriously invest in some fireproof handcuffs.”

“Y–you melted them?” Phil asked furiously, but all he got in answer was an extremely smug looking Dan. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to get ahold of those?”

“Nope,” Dan smiled, popping the p. “But I was getting awfully bored and I wanted some company and I couldn’t be bothered to wait until you came back, so I just came to you instead.”

“I thought you had agreed to wait,” Phil growled, though he removed his sword from Dan’s throat, nearly winching when he saw the mark left behind.

“Aye, I did. I agreed to wait until you got back from your meeting with Mr. Thompson. And guess what, Phil: you’re back.”

Phil hated that Dan was right. That had been the deal that they had made, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it. “That doesn’t give you the right to just leave.” Phil argued, though for some reason he knew he wasn’t going to win this argument.

“Yes it does,” Dan said smugly, not even trying to explain himself.

“I-you-just shut up,” Phil stated lamely. “And you owe me new handcuffs.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Also, don’t you dare shift at the auction. It would ruin my reputation if a creature I captured caused havoc because they weren’t restrained properly.” Phil said sternly.

“I promise I won’t shift, on the one condition that you promise you won’t chain me up again until the auction.”

“Deal.”

The rest of the day dragged on quite slowly after that, Dan stayed holed up in Phil’s cabin while Phil was off attending to his ship—which Dan ever so blithely dubbed “ship-ly duties”. For whatever reason, Dan found the term absolutely hilarious and he ended up in a fit of hysterical laughter, which Phil tried (and failed) to get him out of. However, other than Dan’s giggly spasm, the day went on quite normally; at least as normal as it could’ve with a dragon roaming freely on the ship.

Night was quickly falling and Phil was getting extremely nervous. It was odd for him to feel so anxious, especially for a simple auction, he had been selling supernatural creatures since he was a teenager, he shouldn’t be feeling so uneasy. But for whatever reason, it was different this time, and it wasn’t because he was selling a dragon. It was because of something else, but Phil couldn’t quite place it.

“Phil!” Phil swung his head around towards the direction of the voice. He immediately saw Finn standing on land, waving happily as he ran towards the ship. As Finn made his way closer to the ship, Phil threw a rope down so Finn could get onto the ship. Finn swiftly climbed his way up the swaying rope and jumped onto the ship.

“Good evening, Finn,” Phil greeted politely. “How are you?”

“I’m excellent, Cap’n. How about you?” Finn grinned. “I assume you’re also doing extremely well considering a certain possession that you have recently acquired.”

Phil raised his eyebrows. “So you heard?”

“Aye!” Finn exclaimed. “Actually, that’s why I’m here. Mr. Thompson sent me to tell you that he’s got the auction ready to go… and he told you to hurry because there are a lot of impatient people waiting for the promised treasure.”

“I’d assume as much,” Phil chuckled, albeit uneasily. “People these days don’t have much patience.”

“No offence, Cap’n, but you’re not the most patient of people either.” Finn explained.

“Fair point,” Phil agreed. “However, I should hurry with getting everything together, we wouldn’t want to keep a bunch of filthy hooligans waiting.” Phil said as he began to walk towards his cabin where Dan was staying. However, Finn started following him which would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that Dan was laying in Phil’s bed unchained and completely free to walk around as he wished. As much as Phil trusted Finn, he didn’t feel like explaining why the dragon prisoner was completely free of shackles.

Phil cleared his throat pointedly, turning around to face Finn. “Was there something else you needed, Finn?” Phil asked, as politely as he could muster. Despite the fact that Phil did not want him there at that exact moment, he didn’t hate him.

“Oh, well, I thought that I could see a sneak-peek of the creature?” Finn questioned hopefully.

“You can wait and see the creature at the auction just like everyone else,” Phil answered, sternly.

“But, Phil,” Finn gave a whine. “I was the reason you found it, surely that warrants me some kind of free pass to see it before everyone else.”

“I’m sorry, Finn,” Phil apologized. “However, you’re technically not wrong so I promise to give you some of the earnings that I get from selling him.”

“Him?” Finn questioned.

Shit.

Phil never called the creatures he found by anything other than it. And while Phil knew that Finn wouldn’t judge him for it, Phil was still worried about what Finn would take from that.

“Yes,” Phil stated with fake confidence. “Is that a problem?”

Finn gave Phil a hard stare before deciding that no, that wasn’t a problem. Finn shook his head, but his eyes were still filled with confusion.

“Good,” Phil swallowed. “Then you best be going, and make sure to tell Mr. Thompson that I’ll be there soon.”

“Of course, Cap’n,” Finn smiled, rapidly switching back to his happy, bubbly personality.

“See you later, Finn.”

With that, Finn left and Phil continued making his way to his cabin. For a moment, Phil stood in front of the cabin door and took a deep breath, letting his head fall against the rough wood. He honestly had half a mind to just up and leave the island and take Dan back to where he found him, but he couldn’t. Phil was about to achieve his life goal, like hell he was about to stop now just because of some fucked up emotional attachments. Phil’s eyes widen and he swallowed thickly, what the fuck? Had he really managed to get emotionally attached to a bloody dragon?

Could that be what all of this was? Phil hadn’t been emotionally attached to someone since his parents. Sure, he had friends, but no one he truly cared about, surely he hadn’t become attached to Dan, not so quickly, not to such a beast. And yet, that was exactly what it felt like. All this time, Phil had been so petrified of losing Dan (despite Dan claiming he’d be fine) all because he had become attached to him. Phil hadn’t been afraid of losing someone in a long, long time. In fact, Phil wasn’t even sure if he had ever been afraid of losing someone. Before the deaths of his parents, he hadn’t known what it was like to lose someone, so he had never really worried about it. Then after his parents’ death, he became so scared of losing another person he loved that he just gave up on loving all together. Then Dan happened, and while he didn’t get attached right away, Phil had slowly found himself becoming attached.

It scared him.

Phil’s cabin door suddenly opened and Phil nearly fell face first into his room, though he managed to catch himself just in time.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked. “You’ve been standing there for, like, five minutes.”

“I–no, I wasn’t,” Phil denied shakily.

Dan scrunched up his eyebrows. “Yeah, you were; I could hear your heartbeat.”

“I was just thinking,” Phil admitted.

“About…?” Dan pushed.

“Nothing.” Phil immediately scowled and avoided eye contact. “It doesn’t matter anyway, I came to get you for the auction, everything’s done being set up.”

“Oh,” Dan’s voice wavered, he sounded disappointed. Phil wanted to hug him and take everything he ever did to him back, but he couldn’t. Even though he had newfound emotions for Dan, it didn’t mean he was going to do anything about them. He couldn’t.

Phil cleared his throat. “Come on then, we don’t want to keep them waiting.” He tried to say it confidently, but he was afraid his lack of eye contact gave it away.

Dan scoffed. “Yeah, right, of course.”

“Oh come off it, Dan,” Phil snapped, leaning further towards Dan. “You knew this was how everything was going to play out, don’t act so surprised.”

“I thought things might have changed,” Dan mumbled dejectedly.

“Well you thought wrong,” Phil huffed angrily. “Now come on.” Phil grabbed Dan’s wrist roughly and started to drag him towards the exit ladder down to land.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Dan asked, ripping his hands from Phil’s grasp and shoved his bare wrists in front of Phil’s face.

“What?” Phil asked, frowning.

“Handcuffs, Phil,” Dan rolled his eyes. “I may have broke the effective ones, but that doesn’t mean you can just drag me in there without any… shackles.”

“Right, valid point, I’ll go grab some,” Phil answered. “And, uh–stay here,” Phil added as an afterthought.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” Dan said dryly. “We had a deal after all.”

Phil accepted that as a reasonable enough answer as he walked back to his cabin to grab some handcuffs. He grabbed the least rusty-looking pair, as several had begun to oxidate in their lack of use, and headed back to where Dan was, and to Phil’s surprise, he really hadn’t moved. Not even a muscle. For a second, Phil stood there, then: “I actually thought you would’ve bailed,” he mumbled.

“Really? I’ve been free to move around all day, what makes you think I’d leave now?” Dan asked, and his tone seemed genuinely curious.

“I don’t know,” Phil shrugged. “You’re out in the open with absolutely nobody around, why wouldn’t you leave?”

“Phil, I made a promise–”

“A dumb one,” Phil cut off, but his voice wasn’t hostile.

“It was still a promise, and I’d like to think that dragons are honorable creatures,” Dan explained.

Phil chuckled wryly. “I think it’s just you who’s honorable, Dan, not your species.”

“Maybe,” Dan said and shrugged.

“Anyway, we should seriously get going,” Phil said as he walked towards Dan. “I’ve got money to make and you’ve got captivity to escape, so, we better head out.”

“Yeah,” Dan sighed as Phil clipped the handcuffs onto him. As soon as the cuffs were on Dan’s hand, Phil released his wrists, watching them fall against Dan’s side. Phil’s gaze slowly traveled up Dan’s body before he locked eyes with him.

Phil smiled gently. “I’m not gonna lie, dragon-boy, I think I’m going to miss you.”

It really wasn’t a lie, Phil was going to miss Dan a lot, and maybe, in some odd amount of years, they’d see each other again. Although Phil seriously doubted Dan would ever want to see him again, especially after everything Phil had done to him.

“Yeah, yeah–don’t go all soft on me now,” Dan said, but he smiled back.

“I would never,” Phil laughed; he couldn’t help but think that everything in that moment was absolutely perfect. Dan was by his side, with his bright, happy eyes and gorgeous smile. Even though it had only been a few weeks, they had somehow built a sort of odd yet unbreakable friendship. For once, no one was there to hurt them or try to destroy things, and Phil’s evasive thoughts weren’t trying to ruin everything. They were just there, Dan and Phil, the most unlikely of friends—and everything was perfect. However, every good moment must end.

“We should probably get going, I don’t want to be late for my own party,” Dan joked lightly, though it wasn't particularly funny.

“Yeah, we really should, it’s getting rather dark,” Phil cleared his throat, looking away. “Come on.”

“Is no one else coming with us?” Dan asked as Phil grabbed onto his handcuffs, slowly dragging him towards the edge of the ship where the ladder was.

“I think they’ve all already left,” Phil said, though he wasn’t quite sure. However, with how quiet the ship was, Phil doubted that many people were still on it. Phil quickly guided Dan to the ladder and told him not to trip as he made his way down.

“You probably should have put the cuffs on after we made it safely off the ship,” Dan grumbled as he struggled to climb down the ladder with cuffed hands.

Phil gave a shrug. “Probably,” he stated simply, finding the situation more humorous than anything.

“You’re a terrible person,” Dan growled out, nearly missing a step on the ladder.

“I know,” Phil chuckled. “Now hurry your ass up, we don’t have all day.”

“Fuck off, it’s not as easy as it looks,” Dan grumbled as he finally reached the bottom.

“Obviously not because you’re certainly not making it look easy,” Phil said as he started to make it down the ladder, making his way off the ship much faster than Dan had.

“Was that really necessary?” Dan asked, clearly unamused.

Phil jumped off the last few steps of the ladder, making a flawless landing right in front of Dan.

“Yes, it was,” Phil said with a smirk. “Now come on.”

“Aye, Captain,” Dan chuckled, rolling his eyes as he followed Phil to the auction house.

The walk to the auction house probably only took ten or so minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Phil. Every step he took was agonizing, every movement he made felt like hell. With each passing moment the situation was getting more and more realistic. He was really going to do this, he was going to sell the one person that somehow, in such a short span of time, made his life better, and it was all for some petty thirst for revenge—a thirst that didn’t really even exist anymore. Yet still, even if Phil wanted to go back on selling Dan, there was no way he could. Not that he was a coward, but too many people knew about Dan now, about the dragon, and if Phil said that he wasn’t going to sell him anymore, it wouldn’t end well for anybody. No, it would end in a bloodbath, and a lot of innocent people would get hurt.

“Phil, cut it out,” Dan hissed.

Phil looked at Dan weirdly. “What am I doing?”

“You're really tense, and it’s making me tense–so cut it out,” Dan grumbled.

“Sorry,” Phil said, his cheeks flushing. “I’m… I'm just nervous.”

“You? Nervous? Haven’t you done this, like, a hundred times?” Dan asked with half a giggle, doing his best to contain his laughter. “Are you telling me that Captain Lester, the most feared pirate on the seven seas, is nervous for doing something that he’s done a million times before?”

“Shut up, it’s not funny,” Phil grumbled. Though for whatever reason, he kind of appreciated Dan’s teasing; it made him feel better and a lot less anxious. Somehow knowing that Dan wasn’t too concerned about being sold off at an auction to a bunch of hooligans helped calm Phil down. “Besides, I don’t have to worry about it quite yet, we still have a little ways to go before…” Phil trailed off when he realized that they were literally standing in front of the back entrance of the auction house. “Okay, nevermind, this is happening,” Phil turned to look at Dan. “Are you ready?”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Are you?” His tone was soft, filled with genuine concern, and Phil abruptly felt angry at him.

“Of course,” Phil snapped in defense. “What the hell makes you think I’m not?”

“Right…” Dan muttered, his tone now skeptical, “Let’s go then.” Dan walked past Phil and reached for the handle on the door.

“Wait,” Phil said hastily.

Dan rolled his eyes and turned around. “What?”

“I just–I want you to know that whatever happens–”

“Don’t,” Dan quickly cut off. “Don’t even start. You don’t get to give an inspirational speech or apologize or say whatever other bullshit that you were going to. We both knew this was going to happen from the very start, and I know that somewhere along the way of this exciting journey, you realized that I wasn’t such a bad person,” Dan started fuming, and Phil flinched, the worst part about it all was that it was true, every bit of it. “I also know that at some point you realized you didn’t really want to sell me, and I know you want to take it all back, but newsflash, Phil: you’re too late. So you don’t get to apologize or take everything you did back because you had your chance, and you lost it.”

Phil swallowed thickly, well damn, if that didn’t sting.

The worst part was that Dan was right, he was right about everything, even the fact that Phil was going to apologize. However, Phil supposed he couldn’t really say sorry now. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked Dan straight in the eye. “I was just going to say: make sure to get out, Dan. Whichever fucking bastard is lucky enough to buy you, make sure you get out.”

“Of course, you know that out of everyone, you were the only one who was lucky enough to keep me.” Dan smiled sadly. “Let’s do this, shall we?”

Phil didn’t really have anything to say, he stood speechless and nodded dumbly, silently following Dan into the auction house.

The door that Dan had opened led into a back room right behind the stage. Phil could hear the yelling and cheers coming from all the eager buyers, it was a bit excessive and terrifying. There were probably hundreds of people ready to spend every gold coin they had on Dan, and hundreds more just wanting to get a peek at him. It was unnerving to say the least, but there wasn’t much Phil could do about it.

“Is that it?” Mr. Thompson spoke up from behind Phil, his voice was full of wonder and amazement.

Phil seriously wanted to punch Mr. Thompson for calling Dan an it, but he had already been through that conversation with Finn and Phil figured Mr. Thompson wouldn’t take it as well as Finn had.

“Yes,” Phil muttered through clenched teeth, looking at Dan for a brief moment to see how he was taking this, though he seemed rather unfazed by the whole situation.

Mr. Thompson started to walk around Dan and study him. “Magnificent,” Mr. Thompson muttered. He reached up to touch Dan’s wing, but Dan growled and quickly stepped away from him. “Feisty. It needs a lot of training.” Mr. Thompson commented.

“Oh, I don’t know, it just depends on who’s giving the orders,” Phil smirked, briefly locking eyes with Dan.

Mr. Thompson scoffed. “Are you telling me that you could command this beast to attack me and it would?” He asked in disbelief.

“I’m not sure,” Phil shrugged. “Would you like me to put that theory to the test?” Phil questioned smugly, looking over at Dan to see him barely containing his laughter—luckily an action that Mr. Thompson did not catch.

Mr. Thompson cleared his throat. “Ah, no, I’ll be quite alright without a demonstration.”

“Good,” Phil said, though he would’ve loved to see Dan beat the living shit out of Mr. Thompson. “Shall we get on with the auction then?”

“I suppose,” Mr. Thompson paused. “Though don’t you think that this creature may be lacking restraints.

“Of course not, Mr. Thompson, the cuffs he are wearing keep him from shifting and they minimize most of his powers,” Phil lied swiftly, granted, it wouldn’t have been a lie if Dan hadn’t broke those damn cuffs. Not that Phil could complain too much, the lack of magical handcuffs gave Dan an easier escape route, and that’s what really mattered.

“I didn’t know such a thing existed,” Mr. Thompson uttered.

Phil silently wondered how Mr. Thompson couldn’t know that because Phil had owned the cuffs for years, but he didn’t want to waste time on questioning the older man’s stupidity. “Well, they do,” Phil grumbled. “Now can we please get on with this auction?” he added the question, annoyed, the more he stood there talking, the more he wanted to beat Mr. Thompson up and leave this godawful place with Dan.

“Right, yes, of course,” Mr. Thompson said quickly, he walked over to the door that led onto the stage and opened it, all the yelling and cheers suddenly became so much louder and a wave of nausea hit Phil. “After you.”

Phil subconsciously took a hold of Dan’s hand and slowly started walking towards the stage. His heart rate was suddenly through the roof and a lump formed in his throat. The closer he got to the stage, the slower he walked. His breathing was getting overly erratic and–

“Phil,” Dan’s voice suddenly whispered in his ear. “Calm down, everything will be fine; I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Dan was right, he was always right. He was a dragon for God’s sake, he was one of the most powerful creatures on Earth, nothing could hurt him. However, Phil’s dad was a dragon too, and he wasn’t fine. No one Phil ever cared about was fine, they always ended up getting hurt and it was all Phil’s fault.

“But what if–” Phil started.

“Trust me,” Dan said assuredly, and Phil did. He trusted Dan to no end, but that was what scared him the most. Everyone Phil has ever trusted or cared for have ended up dead, and it was typically Phil’s fault. Phil wasn’t a good person to be around, he was bad luck and the people closest to him always ended up hurt.

However, for whatever reason, he believed that Dan was going to survive all of this. He believed that Dan knew what he was doing and that he’d make it out alive. So, yes, Phil trusted that Dan was going to be fine. It was just hard to ignore all the things that could easily go wrong.

“The people are getting anxious, Captain Lester.” Mr. Thompson spoke, nodding his head toward the direction of the stage.

“Right, let’s not keep them waiting then,” Phil forced a smirk, he had to act confident. If word got out that The Great Captain Lester actually had feelings, things would not end well for anybody.

Phil took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage, softly pulling Dan behind him. As soon as Phil set foot onto the stage the cheers increased tenfold, and he had strain to keep himself from flinching from the sheer amount of noise that was being produced. Dan, however, seemed unaffected.

Phil was actually kind of amazed by the amount of people that showed up, it was more people than he had ever seen at an auction. Though, he couldn’t decide if that made him feel better or worse about the entire thing.

Phil observed the room for only a moment longer before he decided that he was done with everyone’s screaming. He took a deep breath in before he yelled at everyone to shut up. After all, there wasn’t really a good way to get a room full of over a hundred people to be quiet.

As soon as everyone quieted down, it was Phil’s queue to start talking. “Now,” he started, “I know everyone is overly excited today, and that is because of the marvelous creature standing next to me.” Phil aimed a gesture to Dan as he spoke. “I’ve been trying to hunt a dragon down for as long as I can remember, and I know the majority of you seriously doubted me, but I’m glad to be able to prove you wrong,” Phil added smugly; there was no way he was going to do this auction without bragging just a little.

“Anyway, I know none of you really care about that, but I know that you do care about this lovely dragon standing next to me,” Phil stated, looking over at Dan again, whom of which was behaving strangely well. “H–it isn’t really trained, so please don’t consider buying it unless you have the proper equipment and skills to handle such a creature.” As Phil continued his explanation, he was starting to become rather anxious and he could feel the way his breathing faltered for a moment.

“However, who am I to say what you can and can’t handle? Let’s talk about the cost. I hope you are all aware that I won’t be bidding off such a magnificent creature for such a small price, in fact, I’m bidding it for nearly ten times the price of any normal creatures.”

A bunch of disappointing and disapproving grunts came from across the audience, but he didn’t particularly care about them at the moment, especially with the way he was feeling.

“With that being said, the starting bid for this creature is ten thousand gold coins.”

The typical price for an average vampire or warlock would be around one thousand coins, if not less, but Phil was not going to sell Dan for such a measly cost. In fact, he almost wanted to raise the price so high that not even the richest people could’ve bought him, but he kept himself from doing so.

“I know that most of you cannot afford such a thing, and for that I am sorry, but you must know that finding and capturing a dragon was no easy task, and if you ask me, the cost isn’t high enough,” Phil explained truthfully, well, besides the apologies part.

By then, Phil was really starting to feel sick, but he couldn’t afford to show any type of weakness in front of all these people, so he swallowed thickly and tried to hurry things up. “Anyway, I’m going to let Mr. Thompson complete the rest of the bidding process; good luck to all of you.”

Phil motioned for Mr. Thompson to come forward and take things over while Phil went to stand beside Dan. Phil gripped onto Dan’s wrist for some comfort, but he made sure to make it look as if he was just providing extra supervision over Dan.

Everyone’s eyes were on Mr. Thompson as he went over the rules of the bid and made sure everything was in order. Phil thought it as the perfect opportunity to speak his concerns to Dan.

“Dan,” Phil whispered softly, he knew that some people would probably be watching them, but he didn’t have it in him to care at that moment.

“What?” Dan hissed quietly.

“I’m not sure if I can go through with this,” Phil admitted truthfully, there was no reason he had to do this anymore, there never really was a reason. He didn’t want revenge anymore and he already had enough money to last him a life time. The only thing he truly wanted anymore was Dan.

“What?!” Dan growled out, still in a fairly low whisper, but that didn’t stop a few people from looking over at them, but they quickly looked back at Mr. Thompson when they didn’t find anything of particular interest going on.

Phil stood quietly for a minute before continuing. “There’s no reason that this is going on, this shouldn’t be going on,” Phil tried to explain in as few words as possible, but he didn’t think that his point was getting across clearly.

“It’s not like you can stop it,” Dan grumbled angrily, clearing just wanting Phil to shut up and let things play out.

Phil knew that Dan was probably right; he knew there was no way that this was going to end well if he tried to stop it, but he couldn’t go through with it either. Dan had become too important to Phil to simply give him away, and he’d be damned if he didn’t even try to go down without a fight.

“Watch me,” Phil argued as he tuned back into the actual auction. The bidding had already started by then and Phil was surprised when he realized that the price was nearly up by double of what he was asking, but he didn’t dwell on that fact for too long.

“Eighteen thousand coins, eighteen thousand,” There was a brief pause. “Going once, going twi–”

“Stop!” Phil yelled, successfully silencing Mr. Thompson and everyone else in the room, except for Dan, who grumbled a quiet ‘dammit, Phil’ from behind him. “I’m calling the auction off,” Phil said with as much confident as he could muster, and despite knowing that there was no way that this could end well, he felt like he finally made the right decision. The room suddenly filled with yelling and screaming, and Phil was now faced with nearly a hundred pissed off people.

Phil swallowed thickly as he faced the angry horde in front of him; looking out at all the people shouting and screaming made Phil’s stomach tie in uncomfortable knots and his hands shake viciously. It was not going to be easy to convince a crowd of vexed ruffians to simply give up on buying the rarest of creatures to walk the earth, especially with how uneasy it made Phil feel.

Phil closed his eyes and took a deep breath; for fuck’s sake, Phil was the most feared pirate captain to sail the seven seas, he shouldn’t be feeling shaken up by a bunch of lowly, desperate commoners. He had captured thousands of creatures, destroyed entire civilizations, hell, he’s even killed hundreds of people, he shouldn’t be feeling anxious about stopping a simple auction.

With that thought in mind, Phil cleared all of his nervousness away and yelled. “Quiet!” Phil silenced the entire room, again. “I have worked too fucking hard to capture a dragon and I’ll be damned if any of you filthy bastards ruin what I’ve worked for. None of you deserve to own such a precious creature, hell, not even I deserve him!” Phil screamed at them.

The room once again became an uproar, and some people actually left, clearly not wanting to be part of such a riot. Still, many stayed to shout and insult Phil, and some even started throwing things at him.

“You’ve gone soft, Lester!” someone claimed.

“We were promised an auction!” another complained.

“This is bullshit!” a man snapped, actually having the audacity to throw a knife at him, but Phil swiftly and easily dodged it.

“Don’t you fucking hurt him!” Dan suddenly shouted from his position on the stage.

The riot paused. Everyone’s eyes looked up at Dan when he spoke, clearly surprised that he even had the ability to speak considering how quiet he had been this entire time. “You can insult me and hurt me all you want, but if you dare try to hurt him again I will personally kill you!”

The same man that threw the knife gave a laugh. “What could you possibly do to me while chained up, beast?”

Dan’s jaw visibly clenched and he quickly snapped free of his cuffs and leapt onto the man, gripping him around his throat and wringing the life out of him. Before Phil could really comprehend what was happening, nearly half the people in room took out their weapons and all simultaneously charged towards Dan. Phil noticed that a few of his crewmates were in the room trying to fight everyone off, which bought Phil a little bit of time, if only a few seconds.

“Dan!” Phil yelled, trying to catch his attention, which thankfully Dan noticed. It only took a split second for Dan to realize what was happening around him and he quickly let go of the man’s throat and flew up into the air, just barely avoiding getting sliced open. Phil actually had to take a moment to breathe, as he had had no idea that Dan could fly while still in human form, Phil didn’t think that Dan’s wings were strong enough to hold him up, but clearly, they were.

However, even though Dan managed to get out of immediate danger, they were still in a lot of trouble. There weren’t nearly as many people in the room as their was before, maybe forty or so if Phil’s crew was taken into account, but they were still outnumbered. Phil also quickly realized that he didn’t have a weapon on him and he silently cursed himself for forgetting such a valuable item, but luck was apparently on his side because he heard someone call his name from the crowd and he quickly locked eyes with Finn.

Finn smiled at him and held up a sword. “I thought you might need this,” he yelled through all the screaming and tossed the sword to Phil, which he easily caught and drew.

“Thanks!” he called back, but he was pretty sure that the word got drowned out with all the noise.

With his sword in hand, he took a quick glance at Dan to make sure he was alright, and jumped into battle with everyone else. It had been quite a while since he was in a battle with so many people, and he was rather excited to be in one again. The clashing of swords and flesh being ripped clean open filled Phil with exhilaration and adrenaline, he truly did miss it. However, he had to keep in mind that these weren’t like the creatures that he typically fought, but rather humans, and as much as he would love to kill everyone in that room, he couldn’t afford to be known as the pirate captain who killed everyone at his own auction. So unfortunately, Phil had to be gentle and try to knock everyone out instead, but if a few people died along the way, no one could blame him.

Phil’s sword came crashing down onto some poor bastard’s hand and then swung to clash with another sword. Phil fixed his footing so he wouldn’t fall and continued to battle with the man in front of him. Surprisingly, the man wasn’t half bad, though he wasn’t quite good enough to beat Phil; within a few minutes, Phil had managed to disarm and knock the man out with the hilt of his sword. Phil’s crew weren’t quite as outnumbered as they were before, but there was still a fair amount of people left to fight off. Phil took another look at Dan just to make sure he was safe, and he let out a light chuckle when he saw that Dan was in the air, burning anyone who came close to him.

However, Phil’s smile dropped when he noticed a man behind Dan with a bow and arrow aimed directly at Dan’s chest. Phil’s breathing became uneven as he started running towards Dan. “Dan! Move!” He yelled as loud as he could, but he was too late. The man had already let go of the arrow and it flew through the air at speeds unimaginable, then it pierced Dan right through the chest and Phil felt like his world came crashing down around him. Dan fell to the ground with a devastating cry and Phil’s heart dropped in his stomach.

At first, all Phil saw was red. He was boiling with anger and as soon as he was close enough, he ran his sword right through the chest of the man who shot the arrow. Then came the pain, an absolute agony ran through Phil’s veins as he realized what just happened. Dan… was he? Phil ran towards Dan, pushing a couple people out of the way as he did so, not even caring about the battle that was going on. Besides, everyone was either dead or seriously injured by then, and Phil was sure that his crewmates would take care of the rest.

Phil kneeled down beside Dan and checked his quickly fading pulse. “Dan?” He asked softly, his voice breaking.

“Phi–” Dan didn’t even manage to get the word out before he started severely coughing. Some blood started dripping from his lips and his eyes were hazy and unfocused.

“Shh, Dan, don’t talk,” Phil instructed quietly, doing whatever he could to prevent anymore blood loss. “You’ll be okay,” he assured, though he was trying to convince himself more than he was Dan. Phil had no idea what to do, his hands were so shaky and his eyes were blurred with tears, but he refused to let them fall. He didn’t know the first thing about saving someone’s life, especially not in such a severe condition.

“Phil?” Someone softly spoke from behind above him.

Phil looked up, seeing PJ standing over him. “Help him,” Phil begged, not even caring how broken he sounded.

“Phil,” PJ said again, softly. “He’s gone.”

“What?” Phil swallowed, he looked back down at Dan and noticed that he wasn’t breathing. Phil quickly checked his pulse and he felt a new wave of agony hit him as he realized that Dan was really gone.

“No…” Phil whispered. “No,” he said again, louder. “He can’t be dead–you can’t be dead, Dan. You promised me you’d be fine!” Phil suddenly yelled. “I trusted you, Dan! You promised you’d survive this, you said you’d live, you said you’d get out… I trusted you… I–” Phil trailed off, his voice breaking at the end, tears started to freely fall down his cheeks, and Phil didn’t even care anymore.

“I’ve lost everyone, Dan,” Phil cried out. “You were the one who was supposed to be safe, you were supposed to live… Why couldn’t you live?” Phil felt so broken and lost, he didn’t know what to do anymore, he had nothing.

Phil hugged Dan close to his chest and let out a broken cry. “I’m so sorry, Dan,” Phil whimpered. “I couldn’t save you,” he muttered, he lightly kissed Dan’s forehead and kept mumbling incoherent apologies. With each passing second, more and more tears fell from Phil’s cheek, some even getting into Dan’s wounds, but Phil didn’t care, how could he? Dan was dead and he wasn’t coming back.

“I’m sorry–so, so sorry. Please, just-” Phil broke down into another fit of sobs. his stomach was in knots and he felt as if his will to breath had left him; it had gotten to the point where he was gasping and choking on air just to get an ounce of oxygen into his lungs. How could this have possibly happened? How could Phil have let this happen? Surely if he would’ve just tried harder, ran faster, yelled louder—something, then maybe Dan wouldn’t be… gone. God, Phil hated this; he hated this so much…

“Phil?”

“Please, just leave me alone,” Phil begged, hugging Dan closer to his chest.

“Phil, you’re suffocating me.”

Phil’s eyes suddenly widened, he sat up and lightly pushed Dan away from him, he looked down on Dan, who was now coughing and blinking blearily, somehow more alive then he should be.

“Dan? But how…? You were dead, you didn’t have a pulse,” Phil said quickly, barely managing to keep up with his own words.

Dan didn’t answer, but he brought his hands up towards Phil’s face, lightly brushing away the tears on his cheeks. “Have you ever thought that maybe that story about dragon tears is true?” he asked softly.

“But–I’m not a dragon, Dan,” Phil said, trying to make sense of Dan’s logic.

Dan raised his eyebrows and smiled weakly. “Not completely, no.”

“I–you–” Phil stuttered; he hated it when Dan made sense.

“I’m not even going to ask what the fuck you two are on about,” Chris suddenly spoke up from behind him. “We should seriously get going, these guys aren’t going to stay knocked out forever.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Phil mumbled as he began to get up, however, Dan pulled him back to the ground and pulled his face towards his own so their noses were almost touching.

“Hey, Phil?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” Dan planted a small kiss on Phil’s lips. “For everything.”

Phil’s eyes widened in surprise as his mind processed the small yet hugely significant kiss Dan had just given him. He didn’t have quite enough time to think over the meaning of it, but he knew that it meant a lot more than just a simple friendly gesture, and that thought alone caused Phil to feel all bubbly inside. “Anytime, dragon-boy,” Phil smiled blissfully, and for once in his life, he felt truly and utterly content.

~

here is all the amazing art 

[loony-eagle]

road trip packing list

hey so!!! tomorrow i get to miss school and go with my family down to D.C. for the day, and since it’s maybe 3-ish hours to drive(including traffic), I always make sure to bring a bunch of stuff to do.

And then usually end up just reading the 5 books I downloaded and ignoring all of my coloring and homework and games I brought...

BUT! I still felt like looking up a “road trip” pakcing list, although our proably doesn’t qualify as a road trip exactly... and I only found two? on tumblr? Sooooo I decided to make my own for future reference and for others to use should they be interested! here we gooooo

1. okay before you try packing anything else go and plug in your devices and get out ALL cords needed for the trip. ALL OF THEM. right now. okay now we can get to everything else

2. grab a bag that is the size of what you need for the trip. for me, i’ll just be taking a backpack to keep in the car with me and that’s it. for camp, i ususally rbing a duffel bag. i know whenever my dad goes on business trips, he takes a backpack for his electronics and work stuff and a small-ish suitcase for his clothes and stuff. d o   n o t  bring more than you need!!! too much stuff equals less space and that is never a good thing!

3. ok now if you are staying the night(or multiple nights) in a place, count out how many sets of clothes you’ll need, and always pack extra underwear and socks. socks get wet easily if walking in the rain, so I have always carried around an extra pair depending on the weather. 

4. double and triple check your clothes. you will HATE yourself for forgetting clothes. they are a lot harder to replace on the trip than charge cords

5. now pack your tooth brushes and hair brushes and stuff like that. it varies per person. dont forget those either.

and now to the fun stuff, what you can keep with you in the car or plane or whatever

a. first think about what helps you pass time at home. chances are you could get by with just that in the car. persoanlly, these are what i like to bring:

b. HEADPHONES. EARBUDS. literally anything that doesn’t involve listening to music out loud. i ride in the car with two brothers and a five year old sister, plus my easily annoyed parents. with earbuds i can easily start playing music and drown everyone else out.

c. in turn with the last one, get music. if your family/friends can agree on a CD, then bring those. if not, download playlists on spotify, get songs on itunes, anything that lets you listen to music, and make sure at least one of them is without internet, cause you are not always gonna have access to that.

d. so now either grab a sketch book, coloring book, writing notebook, or soemthing equally able to be used when bored or struck with inspiration. you can also use these to play tic tac toe and such if really bored. i usually bring an adult coloring book and some colored pencils, along with my writing notebook

e. do you like to read? can you do so without getting carsick? lovely. bring one more book than you think you’ll get to in case of some random event, but don’t take anything too heavy. i usually bring one actual book and then download a bunch from my library. you can do this easily through this website: https://www.overdrive.com/ find your library, enter your card number, and you can choose from many books and then download for a certain amount of time. it’s very helpful

f. keep a mini bag on handy for a few random helpful things like: hairties, pens/pencils, chargers, wet wipes, cough drops, aspirin, batteries, change, etc etc etc. these should be in an easily found place in the car.

g. if at all possible bring a bucket or mini track can with you. i think you know why

h. snacks! grab a plastic container, put a bunch of snakcs in baggies then put them all in the container. things like crackers, m’n’ms, chips, cereal, granola, peanuts, fruit, etc. also grab a few branola bars and protein bars, but r e m e m b e r that with protein bars you muuuusssssttt drink water with them!! lots of it!!! you will highly regret it if you do not. plus, bring lots of water! a refillable bottle, then throw a pack of plastic ones in the back. remember to refill at each stop.

i. if you are still a student, you should proably bring some of your homework or notes(if its during the school year), but i wont blame you if you dont. you could accidentally forget them. 

j. puzzles! puzzles are always fun to do, like crossword puzzles or wors searches or suduko and things like those

k. last, but for sure the most important, bring a pillow and a blanket. i bring two blanket, one to hang up between me and the window, and one to actually use. and then just the pillow, because, sleep. 

OKAY SO i think that’s about it, it was a lot, and not super specific, but that’s up to each person. snacks, water, pillow, entertainment, music, chargers, and think you’re set to go! have fun, and always remember to quadruple check everything.

have a lovely day :)

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: A Duelist’s Skill (10/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"And then he had the nerve to call my Speedroids weak toys!"

"Can you hand me a wrench?"

"That swirly-haired jerk thinks he's sooo great with Ancient Gear cards! They don't even look like Ancient Gear monsters!"

"Are you gonna help me, or...?"

"I swear, the next time I see him, I'll shove my fist into his face! That outta show him!"

"Yugo, wre-"

"Cardfighters are the wor-"

Fed up with Yugo's rant, Rin leaned over and kissed his lips without taking her eyes off the Duel Runner. With the Team Duel Tournament approaching, Cardfighters have been showing up more frequently across the Original Dimension. In a way, it was understandable why the Clear Wing-eyed Synchro user was upset. His squabble with one of said Cardfighters really put him in a bad mood. Good thing he had something else on his mind thanks to Rin.

Ultimately the two parted. "Now will you shut up?" Rin asked.

But Yugo was love-struck. "That was our first kiss..." he realized.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Just hand me the wrench, you moron," she repeated.

Now sidetracked from ranting, Yugo handed the wrench to Rin, using it to tighten the bolts. After the mishap with the engine, she and the rest of the Synchro crew wasted no time with fixing the Duel Runner and adding modifications to make it battle-proof. Crow and Shinji were looking at the blueprints and the constructing Runner to see if there were any more parts that may be included. Rin soon wiped off any sweat that may have formed on her forehead after she finished tightening the last bolt.

"Not bad!" Shinji remarked. "It looks just like Yugo's previous Duel Runner."

"Then what are these blueprints for?" Crow asked, revealing blueprints for a completely different Duel Runner.

"Oh, those?" Rin asked. "They're for my own Duel Runner."

She explained how her Duel Runner will look different from Yugo's and how it have a design based off of Crystal Bell. So far, its color scheme will be white and purple with purple crystals. She planned on drawing out and listing more parts to deduce which ones will work best for the design before finalizing the blueprints. Despite Crystal Bell being a corrupted version of Winter Bell, Rin knows there is true beauty within the card, so using it as inspiration for her Duel Runner was an indicator. She also figured that she should build one of her own since she won't have to share one with Yugo.

"This looks pretty cool," Yugo complimented, looking at the blueprints. "You really know how to bring out the best in everything."

"Yep," Rin agreed. "Even hot-headed Turbo Duelists with loud and rude behaviors."

It took Yugo a few seconds to realize who Rin was referring to. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Rin let out a small laugh and gave Yugo another kiss. "But I still love you," she said.

Yugo blushed at Rin's second kiss. Usually, he would say that he prefers being called "energetic and short-tempered", but not this time. Ever since his sleepover with Rin, he was gradually improving on his behavior… Well, he still has his moments here and there, such as his rant, but at least he's trying his hardest to take Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri's advice seriously. Obviously not become a different version of himself like last time, but applying it to good use. It was actually quite amazing to be in love with a tomboy… Is she a tomboy?

A few moments later, the Synchro crew went on their break. They decided to pass the time by playing a couple rounds of Duel Monsters. Right now, Yugo and Crow were spectating Shinji's duel against Rin, who was about to start her turn.

"Nice Battle Wasps," Rin said. "But let's see if you can face my icy spells!" She drew a card. "Since I summoned Windwitch - Ice Bell on my previous turn, I think I'll summon a second one to join her on my field! So you lose another 500 life points!"

Ice Bell's effect deducted Shinji's LP by 500 before Rin continued with her turn.

"Now that I have my two Ice Bells, I can bring out Windwitch - Snow Bell to tune them together!" Rin continued. "Midwinter wind, make ice and snow my power and appear in all your wintertime glory! I Synchro Summon Windwitch - Winter Be- What the?!"

Rin noticed her En Winds marking starting to glow on her left hand just as she was about to Synchro Summon Winter Bell. She wasn't the only one because Shinji, Crow, and Yugo also saw the light green glow, leaving them a little shocked. Unlike her counterparts, who didn't quickly learn what their markings did when they performed a distinct special summon since they were on body parts they easily can't see, she was the only one who caught on to her marking reacting during a duel. At least they all managed to get a bit of an understanding of what was going on.

"Why is my hand glowing?!" Rin asked, alarmed. "Why is my hand glowing?!"

Shinji was concerned about Rin's freak out. "Should we call it a draw?" he asked, ready to take his deck out of his Duel Disk.

"No!" Rin blurted out. "I-I Synchro Summon Windwitch - Winter Bell!"

Winter Bell appeared on Rin's side of the field while the apple green-haired girl was still alarmed by the current situation. Her ace has two effects that either can be used once per turn. By targeting one of her Windwitches from her Graveyard, she can inflict damage to her opponent equal to the target's level x 200. She can also target a Windwitch she controls to special summon a monster with a Level less than or equal to the target's Level, but it isn't allowed to attack during that turn. Desperately trying to find a way to get rid of the glowing marking, Rin chose Winter Bell's first effect.

"I activate Winter Bell's special ability!" Rin announced. "By targeting one of my two Ice Bells, you lose 600 life points!"

Winter Bell took out 600 of Shinji's LP thanks to her first ability; Rin checked her marking, only to find it still glowing. She would declare an attack, but she figured he endured enough damage for this turn. Besides, it would only prolong the glow if she doesn't figure out a way to stop it. For now, she stated she'll end her turn, which caused the light green luminosity to fade away. She was slightly confused as to why ending her turn was the solution to this dilemma, but mostly glad that it was over as she let out a sigh of relief. Shinji and Crow had to ask what that was all about.

"I don't know!" Rin admitted, looking at her marking. "But it seemed to happen when I Synchro Summoned Winter Bell!"

"Wait... I think I know what's going on!" Yugo asked.

"Really?" Rin happily asked.

Yugo proceeded to run over to Rin and tightly hug her. "You must be growing out your hair!"

"What?!" Rin asked, surprised at Yugo's suddenly statement.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Yugo said, separating from the hug. "Last time I checked, your hair was a half inch shorter. You're already cute with short hair, but you'll probably look extra cuter with long hair!"

Where the heck did that idea come from? And how did Yugo spot Rin's slightly longer hair? Regardless, it had nothing to do with her marking, but Crow and Shinji also remembered seeing her hair shorter. They never noticed until now although their reactions were slightly delayed than Yugo's. Rin was pleased that her friends were thrilled with her growing hair, but she needed to figure out why her marking glowed when she Synchro Summoned.

After calming down, she looked at her marking on her left hand, deducing the cause of what happened less than a minute ago. She knows she's one of Ray's four reincarnations, specifically her Synchro reincarnation, "created" by the En Winds Natural Energy Card. A theorization quickly struck her; when Ray was split a second time, she was given her respective Natural Energy marking, with the same applying to her counterparts, on a certain body part to help symbolize their main personality trait. Maybe that's what the reason behind the light green glow during her turn.

Rin clenched her left fist. "That's why my marking is on my hand," she realized.

"What?" Shinji asked as he drew a card to indicate he was starting his turn.

"I'll explain later!" Rin said.

With that said, everyone focused back to the duel as Shinji began his turn. Although he lost Life Points thanks to Rin's Windwitches' effects, she didn't attack him. This was perfect for him to swarm his side of the field with his Battlewasps to Synchro Summon his ace, decrease Winter Bell's ATK/DEF, and use his burn strategy. Looking at his cards, he made his move.

"I'll activate the Spell card Revival Swarm to recover Azura the Spirit Bow from your attack!" Shinji said. "Beat your wings, bring your sting, unite and fight! I Synchro Summon Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow!"

Hama has an effect where it can attack a second time during each Battle Phase, which can be determined if Shinji activates its other two effects: if battle damage was inflicted, he can target one of his opponent's monster to make it lose ATK equal to the battle damage until the end of the Battle Phase; however, if no battle damage was inflicted, he can deal damage for every Battlewasp in his Graveyard x 300 to his opponent. He knew what he will do for this turn.

Shinji used Hama to attack Winter Bell, causing Rin to use her ace's second ability. Since Hama was Synchro Summoned, she can target Winter Bell to special summon a monster from her hand with a Level less than or equal to the target's Level, but the summoned monster can't attack; in other words, she special summoned Windwitch - Glass Bell. Shinji knew she would do that; after Winter Bell was destroyed and Rin lost 400 LP, he activated one of Hama's effects, resulting in Glass Bell to decrease her ATK from 1500 to 1100. Now he can attack a second time as his ace sent his target to the Graveyard, making Rin lose 1700 LP.

"Hopefully that shouldn't case too much of a problem," Shinji said as he concluded his turn.

"It won't," Rin said. "During the end of your turn, I activate the Trap card Miracle's Wake to bring back Winter Bell!"

A portal opened up from the Graveyard as Winter Bell flew out of it and landed on Rin's side of the field. She then drew a card to indicate the start of her turn.

"And since I have my Winter Bell back, now I can unleash the full power of my icy spells!" Rin continued. "So I'll start things off with Polymerization, fusing Winter Bell with my Glass Bell! Maiden of snow and ice, become one with the magic of crystals and shed your ragged disguise to reveal the princess within! I Fusion Summon Windwitch - Crystal Bell!"

But the Fusion Summoning was different than the last time Yugo remembered. Instead of emerging from a block of ice, Glass Bell sprinkled Winter Bell with magic, causing her to transform into Crystal Bell in a sparkly display. "RinRin..." the banana-banged Duelist said, completely in awe.

Rin looked what was in her hand while reading Crystal Bell's effects, in which each can be used once per turn. Her Fusion ace can target a monster in either her Graveyard or Shinji's, resulting in her gaining the target's name and effects until her End Phase. If she was destroyed, Rin can special summon Winter Bell and a Level 4 or less Windwitch. After some strategizing, she figured out how to turn the duel in her favor.

Rin raised her left fist. "Now, with the power of the great Northern winds, I will strengthen my Crystal Bell!" she announced.

With a strong wind appearing on Rin's field, her marking began to glow light green once again as the En Winds symbol appeared on Crystal Bell's forehead, giving her a 500 ATK boost. Shinji, Crow, and Yugo were left confused on what Rin did and how it even worked on her first try. With the power boost granted, she proceeded to carry out the rest of her strategy for this turn.

"I activate Crystal Bell's special ability!" Rin said. "With Winter Bell lending her power from the Graveyard, you lose 800 more life points thanks to Glass Bell!"

Crystal Bell, now under the name Winter Bell, dealt 800 points of damage to Shinji. She them initiated her Battle Phase; normally, both her monster and Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow would both be destroyed, but with the ATK boost, Hama gets sent to the Graveyard as Shinji loses 500 more Life Points.

Shinji was baffled. "How did you even do that?!" he asked.

"Through the power of my marking," Rin answered, showing Shinji the glowing marking on her left fist. "I figured the previous time it glowed meant it has some kind of special power that only triggers when I first Synchro Summon. And since the glowing stopped at the end of my previous turn, it probably works during only my turns."

A couple minutes after ending her turn, Rin ended up winning the duel. The plans of having a couple duels were dimmed down to one because of her marking, so with their break nearing its end, the Synchro crew discussed about its abilities. They were determining if what happened to her also happens to Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina. Yugo interrupted because he was wondering if his Clear Wing eye color also has a unique special power and if it's similar to Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri.

"Excuse me?" Rin asked.

"That has to be it!" Yugo insisted. "After Zarc separated, me and the guys had our eye colors changed. And since you and the other girls have special powers connected to the Natural Energy Cards, I probably have a cool power connected to my dragon!" He proceeded to activate his Duel Disk.

"What do you think you're doing?" Crow asked.

"Just unleashing my cool new dragon powers!" Yugo answered. He proceeded to summon the needed Speedroids for the Synchro Summon. "Beat your wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction! I Synchro Summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Clear Wing flew into the field, bellowing out her roar. Once the Synchro Summon was complete, Yugo suddenly fell to the ground, passing out in the process. A startled Rin, Crow, and Shinji ran over to him; Rin shook his body to help him regain consciousness, but there was no response. She resorted to CPR to revive him; with each failed attempt, the Synchro crew grew more concerned, especially Rin. She didn't want to end up suddenly losing him…until something else unexpected surprisingly happened.

"Uh... Guys?" Crow asked. "Is it me, or did Clear Wing become more sluggish?"

Shinji and Rin turned around to see that Crow was right. Clear Wing seemed to have gained a sluggish posture; she also rose her head up and looked at her surrounding to get an understanding of what happened. Rin was about to ask the dragon if something was wrong when she stopped moving, almost as if she heard something. With a slight glance over her shoulder, her became happy to see her and flew over to nuzzle her as she growled softly. This left Rin a bit speechless and Crow and Shinji stunned about what Clear Wing was doing.

Rin's eyes widened. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Shinji asked.

"It sounded like Clear Wing said 'RinRin'," the mint green-haired girl said. She looked at the dragon. "Yugo?!"

Clear Wing nodded her head, confirming that she was indeed Yugo. Rin, Shinji, and Crow were stupefied at what their Speedroid user did. She placed her hand on her forehead in order to try and comprehend everything. How on earth can a simple Synchro Summon result in something bizarre like that?! Was it due to him having his ace dragon's eye colors? Was Yugo also given a special power too?

So many questions were flying into Rin's head that she may needed a moment. Shinji and Crow tried to ask their companion how he ended up in Clear Wing the moment he passed out, but their answer was in growls. Apparently, he can't speak like a human and can only respond with dragon sounds.

"Hold on," Crow said. "We can't understand what you're saying." He proceeded to remove Yugo's deck from the Duel Disk, causing the dragon to disappear as Yugo bolted awake.

"What the heck was that?!" Yugo asked. "How did I end up in Clear Wing's body?!"

"We're not sure," Crow replied. "But apparently you and the other guys can somehow become one with your dragons."

Yugo became dumbstruck at this revelation. He was having difficulty finding the right words to express how ecstatic he is about having an ability of his own. Rin had to remind him to relax with a smack at the back of his head. He quickly apologized as he rubbed his head, but he knew what he was going to say. He said he's enthusiastic about discovering his ability, which soon turned into another thought and question. Does Yugo being able to become one with Clear Wing have something to do with Zarc?

"Wait a minute..." Yugo said. "Since Zarc was able to become one with his dragons..." He smiled wide. "Does that mean my new power is the same way?!"

"Probably," Rin answered.

"This is so cool!" Yugo exclaimed. "I have to tell the others! They're gonna be so happy!"

It was clear that the powers of both dragon-colored eyes and the Natural Energy markings were becoming the main focus for the Synchro crew. Right as Yugo was about to find his counterparts, he quickly realized their break was over and that they needed to continue with Duel Runner construction. He yelled out a "Dang it" before heading back in the apartment/garage to help out.

Several hours later, the gang decided they were done for today and will continue tomorrow. Crow asked what time is was and Rin answered, after taking a glimpse at the clock, that it was 5:40 PM. It was evening already? Yugo looked outside the window to see the sun was starting to set. He remarked on how time can move so fast when they were busy working. Just then, the sound of a microphone was heard across the city; an important announcement was about to be made.

"Attention all Duelists. There will be a festival tonight at Heartland Park to promote the upcoming Team Duel Tournament. All Duelists are welcomed to attend and the festival will allow teams to register."

Rin's eyes lit up in utter delight. "A festival?"

"Sweet!" Yugo exclaimed. "We can register our team!"

Yugo and Rin were both excited about the Heartland Park festival tonight. From the sounds of things, it was going to be a more casual event than a formal one, so it makes picking out clothes easier. Crow asked Yugo what he'll be wearing, with the latter replying he's fine with what he has on right now…right after mentioning that he needs to wash up. He does have a point; after all the hard work everyone did, they needed to get clean for the festival. As for Rin, she said she'll shower once she finds nice and comfortable clothes to wear at the city's local donation center.

"Aww, you don't have to dress fancy, RinRin," Yugo said, hugging her from behind. "You're already adorable."

"I appreciate the compliment, but I smell like Duel Runner oil," Rin insisted, but Yugo proceeded to give her multiple cheek kisses.

As Yugo's kisses made Rin giggle, Crow and Shinji were surprised at her behavior. From what they have seen, she is always tough, hangs out with boys, and typically does stuff guys do. This was the first time they saw her act rather girly. They also could have sworn Yugo said something about shopping and her being a fashionista, but they weren't sure that was what they heard. They wondered if she really was a tomboy, but they also don't want to be rude about it; besides, they recently met her. Maybe her boyfriend may know if she's a tomboy or not.

Shinji cleared his throat, causing the two lovebirds to look at him and Crow. "What?" Rin asked. "Can't a girl have a moment with her boyfriend?"

"Yeah, but..." Shinji started to say. "Who are you and what have you done with Rin?"

"I've known Rin my whole life," Yugo said, snuggling close to her from behind. "Sure she's tough, but she's the cutest and most adorable girl I know."

Rin let out a small laugh as she pulled away from Yugo. "Okay, that's enough," she said, turning to face her boyfriend. "We need to get ready for tonight, so you should go shower."

"Sure thing, RinRin," Yugo said. He gave Rin one last kiss before he headed for the bathroom.

While Yugo was taking his shower, Rin visited the donation center. Even after the Original Dimension returned, it was still there. She always went there to get a variety of clothes because she didn't had a lot of money when she was growing up as an orphan. She and her boyfriend were also saving up to purchase parts for their first Duel Runner. As she was browsing the clothes that were either in boxes or on hangers, she stumbled across a blue-pink strapless sundress. She instantly knew this was perfect to wear for tonight's festival, but a good outfit isn't complete without shoes. She headed over to the shoe section to see which goes well with the dress until she spotted a pair of pale pink sandals. Her attire for the Heartland Park festival was found.

"Rin? Is that you?"

Rin knew that voice anywhere. She turned around to see Akiza Izinski, the owner of the donation center. She always loved the days when the Windwitch user stopped by to shop. This was the first time seeing her since the night Yuri abducted her.

"Akiza!" Rin happily exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Where have you been?" Akiza asked. "I haven't seen you in months."

"I'll explain another time when I'm not busy," Rin said. "Right now I'm getting ready for tonight's festival."

"The one at Heartland Park?" Akiza asked. "Say no more. I already have the right accessories for you."

"Really?" Rin asked.

"Sure," Akiza answered, bringing her over to the jewelry section. "I got these in this morning and I had a feeling you would like them."

Rin stared at a pair of light blue rose earrings and a pink rose necklace that were in Akiza's hand. These were perfect to wear for the festival; she had a little feeling she was forgetting something, so it was a good thing Akiza was there to help.

"Thank you so much, Akiza," Rin said.

"You're quite welcome," Akiza replied. "So why did you chose such a lovely dress?"

"Well, I'm meeting Yugo and-" Rin began.

"Hold on, did you say Yugo?" Akiza asked. "Did you two finally hooked up."

Rin simply grinned in response, happily nodding. "Then you're going to need some help," Akiza said. "Since you're a great customer, how about I help you with hair and makeup?"

"You would?" Rin happily asked.

"Of course," Akiza answered. "Anything for a friend."

As Akiza was preparing to do Rin's hair and makeup, Crow, Shinji, and Yugo arrived at Heartland Park where the festival was taking place. Booths were all set up—games, food, shopping stands, you name it. The park was also decorated with lights, streamers, balloons, and banners. Yugo commented on how amazing everything looked and how it was going to be a fun night. Crow reminded his Clear Wing-eyed friend that their first order of business was to register for the Team Duel Tournament. Yugo reassured the Blackwing user that he still remembers what they have to do. As they waited, he spotted his counterparts and ran up to tell them about his newfound ability.

"Hey guys!" Yugo exclaimed, running over to his other-dimensional twins. "Glad you could make it. Although..." He paused to muffle a laugh. "Nice monkey suit, Yoot."

Yuto simply glared at Yugo. "I finished my work at ObsidianCorp before coming here," the eggplant-haired teen said, explaining why he was wearing his dark grey business suit. "I work there now. Remember?"

"Oh..." Yugo realized. "Right..."

"So what did you want to tell us?" Yuya asked.

"I figured out why our eyes match the eye colors of our dragons," Yugo explained. "Turns out we can transfer our minds into their bodies, allowing us to actually fight in duels!"

Yuri was intrigued. "Are you saying we become our dragons?" he asked.

"Yep," Yugo answered.

"So...we can't speak when we're in our dragons' bodies," Yuri realized.

"Guess not," Yugo said.

A familiar yet oddly creepy face appeared on Yuri's face. His eyes went wide and he made an eerily big grin, complete with a rather amusing chuckle. Yuya looked at his Fusion counterpart to see what was so funny when he was stunned silent at his face. It was the exact same face the tomato-haired teen made when his initial plan to register for the Arc League Championship was to duel Zuzu, Frederick, Allie, and Tate. No doubt Yuri was scheming something…

"Alright, what's going on?" Yuya asked.

"Oh, nothing," Yuri answered. "I just figured out a loophole in Sora's ridiculous training methods."

"What training methods?" Yuto asked.

"He has been taking Dennis and I to someone named Ricardo Soprano for training," Yuri explained. "Unfortunately part of this training involves me taking part in 'Opera Duels' in which I am forced to sing all of my moves. Dennis doesn't seem to mind, but as for me... Well..." He cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed.

Yugo grew curious about why Yuri was embarrassed, which made him slightly annoyed in the process. Yuya and Yuto looked at each other, then back at each other to see their Fusion counterpart increasing in annoyance and embarrassment, and asked if it had anything to do with his voice. Letting out a sigh, he responded "Yes"; he explained that he has a high, "flamboyant" voice, so him trying to sing results in it cracking.

Yugo laughed hysterically. "It's not funny!" Yuri exclaimed.

Yuto let out a deep chuckle. "It kind of is," he replied. "If you want, I can give you some vocal lessons."

"No way!" Yuya exclaimed. "You can sing?"

"Sort of," Yuto answered. "I often sing to Lulu in private."

The eggplant-haired blushed a little after finishing that sentence. Whenever he and Lulu were alone at the Obsidian residence, he would sing softly in her ears during cuddles, with a majority of songs being sweet and romantic.

"You sing love ballads to Lulu?" Yuya asked.

"Of course," Yuto answered, smiling as he adjusted his glasses. "She's my girl. I'm proud to have fallen in love with her."

As if on cue, Lulu had showed up and surprised Yuto with a hug from behind. "Guess who?" she playfully asked.

Yuto chuckled as his girlfriend moved to face him, his hands on her waist. "Hey there, beautiful," he said. He gave her a quick yet loving kiss on the lips.

Yugo scoffed. "So what?" he asked. "I would never act like that with RinRin. She's cute, but there's no way I would-"

His sentence was cut off when he saw Rin entering the festival. She wore the sundress and sandals she got at the donation store along with the necklace and earrings Akiza got her. She even had her apple green hair brushed nicely with her mint green side tails clipped back, as well as mascara on her eyelashes and nude lipstick on her lips. In Yugo's eyes, she looked absolutely adorable.

Feeling a burst of adrenaline, Yugo rushed over to Rin and placed his hand on her hip. "Hey everyone!" he called out, pulling her close. "I'm proud to say this lovely lady is my girlfriend!"

Yugo wasn't exactly the romantic type, but when he's in love, he just has to announce it to the whole world, which he just did. After all, he was, how you say, impulsive about his actions; he goes right for it without any thought whatsoever. Everyone looked over at him after he made the announcement, much to Rin's embarrassment.

Crow and Shinji were both surprised. "Rin?" Shinji asked. "You look different."

"'Course she's different," Yugo said. "This is the real Rin. Just an adorable girl with pretty hair and a cute face."

Rin blushed heavily. "That's great..." she said. "But we should really sign up for the tournament."

"Oh, right," Yugo said. "Oopsie..."

The Yu-Salad, Lulu, Rin, Crow, and Shinji walked around the festival to find out where the registrations were. They were given directions about its location, and pretty soon, they managed to arrive at the Team Duel Tournament registration booth. They also found their other companions, whom some of them already signed up. Zuzu, Gong, Shay, Sora, and Dennis were waiting for Yuya, Yuto, Lulu, and Yuri respectively so that they can sign their teams up.

"There you guys are," Shay told Yuto and Lulu. "Did you sneak off somewhere?"

Yuto froze up, but Lulu rolled her eyes. "He's joking," she explained.

"'Bout time you got here!" Sora said. "I hope you're ready for tomorrow's training."

"Of course I am," Yuri said, smiling wide.

"Great!" Dennis said. "Because I finished working on the costumes."

"What took ya so long, Yuya?" Gong asked.

"Well let's just say Yugo helped me figure out how to improve my performances," Yuya replied.

"That's good to here," Zuzu said. "Hopefully what he said also helped improve your self-esteem."

With all that said and done, everyone else began signing up for the tournament. They soon realized that Celina wasn't here; Zuzu asked where she was until her Fusion counterpart showed up with Sylvio and Aura. Talk about an example of "speak of the devil". The pink-haired girl wasn't thrilled to see Aura, mostly because she also had feelings for Yuya ever since her defeat during the Arc League Championship qualifications.

"Oh, quit pouting," Aura told Zuzu. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about the truth behind this world? You and Yuya are obviously fated for each other, so that prediction I made must have been a little hiccup."

Zuzu was surprised to hear that. "What?"

"Declan told me everything that happened," Aura explained. "If your past selves were destined to meet again in another life, who am I to argue with that kind of fate?"

"She's not wrong," Lulu agreed, snuggling close to Yuto. "If it wasn't for the tiny bit of Zarc and Ray who were in love with each other, I wouldn't have found true love."

Was this Aura's way of accepting Zuzu and Yuya's relationship with each other? It sure sounded that way; besides, what she and Lulu said about Zarc and Ray was true. Zarc was a huge Ray fanboy and even developed feelings for her, resulting in those feelings being passed down to Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo. There was also an emotion deep down within Ray's small ego that was in love with the former champion, leading to Zuzu, Lulu, and Rin sharing that same trait. The pink-haired girl learned about this information the Ritual user was telling her and how right she and Declan were. With a nod of her head, it officially meant the two girls were now on good terms with each other.

Rin suddenly remembered the duel she had earlier and how Yugo told his counterparts about their new abilities. She asked Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina if their markings ended up glowing during their duels, with all of them saying "Yes". The Bracelet Girls mentioned how they ended up glowing whenever they perform a Synchro, Pendulum, XYZ, and Fusion Summon with their archetypes accordingly, but Rin indicated that there's more. She discovered during her duel with Shinji that she can give her monsters an ATK boost through her En Winds marking during her turns, which fascinated the other three girls.

"That sounds pretty cool!" Zuzu said.

"I'm not sure..." Celina admitted. "That sounds a bit like cheating."

A newly-discovered power and Celina may have pointed out its biggest flaw. The other girls wondered if they'll get accused of cheating for making their monsters stronger like when Yuya was initially called a cheater for using his Pendulum cards. Rin glanced over at Yugo, who was with the others, and thought about his ability. If the Yu-Salad Boys merged their minds with their dragons, would they be accused of cheating too? She then recalled the discussion she had with the Synchro boys and how Crow pieced together what her marking can do. From the sound of things, he described it as her "Skill". They never heard of a Skill before, but Rin said that it was basically an ability that can either be used once per turn. If that's the case, then could the boys' mind merges with their dragons be their Skill too? Regardless, they may have to tell Declan about it to see what he thinks.

Speaking of Declan, he overheard the girls' conversation. "What's this about Skills?" he asked.

"I think that's what this is," Rin guessed as she and the other Bracelet Girls showed Declan their markings. "We got them when Ray separated a second time."

Declan looked at Rin's marking. "The symbol for En Winds," he recalled. "And it seems you got them in place of your bracelets."

The four girls all agreed that this was their bracelets' replacement. At the same time, they wondered if Declan has seen and heard of Skills before, so they explained to him what their markings can do. They even mentioned the Yu-Salad's ability to become one with their summoned dragons if they concentrated hard enough. These bits of information intrigued the gray-haired teen.

"Fascinating..." Declan said. "So it seems that when Zarc and Ray left this world, they gave each of you a special power. Perhaps these powers are to serve as reminders for who you once were and how you are connected to one another."

"But is it cheating?" Celina asked.

"It isn't as long as you use your powers as basic Skills," Declan explained. "A lot of Duelists have started to use Skills of their own, so you should be able to fit in."

They were relieved to hear that. From the power boosts to the mind merges, the eight boys and girls now had the opportunity to practice their skills starting tomorrow. With the signs up complete, the Yu-Salad, the now called Energy Girls, and their friends spent the rest of the night enjoying the festival. Declan asked the person at the registration booth how the sign up went, with him responding that it went well and a total of 36 Duelists and a stand-in have signed up to participate. That means there will be 12 teams competing, 7 of which are known: Team Smiles (Yuya, Zuzu, and Gong), Team Noble (Yuto, Lulu, and Shay), Team Turbo (Yugo, Rin, and Crow with Shinji as the stand-in), Team Obelisk (Yuri, Sora, and Dennis), Team Lancer (Celina, Sylvio, and Aura), Team You Show (Frederick, Allie, and Tate), and Team Ace (Dipper, Julia, and Kit). Even though the tournament is in a few weeks, each day brings everyone one step closer to the big event, so they'll have to practice their strategies and learn how the Team Duel rules work in order to prepare themselves for the grand day.

[greaseonmymouth]

Finnish Grammar Gothic Explained

Handy link to Finnish Grammar Gothic.

Accusative The accusative case is the object case. In the sentence 'the man bought flowers', flowers is the object. In languages that have accusative, the object takes on a form different from the nominative (or dictionary) form. (English does not have accusative.) 

Examples:  German: Nominative: der Mann Accusative: den Mann Icelandic: Nominative: hattur Accusative: hatt

In Finnish, the accusative case is taught to native Finns in school as having the following endings: -n -t - (none) And then further complicates the case by setting up requirements, for example: the -n ending is used only if it's a whole object.

Some researchers (AND ME, I AM ALSO OF THIS OPINION) believe that in Finnish the accusative case does not exist. As in, it's wrong to say that Finnish has accusative, because the object in Finnish behaves differently from what is traditionally understood by accusative. Accusative works perfectly for the Germanic languages I demonstrated above, but a) Finnish is not a Germanic language and b) Finnish grammar was initially described by Germanic linguists who forced Finnish into their neat little grammar boxes (these grammar boxes were largely based on latin grammar) and it's taken decades to undo some of the misunderstood work they did and that later research was based on, if it's been undone at all. This is is an ongoing problem in Fennistics and particularly the Saami languages suffer from this. (sidenote: this is also what colonisation can look like.)

So: Finnish does have objects in its sentences, of course, but I am wholly against calling the object case in in Finnish accusative, when upon closer look the object case is not one case but several different cases that correspond to different semantics. So, to paraphrase and simplify a paper I wrote about this once upon a time, the object cases in Finnish are: - Partitive - Genitive - Nominative (this includes plural nominative)

Examples: Luen kirjan - genitive. Whole object/complete action. I read the whole book. Luen kirjaa - partitive. Incomplete object/action. I am reading a book and it's unclear whether I will read the whole book. Lue kirja! - nominative. Imperative sentences always have the object in nominative.

This entire issue is far more complex than I've described here, but I'm leaving it at this because otherwise I will end up reproducing my entire paper and I honestly cannot be arsed.

Imperative In Finnish, imperative is a complex thing and you need to take into account the following: - 1st, 2nd or 3rd person - singular or plural - active or passive - positive or negative

Some examples:

2nd person, active, positive, singular: Mene! (go!) 2nd person, active, negative, singular: Älä mene! (don't go!)

The same in plural: Menkää! (go!) Alkää menkö! (don't go!)

3rd person negative: Älköön unohtako (let him/her not forget)

Passives: Tehtäköön (let (sth) be done), Älköön tehtäkö (let (sth) not be done)

The most common and used imperative forms are the 2nd person and plural forms.

Vowel length In Finnish there is a huge difference between tällä and täällä. Or tuli and tuuli. These are not the same words. So, there's short vowels (tuli) and long vowels (tuuli), and to distinguish between them in speech, the long vowels are long. It's usually said they're twice as long as the short vowels, as that's how they're written, but actually - and research has been done on this - they are more like 2.5-3 times as long. Native Finns don't notice this and you'll find most of them will parrot what's been told to them: that long vowels are twice as long. They're not. They're longer. And one of the things you are made to do as a student of Finnish, is to practise vocalisation. So you are absolutely made to sit there and say all the vowels and exaggerate their length. Repeatedly. Until you get it.

Verb types

The six verb types in Finnish are:

Type 1: -a/-ä verbs. The final -a or -ä is always preceded by a vowel. Words of this type are: Puhua, sanoa, istua, ajaa, katsoa, herättää, ymmärtää, rakastaa

Type 2: -da/-dä verbs. Examples: Juoda, luoda, syödä, saada, jäädä, käydä, myydä, pysäköidä, tupakoida And the two irregular verbs of type 2: tehdä, nähdä

Type 3: -lla/-llä, -rra/-rrä, -sta/-stä, -nna/-nnä verbs. Examples: Tulla, mennä, purra, nousta, ajatella, pestä, surra, ratkaista, kävellä, hymyillä And the two irregular verbs of type 3: olla, juosta

Type 4: -ata/-ätä, -ota/-ötä, -uta/-ytä verbs. Examples: Haluta, osata, siivota, hypätä, kadota, älytä, hakata, erota, herätä

Type 5: -ita/-itä verbs. Examples: Häiritä, tarvita, hallita, mainita, merkitä,

Type 6: -eta/-etä verbs. These verbs usually mean that they change state from one to the other. -eta/-etä verbs which do not have the 'change state' meaning are conjugated like verb type 4 verbs. Examples: Vaaleta, lämmetä, kylmetä, vanheta, kalveta, nuoreta, tummeta, pidetä

The joke I made in the gothic post came from the fact that in the book Suomen Mestari 1 the first 5 verb types are explained, but not the 6th. The 6th verb type is taught in Suomen Mestari 2.

Vowel Harmony The vowels in Finnish are: a o u i e y ö ä

They are grouped like this: a o u (back vowels) i e (neutral) y ö ä (front vowels)

The rule is that you can't have front and back vowels in the same word. So you can have soittaa but not soittää. Exceptions to this are loan words (analyysi) or compound words (syyskuu, syys + kuu).

Consonant Gradation Aka the bane of my existence.

Finnish, along with many other fennic languages, has consonant gradation. (Native Finns will know this as k-p-t- vaihtelu or astevaihtelu.) It means that when you conjugate words, they will be in either a strong or a weak grade (hence consonant gradation), depending on a whole lot of factors but ultimately it's based on syllables and whether they are closed or open. Yeah, no need to look at me like that, I know. The gradation only occurs with the consonants k, p or t. Luckily, unlike in certain other languages (side-eyeing some Saami languages p hard right here) there are only two stages of consonant gradation in Finnish.

Here's what it looks like:

Strong: pp, kk, tt Weak: p, k, t (Examples: kauppa - kaupan, kakku - kakun, katto - katon)

Also: Strong: p, k, t Weak: v, g/v/j/-, d (Examples: katu - kadun, mäki - mäen, puku - puvun)

And also: Strong: mp, nt, lt, rt, nk Weak: mm, nn, ll, rr, ng (Examples: hammas - hampaat, lento - lennot, kenkä - kengät, parta - parrat)

Not to mention gradation in some new loan words, like: Strong: bb, gg Weak: b, g (Example: blogata - bloggaan)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not even going to explain how the syllable thing works because fuck consonant gradation, that's why, and also: you can't make me.

There's no future The Finnish tenses are, and I'm sorry if this vocab is odd, I had four different grammar books in four different languages and none of them agreed with each other so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ : 

Present (olen - I am) Imperfect (olin - I was) Perfect (olen ollut - I have been) Plusquamperfekt (olin ollut - I had been)

No future tense. Future is usually indicated by using present tense and then some marker of time, e.g. 'tulen perjantaina' 'I will come on Friday'.

(Guess which language also doesn’t have future? English!)

Sentence replacements I will be very disappointed if native Finns don't know what sentence replacements are (lauseenvastikkeet) because these are my FAVOURITE. And also they are just really elegant! I love sentence replacements! THEY ARE GOOD THINGS AND SHOULD BE CHERISHED.

Anyway, what these do is that they replace sentences with a single word or phrase shorter than the sentence they replaced. In other words: they simplify sentences while also packing a lot of information into one word (or very few words).

There are nine types of sentence replacements according to Finn Lectura and because I don't feel like getting into ALL the variants and discussions, let's just go with that. The quantum sentence replacement (kvantum-lauseenvastike) mentioned in the gothic post is constructed like this:

Verb + translative + possessive suffix  Tietää | kse| ni

Tietääkseni asia on jo ratkaistu. (As far as I know, the problem has already been solved) Muistaakseni sellaista ei ole ennen sattunut. (As far as I remember, nothing like this has happened before.)

Another example of what a sentence replacement can do is the referential sentence replacement (referatiivinen lauseenvastike). That one is constructed like this:

Verb + 1. participle + genitive Lähte | vä | n

Sanoin sinun lähtevän. I saidthat you left. The same sentence in Finnish without the sentence replacement would be: Sanoin, että sinä lähdet.

New words are easy to create I'm just gonna leave this image here.

-i nouns There are several noun types (20+) in Finnish, that are all conjugated differently. The -i nouns, or nouns ending in i, come in four groups.

New words/loan words: Banaani, pankki, äiti, bussi (yes, äiti is a loan word. It's also considered a new loan word, because it entered the language relatively late.)

Old words, group one aka the 'mixed bag of old': Mäki, joki, lehti, tähti, niemi,

Another group of old words, the -si words: Kausi, kuusi, uusi, vuosi, käsi, vesi, hiisi

Another group of old words, the -li, -ri, -ni words: Pieni, sieni, hiiri, veri, suoni, kieli,

The old words generally have in common that they are nature related and that they go waaaaay back, and also that i becomes e in the stem. Here's how they differ:

Nominative - genitive - partitive Pankki - pankin - pankkia Bussi - bussin - bussia New words retain the i in the stem

Mäki - mäen - mäkeä Lehti - lehden - lehteä i becomes e in the stem

Uusi - uuden - uutta Käsi - käden - kättä -si is -den in genitive and -tta/-ttä in partitive AKA i becomes e in the stem, and in the partitive the vowel disappears, and the partitive is formed on basis of a consonant stem. This group is special because -si used to be -ti. If that were still the case, they'd be conjugated like the words below, but they had to branch off and go be ~special so whatever i guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Veri - veren - verta Kieli - kielen - kieltä  Pieni - pienen - pientä  i becomes e in the stem and in partitive the vowel disappears and the partitive is formed on basis of a consonant stem.

The number of cases in Finnish Not only is the existence of accusative contested, the researchers also can't quite agree whether to count cases that are no longer actively or rarely used, and cases that only exist in fossilised forms. Examples below.

Cases:

Accusative (let's never talk about accusative again)

Instructive -n: Omin käsin (with my own hands) Omin silmin (with my own two eyes)

Comitative -ine: Hän vaikuttaa varakkaalta monine taloineen. (he/she appears to be wealthy, with the many houses he has.) Hän saapui kauniine vaimoineen. (he/she arrived with his/her beautiful wife.)

Prolative -tse: Postitse (by mail) Puhelimitse (by phone) Meritse (by sea)

The Most important Word in Finnish

Just watch this video.