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#but instead you just get them to confirm: yep those are stars in the night sky
hanzajesthanza · 14 days
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ida emean is the most mysterious witcher character to me. like she literally just showed up from the blue mountains (i thought the elves were starving up there last time we checked) (also last time we checked the elves which lived in the blue mountains wanted nothing to do with humans ever and that’s why they live in said mountains) (like filavandrel whom sapkowski said intentionally never showed up again after time of contempt because he was an old and wise elf that could not be fooled and was not persuaded by the nilfgaardianian bequeathing of land)
and she just shows up as francesca findabair’s plus one to the who run the world girls meeting. you know. which contains humans. and then her only thing is that she’s an elf. she showed up. and oh yeah she fucking slayed that shit so hard not wearing any stones or metals at all in her jewelry in a daffodil dress. and her red hair. of course. but her dialogue is basically just: “yep confirming that’s magic” and “you are being a bit racist don’tcha think”
but the thing that REALLY makes me throw my hands up here is that she’s an AEN SAEVHERNE ?? literally a title we know best from it also belonging to LARA DORREN and AVALLAC’H?? but she was just hanging out with francesca in dol blathanna like going over to her friend’s for tea, when it is said even among the elves it’s rare to known an aen saevherne. so what relationship do they have that… ? dunno.
and but of course, because she is an elf, she is aloof, taciturn, and inscrutable as all hell and so we learn practically nothing about her.
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superstarz9 · 4 months
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Ya’ll fw a couple MORE Mr. Puzzles hcs?
Cause I got them :}
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He was gifted the hat by his mom. It’s a permanent part of him with how much he’s worn it.
He gets it, and won’t say anything about it, but he hates it when he regarded as just the scary “tv” head guy. He’s much more than a pretty screen, people!
The pants are custom made and he has like 20 pairs. He also has several pairs of his shirt and vest.
Will change the second there’s a spot on his clothes. He needs to remain as pristine as possible.
If he wasn’t a workoholic, he’d beat all the moms at candy crush. He’d try to be a literal god at candy crush, and would honestly buy extra lives if he was furious with how the match went and he ran out.
Plays computer solitaire to distract himself when the ratings aren’t good or he needs a mental reset.
Adding to these two, since he has computer elements in his brain (probably), he can probably predict where the game is going to go. The older the console, the easier it is.
He’d be a god at minesweeper.
Does not and will not swear no matter how bad it gets.
If he goes to a concert, he’ll just be doing the equivalent of maladaptive daydreaming the whole time, planning out shows and movies for the songs
Loves the orchestra. He loves movie scores and would totally go to those events where there’s an orchestra playing the soundtrack live as the movie plays.
He’ll whine about not having friends or being able to talk to people but he will refuse to talk to anyone in public, going so far as to mute anyone who tries speaking with him. If he’s at an event and someone tries sparking a conversation with him, he’ll look away awkwardly and reply with “uh huh, yep, oh wow,” and so on until they leave. In a relationship, you could introduce him to people but he’s still be the same unless you were apart of the conversation.
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Loves movie/show trivia but it’s a double-edge sword. If you take him on a date to a bar for movie trivia night, he’ll have fun and get everything right (and infodump a lot) but a question will pop up and the official answer will be wrong and Mr. Puzzles will just go ballistic.
Canonically has hammer-space abilities in the shows and can pull out anything he needs. Need a first-aid kit? Got it right here. Emergency costume? Has your size in multiple colours to choose. Someone pissed you off? Just say when and he’ll have something ready.
He doesn’t have proper heating in the studio(since he doesn’t need it) and the place is freezing when there’s the slightest breeze outside.
He uses different colognes and even used febreze a few times to smell his best, but he perpetually smells like cigarettes
He kins spongebob.
Technically canon but he’s an entrepreneur, and has multiple businesses (a tech company based on the keyboard from it’s gotta be perfect, selling the showgrounds). He also phrases puzzlevision as his “latest business venture,” in the movie’s teaser. He bounced between different businessed to earn enough money to buy the studio and the equipment he’d need.
With that being said, he’s unintentionally a con artist. Though he tries to have a somewhat clean business, he cuts corners often to get the products out sooner or doesn’t perform proper safety protocol. He doesn’t really care, though, as his main goal was and is Puzzlevision. He pretty much stopped the second he found the smg4 crew.
Terrible at art. He tries, but not even you can hold back your laugh if you see his art.
If he hasn’t slept for a while his voice is warped and a little glitched.
I forgot if I already posted this but his underpants are so those heart boxers but instead of hearts they’re stars.
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So real quick, I just wanted to say that ONE OF MY HEADCANONS HAS BE CONFIRMED LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! It is now confirmed that Mr. Puzzles CAN speak multiple languages, but still needs subtitles. God, I love being right /j
Fr tho, it’s really awesome having him back so soon. Maybe a little early, but I’m not complaining lol. From the sounds of it, he’ll be a reoccurring villain like SMG3 used to be, which I’m honestly relieved by. It’ll be rlly refreshing having a silly antagonist again honestly. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this fricken nerd lol
Also if you guys have any suggestions or requests please let me know! Questions and comments are also appreciated! Thanks and have a great day!
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transandersrights · 1 year
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Happy Friday! How about Anders/m!Hawke, 'taking a break/relaxing' for dadwc.
(I take prompts! See info here)
Ahh ty for this prompt for my beloveds! For @dadrunkwriting, ~750 words of early relationship mHanders, rated T. Content warnings for minor references to offscreen violence + rather less minor references to sex.
“Anders, it’s getting late. Maybe you should—”
“Mmm, not yet.” Anders waved him off almost without looking up from his work, his hand aside from the paper only for the moment as he dipped his pen back into the ink. There were sheets of paper scattered all over the floor, and he’d replaced the candle recently. He wasn’t thinking about finishing up any time soon.
“I’m not going to ask you to come to bed, I think I’m smarter than that.” Hawke laughed, and Anders still didn’t look up, but he didn’t return to writing either. “Just wanted to take a break. I brought some food?”
Anders chuckled. “A sandwich?”
Anders smiled back, eyes creasing at the edges. “Hey.” He looked tired, like always, but not quite as frustrated as Hawke expected. “Oh, that does look good. Can we…?” He inclined his head towards the balcony.
Hawke grinned; he’d won, then. “Not quite. Some fruit and cheese from the market.” And yes, Anders set the pen down and left his papers behind, turning to face Hawke for the first time that evening. “Hey.”
Anders joined him by the time Hawke had set out the tray and pulled the knives from his pockets (Mother would whinge about holes in the fine fabric, but what was he going to do? Hold them when he needed hands for the tray and door?). Under the moonlight, Anders looked almost like a cat as he took up his usual spot in the chair closest to the door back inside. He tilted his head up, eyes catching the stars.
“Of course.” Hawke crossed half the room to offer Anders a hand up, and then the other half while the man took a moment to stretch. Cool night air fluttered the papers on the desk, but Anders paid it no heed — clearly, it had been one of those writing nights.
“What time is it?” Anders asked, voice half-absent.
“Past midnight,” Hawke confirmed.
Anders winced. “I didn’t realise. Have I kept you up?”
“I only got back in half an hour ago.” Gang-busting in Lowtown again; Anders had opted to stay in, and Hawke was glad to oblige. Foolishly, he’d thought that Anders might actually take a break, but no such luck. “I’ll go to bed after this, but I’ll sleep like a log. You can keep working if you want.”
Anders let out a long exhale, then plucked one of the cherries from the tray. “I’m not sure if I’ll get much further tonight,” he confessed. “I don’t think I got very far today at all.”
“Want to talk about it?” Hawke was… well, he wasn’t half as educated or a third as articulate as Anders, but he could be a sounding board, at least.
Anders chuckled. “No, we’re taking a break. I can stop thinking about it for a bit.”
Hawke couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face at that. He’d hoped Anders would say it, really, but he never knew what was best for him. Where he should push, where he should hold back… this was all still so new.
Good new. Scary new. He’d learn in time, and he’d learn after plenty of mistakes. For now, though? He could sit with Anders in the evening light and be a good excuse to stop staring at words that didn’t want to be written just as much as they demanded to be heard.
“Tell me about what you did tonight,” Anders said instead. “Best moment. Or top three, if you can’t pick.”
It was tearing a new one for muggers, but alright. Hawke closed his eyes to cast his mind back over the night, and when he opened his mouth to speak—
Oh, that was cheese. It might have been late, but Hawke still had it; he closed his mouth again quickly, letting his tongue linger on Anders’ fingertips as Anders pulled away. And yep, there it was — Anders’ too-breathy exhale. He had caught him out.
“That’s a dirty trick,” Anders complained.
“Dirtier than putting your hand in my mouth when my eyes were closed?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“Want to put something else in there?”
Anders spluttered, and Hawke opened his eyes again, letting a grin spread across his face. “I thought we were eating fruit and cheese like fancy nobles.”
Hawke laughed, and this time Anders laughed with him, the sound spilling forth so easily. Fuck, Hawke really might be in love with him. “We can do whatever you want. It’s your break.”
“Cheese and fruit it is, then,” Anders answered, his tone lightly smug as he said it. But he was still smiling, reaching for another cherry, and that was exactly what Hawke wanted; Anders, happy, doing whatever he damn well wanted.
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handelplayssims · 2 years
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Aww crap! I completely forgot about the NAP repeals! And I wanted to do that yesterday as well! Well, at least today is a work-from-home day, so he has the freedom to move about the neighborhood to do that. Also Gunther woke up from a nightmare about an overly muscular Yammachan. You do get nightmares that interrupt your sleep if you go to bed scared. Gunther’s want is to chat and get to know Rua so that’s nice and convenient for asking for a NAP repeal signature. All of Rua’s work assignments take him elsewhere so I asked Rua and called over Arun and managed to get the signatures I needed.
With that, Gunther and the boys are off to the Arts Quarter! Both work requirements have to be fulfilled there. Eating four dishes specifically at the arts quarter and trying three different flavors at the Bubble Blower, which has a public one at the Cabash Gallery. The food stands we have out there is a produce seller and a tea one. ...don’t know if the tea one would count and also there isn’t a vendor there so, let’s try eating some fresh fruit. Can now confirm that eating a grape doesn’t count! But by the time we ate said grape, a tea vendor arrived! Gunther is more of a coffee person but ya take what you can get! Even if this doesn’t count. It also didn’t count. Dang. I gotta get creative.
There’s a bartender on staff at the Cabash Gallery, so I ask for some food from him. Pita and Hummas, to be precise. There is also a fridge. No oven but enough to make some dishes that don’t require one. So I set Gunther a-cooking! And then, a-snacking! And ya wonder why Gunther gains such weight so quickly. All the while overly eager fans were cheering. If they were truly fans, they would leap to eat food he was making. And then I remembered I had the Laud Meal interaction, which essentially did that. Hooray.
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Time to -ahem- blow some bubbles. Depending on the flavor cartages, these can give very good bonus moodlets! I just don’t normally go for them and go for yoga instead if I want buffs because it’s quite a bulky object to have around the house.
But enough of that, it’s time to go home and go to bed early. Those ghosties mess up our sleep schedule and he’s ultra-tired at 7PM. But we’re going to continue on because this’ll be a rather short post. Anyway!
Neighborhood Watch!
Brindleton Bay: The Guzman household recently moved out.
Newcrest: The Rios household recently moved out.
Okay byeeeeeee! Move into a place and swiftly move out I see.
Anyway, I had Gunther use his 4AM wake-up time to go and do some household maintenance. And by that, I mean get rid of the creepy things around the house and check the spiritual volatility. All is well and calm here.
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Oh and Gunther has now officially smooched a ghost. Heh! And asked him to be his boyfriend. You go Gunther! And Woohoo’d as well, to finish things off. Heh. Finish. Even got a little achievement for for woohooing a ghost! Fun fun.
I attempted to regain passion before going into work and got the tense moodlet. Eh, let’s try one more day before career hopping. Return home from work, and we got the wants to analyze a book, which’ll give Gunther a nice inspired moodlet, and don’t stumble. So essentially, don’t do strenuous physical activity that much. Got it. He read the book and then I started work on his aspiration again, by skilling a bit more in the logic skill. We got the chess table but hey, it’s actually a clear night so we can go star-gazing once the sun goes down!
...or he could be sleepy at 7PM. Alas. Let’s just get a good workout in and then go to-
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...ah. Yep. Say hello to Temperance everyone. She’s an angry ghost who will mess things up!
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Including using your séance table to invoke and lower the spiritual vibes of your home to make things more trouble!
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Look at ‘em. Look at the angry ghosties. I managed to catch them at a cute picture but they can get MAD. Not that Gunther knows or notices. He’s sleepy. He needs sleep. He chatted with a nicer ghost nearby and everything seemed fine so he’s going to bed.
...to get immediately disturbed by bumps in the night. Ah well.
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Anyway, Guidry gives us some handy advice to deal with Temperance. A weird idol thing. I’d set it down but Gunther is busy eating food.
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Oh, and we have this weird yellow ghost who will pop up rarely. Just kinda exhudes an aura of awkardness. And here, have a better look at the angriest of ghosts! Extremely sleepy, we send Gunther to bed. Good thing he has no work tomorrow!
Neighborhood Watch!
Nothing of note has happened recently. Check back tomorrow.
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honey-dewey · 3 years
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A Challenging Affair
Pairing: Shane ‘Dio’ Morrissey/Reader
Word Count: 1,976
Warnings: None! This is 100% fluff
Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell
Shane wasn’t exactly the most up to date on current internet trends and challenges, but when you introduce him to a very interesting clothing challenge, it seems he can’t say no. Could today finally be the day New York City sees the Goth King wear some color? 
“Babe!” You said, falling onto the bed beside Shane. “Babe, look at this!” 
Shane rolled over from where he’d been working on his laptop and looked at your phone. “The fuck is that?” 
“It’s a TikTok challenge,” you explained. “Aren’t you on TikTok?” 
“Maybe?” Shane said, confused. “I don’t even know anymore.” 
You groaned. “You’re such an old man!” You said. “Shane Morrissey, the goth king of New York City, and he can’t operate his own damn phone.” 
Shane elbowed you, causing you to squeal with laughter and roll away from him. “Watch yourself,” he warned you with a smile. “Or I’ll feed you to the dogs.” He rolled on top of you and blew a raspberry into your exposed belly, causing you to kick him, laughing uncontrollably. 
“Shane!” You screamed, flailing. “Quit!” 
“Aww,” Shane said, sliding off you and pouting. “But tormenting you is such fun.” 
You gave his shoulder a small shove, reaching for your phone. “But did you see the challenge?” 
The mattress creaked as Shane flopped down next to you. “No.” 
You held your phone out. “It’s a couples challenge. The two people go to a thrift store or something and buy an outfit for their significant other, then they wear those outfits on a date. It looks cute.” 
“Is this a coincidence?” Shane asked, raising his eyebrows. “Or do you know we’re doing date night tonight.” 
“It might be a coincidence,” you said, nudging up against Shane. “But since you said we have date night tonight, why don’t we try it!” 
Shane made a very unimpressed face at you, but shrugged. “Okay. I don’t care. But I get to pick the store.” 
You held your hand out to shake. “Deal!” 
In the end, Shane picked a place you and him both knew very well. The owners were good friends of yours and they were all excited to help you with the challenge when you explained it to them. 
“Alright,” Elon, one of the owners, said. “Here are your bags.” They handed you and Shane each a solid black bag so the other couldn’t peek. “You have each other’s clothing sizes. Go forth and conquer!” 
Immediately, you and Shane split up. You headed towards the sweaters and he headed for the shoes. Humming along to the music, you went through the soft shirts, ruling most of them out because they had too much of a pattern. You had quite the opportunity to put Shane in the most colorful shit you could find, but you weren’t that mean. Instead, you tried to find a balance between color and Shane. 
Finally, your digging around rewarded you with a perfect sweater in Shane’s size. It was a faded grey blue with small black stars, and you knew just by looking at it that it would work well on Shane. Putting it in your bag, you left to go ask your boyfriend a question. 
“No peeking,” Shane said warningly as you approached him. You smiled, looping your arm through his and leaning in to kiss his cheek. 
“I’m not peeking,” you said. “Just wanted to ask you a question.” 
Shane continued to look at shoes, although you could plainly see the outline of a pair in his bag. “Fire away.” 
“Do I have to get you pants?” 
Shane froze for a second, trying to comprehend what you’d just said. “As opposed to getting me what?” 
You shuffled your feet a tiny bit. “A skirt?” 
“Oh.” Shane loosened, shrugging. “Yeah. Go ahead. I don’t care. I’ve told you plenty of times that gender is just a construct meant to control the masses.” 
You giggled. “Don’t go all Dio on me,” you said. “I know you’re a giant dork under all that leather.” 
Shane scrunched his face up, coughing you to laugh. “Mhm,” he hummed. “Now go away. I’m shopping.” 
Giving Shane one last kiss, you walked away to find the right skirt for your sweater. 
It wasn’t hard. You knew what would look good on him, and you found his size in a soft black overall skirt almost immediately. The skirt flared pretty well, and upon further examination, you found that it was a circle skirt. Tossing it and a pair of sheer black tights in your bag, you only had one more thing to find. Shoes. 
On your way to the shoes, you got distracted. You’d intended to let Shane wear his regular jewelry, but passing the small display, you backtracked and grabbed a small ring with a beautiful Aries constellation on it.
You bumped into Shane, almost literally, as you rounded a corner. He smiled at you, gently guiding you around him so you two didn’t collide. “Watch it,” he said. “Wouldn’t want you hurting the pretty face of yours.” 
Blushing, you scowled at Shane, sticking your tongue out at him as you walked away. He mimicked the gesture, showing off his rarely seen tongue piercing. 
Shoes weren’t hard. Shane cycled through three different pairs of platform boots and two pairs of solid black Doc Martens, so you decided to let Shane continue with his current pair of shoes, which were one of the Doc pairs. You almost put a pair of hot pink crocs in the bag, just to screw with Shane, but you had told yourself you’d be kind, and hot pink crocs didn’t seem very kind, even if it was hilarious. 
“I’m done,” you said cheerfully, walking over to where Shane was looking at shirts. “You?” 
“I’ve been done,” Shane said. “Here.” He held out the bag for you. You exchanged it for your bag for him, swapping. “Ready?” 
You nodded eagerly. “Yep! Let’s go!” 
Elon’s girlfriend, Lucy, got you both set up in changing rooms, smiling at you knowingly. “Oh honey,” she said to you. “Dio got damn lucky with his pick.” 
Suddenly nervous, you began to get changed. 
The outfit wasn’t bad. In fact, you liked it. A cute pair of mom jeans with embroidered flowers around the folded ankles and the pockets, a white jersey knit shirt that you tucked loosely into the pants, a pair of white socks, and a pair of yellow buttercup earrings made up the outfit, but you couldn’t find the shoes. 
“Shane?” You said, confused. “Where are the shoes?” 
“There aren’t any in my bag either,” Shane said over the gap in the wall. 
“You’re supposed to wear your Docs,” you said. “Should I wear my sneakers?” 
“No,” Shane said. “I have your shoes. I wanted to see your face when I gave them to you.” 
You pouted, leaving the dressing room and making a face at Lucy, who had her lips pressed together in barely contained amusement. 
Shane stepped out of his dressing room, and your pour melted away. “You look so good!” You said eagerly. 
Truthfully, Shane did look really good. The sweater was a tiny bit big, but that added to the aesthetic. The skirt was just the right length, and you couldn’t wait to run your hands across his thighs in public and give him a taste of his own teasing medicine. He shuffled in his shoes, shrugging. 
“It’s too much color,” he said finally, and you rolled your eyes playfully. 
“It’s one faded blue sweater,” you pointed out. “Be glad I didn’t pick the neon rainbow tie dye shirt.” 
Shane fake gagged, causing you and Lucy to laugh. 
“Okay,” Shane said, holding out a shoe box. “Sit.” 
You sat down on a stool, closing your eyes at Shane’s request and putting your feet in his lap when he sat on the floor. You could feel him sliding each shoe onto your feet, and you tried to guess what they were. 
“Are they platforms?” Shane adjusted the laces on the left shoe. 
“No.” Shane pulled the laces on the left shoe tight. 
“Docs?” Shane was adjusting the right shoe laces now. 
“Yes.” Shane pulled on the right laces. You could feel your foot move as he tied them. 
“Can I open my eyes?” You were super eager to see the shoes. 
You felt Shane shuffle back, so your feet were no longer in his lap. “Yes.” 
You opened your eyes, immediately gasping. The shoes were hideous and you adored them. You’d been trying to find a pair of these Docs in your size for years, but they had stopped making them a decade ago. “Are these the Pascal Darcys?” 
Shane was smiling. “Those are the god awful Pascal Darcy Docs you desperately wanted,” he confirmed. “Lucy said Elon found a pair a few days ago, and when she told me they were in your size, I knew I had to get them for you.” 
You all but launched yourself into Shane’s arms. “You absolute bastard!” You said happily, hugging him tight. “I love you.” 
“I love you too,” Shane said, holding you almost as tight as you were holding him. “Now c’mon, I believe we have a date tonight.” 
Reluctantly, you took everything off and paid for it, carrying the bags home  and trying to resist the urge to pull your new boots out and break them in with a trip around the block. 
When you got home, you and Shane changed, and Shane wiped his heavy makeup away for something lighter and simpler. 
“Can I do your makeup?” You asked, standing in the bathroom with Shane. “I picked your outfit, so it makes sense.” 
Shane looked at you with his eyebrows raised. “No sabotage?” 
You gasped. “You think too little of me!” You said, picking up Shane’s liquid eyeliner pen. “I would never.” You quickly kissed Shane’s nose. “I promise,” you added softly. “No sabotage.” 
Shane sat still as you did his makeup, not going overboard because you didn’t want to. Instead, you kept it simple with a small amount of eyeliner and a bit of extra blush across his cheeks and nose. 
“I think I should return the favor,” Shane said, standing once you were finished. “Gimme the brush.” 
“I’m already perfect,” you shot back, but handed him the brush anyway. 
You ended up with the same treatment as Shane. Some eyeliner and blush was all he decided you needed before he was telling you to go put your shoes on. You didn’t need to be told twice, racing off to go put your new boots on. 
“Do you still love them?” Shane asked, putting his arm around you as you walked out of the building. 
“Do you still think they’re ugly?” You asked back, smiling. 
Shane sighed, smiling. “They’re really not my thing,” he said. “But I’m glad you love them.” 
You grinned, kicking your foot as best you could while walking. “I love them,” you said. 
Your date ended up being an early dinner at a local cafe and then you and Shane wandering around a tiny used bookstore for almost an hour. You didn’t buy anything, you just enjoyed the book smell and the calming atmosphere, losing yourself among the stacks of old books. The owner was a witch, and you found Shane talking to her about tarot cards. You pressed yourself to Shane’s side, yawning and snuggling closer to his sweater. 
Shane instinctively put an arm around you, holding you to him. You smiled. “Can we go home?” You asked softly. “I’m tired.” 
“Of course,” Shane said, kissing your head. “I’ll see you tomorrow Beth.” 
Beth waved as you two went, walking silently home. 
When you fell into bed, in your pyjamas and half asleep already, you were surprised to see Shane follow you, still wearing his sweater. The skirt and tights had been exchanged for sweatpants, and his shoes were discarded somewhere in the bathroom. 
“Did you have fun?” Shane asked, snuggling close to you.
You nodded, sleepily humming. “Yeah. Thank you for indulging me today.” 
Shane smiled, pulling the blankets up to cover the both of you. “For you, my dove, anything.”
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luvdsc · 5 years
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let’s play pretend.
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what if we’re in love? haha, just kidding... unless?
pairing :: na jaemin x reader genre :: fluff / best friend + college au word count :: 1,552 words warnings :: none playlist :: talk too much (coin) ⋆ face (woosung) ⋆ pretend (bad suns) ⋆ la belle femme (hunny) ⋆ love you like crazy (taeyeon) author’s note :: best f2l is the ultimate trope sorry i don’t make the rules
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Persistent fratboys at parties are the absolute worst. Already early into the night, you find yourself unable to shake off the latest leech in all his snapback and rayban glory. Why is it that they never back off until you’re forced to lie about a significant other? If you’re lucky, they’ll stop there. It’s quite stupid how they’ll let you go only if you suddenly have a boyfriend, rather than simply understanding that you aren’t interested. Perhaps, they’re too scared to confront how undesirable they actually are.
Literally, nobody wants someone who owns salmon shorts and more button up shirts with palm trees than necessary. Never mind the fact that you’ve seen this guy participate in more forties at four than actually attend his classes sober if he even makes it to your shared A.I. ethics lecture at eight in the morning. And he’s wearing those god awful sperry boat shoes with no socks. Inwardly, you shiver.
Eyes flitting around, you desperately try to see if you can find any one of your friends nearby who can take you out of your misery, but Yeji and Yerim are already mixed in the drunken dancing crowd, and you can’t find Donghyuck or Jeno anywhere. Renjun had been standing with you prior, but he already went home a few minutes ago because he had midterms early tomorrow morning. However, perhaps Lady Luck understands your woes because you spot your best friend coming out of the kitchen.
You quickly grab his arm, pulling Jaemin over. “Sorry, I’m here with him already.”
“This is your boyfriend?” the guy asks skeptically, unabashedly staring at your friend in question.
“Yep. Yes, that’s him. My boyfriend. Love of my life. My other half. His name is Jaemin.”
Jaemin turns to look at you, somewhat confused. You try to send some sort of telepathic message to him, and to your relief, it seems that he understands when you shoot him a look of mixed panic and desperation.
“Yeah, that’s me. I’m the boyfriend. The super significant other.” He reconfirms your answer and returns the male’s stare, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Great. Nothing says “I love you” more than a common hand signal found on YouTube videos. Maybe you should tell fratboy to hit the subscribe button, too. Subscribe to see more daily mishaps in the life of Y/N and watch as she digs an even deeper hole for herself.
The boy scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest, as he shakes his head in disbelief. You are temporarily distracted, almost impressed even, at how his styled hair doesn’t even move. You really need to know where he gets his hair products.
“Really? It doesn’t seem like it.”
 Slipping his arm around your waist smoothly, Jaemin tugs you closer, and you freeze, pressed up snugly against his side. You really didn’t think this one through. Swallowing hard, you force your body to relax. It’s no big deal, it’s not like you’ve been harboring a crush on your best friend for months and have been trying to get over him for the sake of friendship.
“I don’t know what to tell you, but I’ve been in love with her ever since she fell asleep on me in our macroeconomics class.”
You smile sheepishly as you remember your first meeting, pretending that his words didn’t affect your heart as much as it actually did whilst simultaneously thanking the stars that he was always a quick thinker. His lips quirk up in the corners into that sweet smile you always adore before he presses a tender kiss to your temple that has you going dizzy. Your cheeks warm up as you duck your head, attempting to hide the bashful expression on your face.
“She had on this pale blue fluffy sweater, and she reminded me of a cute baby blue jay. She had a green notebook decorated with corgi stickers and always took really neat notes with this pen that had a flower chain attached to the top and had the prettiest handwriting. I remember thinking to myself, I better take good notes even though I never took notes before, just so I could give them to her as an excuse to talk to her afterwards.”
He absentmindedly draws circles on your hip, making you even more flustered not only from his actions, but also shocked that he remembers all of that even down to the outfit you were wearing. Heck, you didn’t even remember what you wore that day. He gazes at you, smiling fondly, and your breath hitches in your throat. His eyes look so sincere, sparkling under the harsh strobe lights, and if you didn’t know any better, you really thought he may have loved you back. A dull ache starts to form in your chest at that silly daydream. “She looked really cute, leaning against my shoulder like that, and even her snoring was adorable.”
You gasp at that, looking at him indignantly. “I don’t snore!”
“You’re right, I’m sorry, angel. Forgive me?”
He pauses and leans down, his lips millimeters away from yours, before hesitating and lingering there, so close yet so far away. Your heart nearly skips a beat from how naturally the sweet term of endearment slips from his lips and from the close proximity between you and him. From the corner of your eye, you can still see that fratboy standing there. You had almost forgotten he even existed: the sole, annoying cause of your current predicament. To seal the deal and perhaps for a little bit of a selfish reason, you lean forward, closing the distance and grazing your lips against his.
Your hands are on his chest, nervously tugging on the lapels of his jacket, and his are placed on your waist, gently tugging you impossibly closer. You’re quite certain Jaemin can feel how fast your heart is beating with how tight your bodies are now pressed together, but that’s the least of your worries right now. The only thoughts that pop up in your mind is that one, his lips are slightly chapped, yet incredibly soft; two, he’s a very good kisser; and three, mission: “how to get over having a crush on your best friend” is a complete and utter failure.
When you reluctantly pull away from him, his nose nudges yours softly, and your eyes flutter open. He is looking at you with parted lips, hazy eyes, and an indiscernible gaze that causes you to feel a whole colony of butterflies in your stomach. Any words that had come to mind have now flown out the window, and you can’t tear your eyes away from the radiant boy in front of you.
“Maybe we should do that again. Just in case, you know? To really send a message to that douche,” he mutters quietly, his eyes searching yours for confirmation. You give him an almost imperceptible nod, relenting to your heart this time instead of your mind.
It feels as if it’s simply the two of you standing there, the rest of your surroundings fading away and the music slowing down in the background. You look up at him from under your lashes, eyes fluttering close once more. Jaemin presses his mouth against yours firmly this time, with certainty, almost as if he meant it, as if his lips are made solely for kissing yours. And in that moment, you truly believe that he’s in love with you. 
You are dazed, absolutely starstruck, until the two of you break apart, until you remember why this all came to be, and your heart comes crashing back to earth. Those seven minutes in heaven were utterly heavenly in your little bubble of make-believe universe with only you and him. You almost don’t want to open your eyes, but you do, and you find yourself staring back at him.
And just as you’ve always known, Jaemin looks absolutely breath taking, impossibly ethereal, and one hundred percent devastatingly heart wrenching: a modern day Adonis in the flesh. He gives you a shy smile, pretty eyes glimmering as if he stole from the night sky himself. You’re so close that you can count every single long dark lash framing his starry eyes and feel the warmth radiating from his blushing cheeks. His lips are red and slightly swollen, and you feel as if you had just ruined a masterpiece from the Louvre.
Your cherry lip gloss has been smudged onto his lips, and you reach out to carefully wipe it off. He gently catches your hand when you move it away and intertwines his fingers with yours. Your breath hitches in your throat once more, and you admire the way your hand fits perfectly in his for a few stolen moments until the dream is shattered once more and you’re pulled back to reality.
“Thanks, Jaemin. He’s gone now, so you don’t have to pretend to be in love with me anymore,” you mumble softly, slowly pulling your hand away and giving him an apologetic smile.
He reaches out to gently brush his finger tips against the apples of your cheeks before delicately tucking a stray strand of your hair behind your ear. When you finally dare to meet his eyes, Jaemin is gazing at you with the most tender expression imaginable.
“Who says I was pretending?”
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lyranova · 4 years
Note
Hey hey. I see you're request is open! Can we get more yami x charlotte? seriously, we need more content of these two. do you mind if i'm going to be specific in this one? like one where they're in public and something big and serious happened, and yet yami just simply shows some affection even though charlotte is uncomfortable with pda? i want to see how you write this one out, and maybe i'll try to draw it???
Hi Hp~! Yep my requests are open hehe I opened them recently (i think?) anyway of course we can have more Yamichar! Yes we really do need more content with these two and I love writing for them so much 🥺💗! I’m sorry if this isn’t exactly what you wanted I kinda went big with the affection part instead of simple i’m so sorry 😅! Ooh if you do draw it please let me know so I can see it 🥺💕!
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1,395
Warnings: Language
———-
It was the night of the annual Star Festival, and Charlotte was currently waiting for her boyfriend to finish work at his stall, she couldn’t help but laugh slightly, it was still very weird to call Yami Sukehiro her boyfriend. She had had a crush on him for a while and didn’t really think this would ever happen, so when it did she was pleasantly surprised. She was currently sitting at a small dining table watching him give orders to his squad. He finally walked over to her and sat down with a sigh.
“ I’m surprised,” Charlotte started taking a sip of her tea, she wasn’t going to have a repeat of the one time she decided to drink and actually missed the Star Festival. Yami raised an eyebrow before she continued. “ you’re actually letting them run the stall by themselves. Are you feeling alright?” She asked him, he scoffed before shaking his head.
“ Of course I’m alright, and they’re not actually running the stall by themselves. I trust them but not that much, which is why I’m sitting here watching every single move they make.” He told her with a smirk, she shook her head at him.
“ Will you ever trust them with anything?” She teased before taking another sip of her tea, she watched as he shrugged a shoulder.
“ I trust them with a lot of things; but that stand isn’t one of them.” He told her before grabbing a cigarette and putting it in his mouth but not lighting it yet. He looked at her glass and frowned. “ Aren’t you going to get something a little stronger than that?” He asked.
“ No I’m fine with this for now, I will not have a repeat of the last time I drank.” Charlotte told him with a small shudder at the memory, causing Yami to chuckle before taking the cigarette out of his mouth, deciding against smoking for the time being.
“ Hey I thought you were pretty cute when you were drunk after just one mug of that ale.” He teased causing her to blush and avert her gaze, she still had trouble getting used to his open flirting, wait, was he flirting or was he teasing? She couldn’t quite tell since they were nearly the same thing.
“ Uh Captain! Asta’s burning the food and might burn the stand down!” Finral suddenly yelled, the two Captains could hear Asta’s screaming as a huge ball of fire could be seen inside the food stand.
“ Dammit. I knew I couldn’t trust them with this much responsibility!” He stood up and looked over at Charlotte with an apologetic look. “ Sorry Prickly Princess, I’ll be right back, after I teach those punks a lesson.” He muttered as he stalked over to them, she shook her head as she giggled softly.
Yami talked a big game but Charlotte knew he actually cared for all of the members in his squad, sure he was tough on them, and yelled at them a lot. But he genuinely cared about them and would risk his life to protect theirs, it was actually very sweet. Charlotte felt the same about her squad; they were like her sisters or daughters, she loved and cared for them, was strict when she needed to be, and would also risk her life to protect theirs.
“ Excuse me, is this seat taken?” A young man spoke, Charlotte looked up at the voice and instantly her eyes narrowed. He didn’t even wait for an answer and sat across from her, she crossed her arms.
“ Actually yes that seat is in fact taken. So if you don’t mind-.” She began but the man quickly cut her off.
“ Funny, I don’t see anyone here.” He told her while looking around, she could tell this man believed he was the gods gift to women, and it made her roll her eyes.
“ Well he’s busy at the moment but he will be back shortly.” Charlotte told him as politely as she could, she glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed he currently had Asta by the top of his head and was holding him in the air. She sighed, was that boy ever not in trouble?
“ I think you’re just trying to get rid of me!” The man laughed, he really was full of himself wasn’t he? “ But it’s not gonna work.” He added, causing Charlotte to roll her eyes once again.
“ Well you don’t have much of a choice; you can either leave willingly, or I can make you leave.” Charlotte said, she was very annoyed by this man and wanted him to just go away. But apparently he didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
“ Really? A delicate little thing like you is going to make me leave? I’d love to see that!” He told her smugly, Charlotte glared at him and stood up, she was going to show him how delicate she was when she suddenly felt a presence behind her.
“ I’ll admit I’d love to see that too, especially since I know she’ll kick your ass three ways to Sunday.” Yami said as he came up behind Charlotte and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “ Now, if I were you, I’d listen to this strong and very beautiful woman and leave before she makes you. Because once she’s done kicking your ass, I’ll start kicking it and it’s going to be a very bad time for you.” Yami added as he straightened up, using his full height to his advantage. The young man paled instantly and quickly got up from his seat and ran for the hills.
Charlotte shook her head before turning around, her face serious, almost comically so. Yami frowned and scratched the back of his head.
“ Really, Yami? I could’ve handled that by myself.” She told him deadpan, they both knew she was more than capable, but for some reason Yami felt the need to come over there and back her up.
“ I know you could have, I just wanted to make sure that punk knew after you were finished with him your boyfriend was going to make sure he was, y’know, good and dead.” He muttered the last part under his breath. Charlotte tilted her head a little bit as a sudden thought popped into her head.
“ Yami Sukehiro, were you jealous?” She asked, she watched as Yami blushed and looked away. That confirmed it. She had never really seen him jealous before and it was quite surprising to see.
“ Nah I wouldn’t say jealous I would say...more like…” He struggled, he couldn’t find a different word to describe what he was feeling. It wasn’t that the kid was better looking than him or anything, although, he guessed that kid did look more like the type others thought Charlotte should be with instead of him. He shook his head when she suddenly walked up to him.
“ It’s ok if you were, sometimes jealousy can be good for a relationship, I’ll admit I’ve been jealous myself a few times.” She admitted with a bashful laugh. “ But, let’s not make a habit of it ok? I am yours, and you are mine, and no one can separate us.” She told him softly. She noticed a strange look in Yami’s eyes and she frowned a bit before he surprised her.
Yami cupped her face between his hands and leaned down to place a soft yet very passionate kiss on her lips. Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise, she may have looked calm on the outside but on the inside she was freaking out! He knew she wasn’t very into PDA, but then again neither was he, and yet he felt the need to kiss her right here, right now, in front of all of these people! She was a blushing mess, but when she realized she didn’t actually care what other people thought she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
The two parted after a moment and she was surprised to see a soft gentle smile on Yami’s face instead of the cocky one he usually had. She smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“ Took the words right out of my mouth Prickly Princess.”
——-
Again I apologize if this wasn’t exactly what you wanted 😅! I had a couple of other fic ideas from your request if you’d rather I try one of those if you didn’t like this one? But i hope you guys maybe enjoyed this and if not I apologize! I hope you all have a good day~!
Taglist: @eme-eleff
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doctenwho · 4 years
Text
Icy Surprise
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Hello! Thank you for the prompt! I’m glad you like my work enough to send your first request to me! Not gonna lie, this fic gave me such Christmas vibes, and it’s honestly the cutest idea. No mention of Christmas, but that’s where my head was the whole time!
This was so much fun to write, and I even learned a bit about Saturn in the process! Anyways-- on with the fic, I hope you like it!
Warnings: None
Word Count: 3,799
Summary: Up in the prompt :)
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(Gif is not mine, credit to creator!)
“So, where are we going?” you asked easily, watching contently as the Doctor did his usual circles around the TARDIS console as he landed her at the mystery location. 
As much as the Doctor liked to explain everything, and what you should expect from where ever he happened to be taking you, he also liked to come at you with the element of surprise every once and a while. Surprise and mystery, which usually left you floored by whatever he happened to show you.  
So, the Doctor hadn’t said much about where he was taking you, but he’d gotten a bright smile on his face when you commented absently about a quiet night away from other aliens, and strange planets out of your solar system. As much as you liked it, you were still a human, and you did get overwhelmed by all this space stuff occasionally.  
The two of you both knew you hadn’t meant you wanted to return to earth, just that you wanted a quiet night away from dangerous adventure and strangers. It wasn’t much to ask for, especially with all the dangers and adventures you’d found yourself drowning in these past few weeks.  
He knew it took a toll on you, even if you didn’t say anything about it. You truly did like the travels, and adventures and the general thought of space travel, but it wore you down. Sometimes you just needed a bit of a break before you were good to go again.  
And even if the Doctor didn’t say anything about it, you knew he liked when you requested a quiet night away just as much as you did.  
“It’s a surprise,” the man grinned, just as he had the other four times you’d asked, or prompted guesses of his plans. You gave him a playful pout, to which he chuckles brightly.  
You didn’t know what to expect. He’d given you so little information to even try to hazard a guess at where the two of you would be spending the evening. All he’d said, and it wasn’t even really information about your destination, was a question of if you had any warm clothes.  
Which, no, you didn’t. You had what you’d been wearing when he first took you away to travel the galaxy, clothing you’d picked up along the way, and whatever the TARDIS supplied for you.  
And by the look on his face, he’d assumed as much.  
So, he’d directed you to where he kept all his wardrobe, and told you to select warmer clothes.
And that’s all you’d gotten from him.  
You’d done as he suggested—raided the wardrobe and found some things you liked. A hat, a scarf. A pair of mittens you’d shoved in the pocket of the jacket you’d found in case you needed them too.
There were a few pairs of boots, all magically your size, just like the coats lining a rack towards the front. You mismatched the items you liked, what was warmest and textures you preferred before returning to the Doctor in the console room, arms full of warm clothes, because it was certainly too warm in the TARDIS to be putting them on now.  
The Doctor had looked at everything in your arms and nodded, pleased with what you’d selected. He, like usual, didn’t bother with changing out of his suit and jacket, so you were sure it wouldn’t be too cold where ever it was the two of you were heading.  
It wasn’t that much later that the TARDIS dropped in the familiar pattern of landing. You braced yourself, holding on while the Doctor landed her as peacefully as he could.
You were curious, leaning your body to the side to see out the doors as soon as the Doctor pushed them open slightly to peek at whatever was outside. A check he always did to make sure you guys were in the right place. A chilly breeze carried in from the door, making you shiver where you sat, arms curling into your body as an involuntary movement.  
He hadn’t been teasing when he’d said you’d want warm clothes.  
The Doctor shut the TARDIS doors before you could make anymore of a move to see your surprise destination, which prompted you to wrinkle your nose in an almost pout at the man.
The Doctor turned towards you, leaning back against the doors, where he grinned brightly before prompting the question that was more a tease than an actual inquiry, “so, are you ready?”
“Yes,” you huffed, smile widening as you pulled the boots you’d selected onto your socked feet, and tugged your jacket on as you rushed towards the door, hat and scarf falling to the floor as you moved. It was necessities only, as a child-like wonder filled you. Space was just so cool, and the Doctor was amazing at picking places you’d love.
You paused beside him, waiting for him to either move himself, or push the door open for you. He chose the latter, pushing the door open and letting you out like a puppy freed from a kennel. You stepped out in awe, looking around carefully.
Instantly, your feet shot out from under you, slipping on the icy ground, but instead of hitting the ground, the Doctor’s arms caught you under your arms and your back hit his chest instead of the ice below. You craned your neck to look back at him, a small, fond smile on his lips.  
“Thank you,” you told him as he pushed you up. It was still incredibly slippery, but now you expected as much so it was easier to stay upright.  
“My pleasure,” the Doctor grinned brightly. When you were upright and not in danger of falling for a second time, the Doctor withdrew his hands, but he was quick to throw the scarf you’d selected around your neck, then tug the hat you’d picked over your head as well.  
With your balance retained, the new knowledge of the straight ice below you, and the support of the Doctor behind you, you finally had a chance to look around. You were standing on a sheet of ice, bigger and possibly more slippery than and ice rink you’d seen on earth. It was a straight sheet of black ice under you.  
And if the ice wasn’t beautiful as it was, the night sky certainly did the trick. Up here you could see everything. The different colours of the galaxy were visible; purples, and dark blues and, of course, black. It was majorly black, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful. The stars shone brightly, almost twinkling in your eyes.  
It looked almost like those images NASA releases that go viral online, but real—in real time, and visible to the naked eye-- completely mind blowing.  
You looked around taking it all in. Reveling in the sheer beauty of this... planet?
You caught a glance at a planet beside you, so you weren’t really on the planet. But this was definitely a part of the planet. Then, in your peripheral vision, you saw it.  
Earth. Small and insignificant, but there. Incredibly far away from where you were currently standing, but still visible.  
“We’re in my galaxy,” you couldn’t help but mutter, taking in the Earth’s beauty from afar. You didn’t need the Doctor to confirm it, because you knew that was the Earth.  
“We are,” the Doctor agreed, taking a step forward so he was standing by your side, instead of a step behind.  
“This is... the rings. It’s Saturn, isn’t it?”
“Right you are,” the Doctor smiled, “clever girl. I thought I’d have to tell you. You said you wanted a night away from everything, so, I’ve brought you to your home universe. Not home exactly, by means of the planet, but close enough.”
“We’re standing on Saturn’s rings,” you mumbled, gaping around before pointing at Saturn, “that’s Saturn.”
“Yep,” the Doctor nodded, popping the ‘p’. He looked amused with your reactions to this mystery destination. He always watched so closely, and you were never really sure if you should be offended or prideful of his amusement.  
You couldn’t help it though. You’d seen some awesome things with the Doctor, but this... this was planets you knew, in a galaxy you’d learned about in school. Your galaxy. This was familiar—Earth, and Saturn, and the moon you could barely see in the far distance. And you were seeing them up close, where no other had before.  
“They’re beautiful,” you breathed out. “Much prettier up close.”
“I agree,” the Doctor gave a nod, lightly pushing his shoulder against yours and making you slide the slightest bit to the side. “But I didn’t bring you here to revel in the beauty, we can do that anywhere, anytime. There’s more to do than that!”
You bit your bottom lip as you shuffled your way back to where you’d been before sliding away, “is there?”  
“Of course there is,” the Doctor snorted, holding his hand out to you, “come along, let’s head back to the TARDIS for a second. Can’t have you falling this early in the night.”
You grabbed his offered hand, and he pulled you back into the TARDIS with far more agility than you could even imagine having. You stepped in easily, happy to have solid, not slippery, ground below you. You followed the Doctor in, but paused as he jogged from the console room.  
He was gone for no longer than a minute, before he was returning with two pairs of ice skates. You hadn’t seen them in the wardrobe, so you wondered briefly where he’d been hiding them. The sight of them excited you, much more than an answer to your question would’ve.  
You’d been skating before, but you certainly weren’t a pro at it. You’d be winning no Olympic metals for your skating, but you still thought it was fun. And you’d spent most of your time on your feet that last time you’d gone, so that was a plus.  
Besides, skating with the Doctor just made it sound like more fun than just skating would’ve.  
“We’re skating?” you asked, even though the obvious answer was literally hanging from the Doctor’s fingers. He raised an eyebrow, grinning fondly as he gestured you towards the console room seat. You made your way to the seat, sitting down and stripping the boots from your feet.  
You and the Doctor both got to work on slipping on the skates and tying them up. It wasn’t often you tied clunky ice skates, so it took a bit longer than it would’ve if you were just tying up your sneakers.  
The Doctor finished before you’d even finished your first lace, and moved on to your second before you could stop him. You blew out a breathy laugh, as you leaned back, watching his fingers tie the laces with surprising speed.  
“Nine-hundred years of laces and you start getting pretty good,” is all he mumbled as he finished up. 
When he was done, the two of you stood, and slowly made your way across the grates that were the TARDIS flooring. It was a weird sensation, walking across the grades on nothing but a blade of metal.  
When you stepped out with the skates, you slid easily away from the TARDIS. It was a lot easier taking on ice when you had a skate, instead of boots lacking decent grip. The Doctor followed behind you, hands buried in his pockets as he skated easily.  
It definitely wasn’t his first time on the ice. He barely wobbled, confident in his ability. You weren’t as confident. But you were sure you’d manage to stay standing.  
“You do a lot of skating?” You asked the Doctor as the two of you slowly started moving along. It was a lot easier to make your way on skates, the ice was clear and smooth and it carried the two of you perfectly.  
“Here and there,” the Doctor shrugged. “But recently,” he gave you a small smile, “nah.”
The Doctor did a quick circle around you before joining you at your side.  
You skated in a familiar, comfortable silence-- the sound of skates gliding on the ice quite relaxing. There wasn’t the usual hustle of crowded ice rinks, no push and pull, or overly ambitious skaters flinging themselves around you.
You hadn’t known you needed this, but you really had. The thought had never even crossed you mind, nor had you even thought it was possible, but you were incredibly grateful for the Doctor’s thought-out down time idea.
“How... how are we even doing this?” You asked slowly, still in awe at what the two of you were doing. It really didn’t seem possible, and, as far as you knew, humans couldn’t usually get anywhere near Saturn.  
“It’s the TARDIS doing it,” the Doctor replied, “she creates an artificial environment, like how we can breathe when the doors are open in space. The atmosphere here, in the artificial environment, is no different than inside the TARDIS. But if we skate out of it, well... let’s not do that, alright?”
“Noted,” you huffed a quiet laugh. “I didn’t think it covered this far.”
You weren’t incredibly far away from the TARDIS. You could still see her, and make out the wording on the side of her paneling if you squinted, but you were definitely further than you’d assumed the artificial environment would’ve reached.  
“It doesn’t,” the Doctor blinked, skating along without much thought, “not usually anyways. I can extend the environment at will from the control console, but it doesn’t last quite as long when it’s larger. We’ve got a few yards and a couple hours before we’ll need to return to the TARDIS and head to somewhere with oxygen—preferably earth since its closest.”
“Oh,” you hummed.  
“No need to worry about that though,” the Doctor gave you a grin as he pushed ahead a bit, only to turn in front of you and skate backwards, “I’ll keep you safe. We’re here to have a bit of fun.”
The man withdrew his hands from his pockets, holding them out for you to take. You smiled in return, lifting your hands to rest in his, where he tightened his grip and pulled you along, skating as perfectly backwards as he had forwards.  
His hands were warmer than yours, and you instantly gave a shiver at the pleasant warmth radiating from him. The mittens you’d picked were still tucked in your pocket, but you’d much rather the Doctor’s warm hands than the gloves.  
“How’d you even think of this?” you asked as the two of you skated, almost like you were partner dancing. The Doctor leading you along, and you following blindly because you trusted him wholeheartedly. You barely even looked anywhere other than your joined hands, and the Doctor’s face.
“This is a popular activity on your earth, isn’t it?” You gave him a short nod, which prompted the Doctor on, “well, it’s fairly well known around the galaxy as well. And, well, I know you humans don’t have the technology to even really get close to Saturn—you've barely made contact with the moon, so you won’t be able to do much with Saturn for... I don’t know, many years. So, I wanted to give you something that no one else has had before.”
“Because no one thinks to go ice skating on Saturn’s rings?”
“Exactly!” The Doctor grinned, eyes sparkling like the stars above him. “No one thinks about it, but now we’ve done it. It’s completely doable, but still never done. Well, maybe not completely doable, we’re only able to because of the TARDIS. And she’s pretty one of a kind now.”  
The Doctor casted a look back at the blue box that was slowly getting smaller the further you guys got from her. He looked back to you just as fast as he’d looked away, lips curling in a smile as he continued on, “we’re the first, as far as I’m aware, to do this. Plus, it’s close to home for you, but still... still in my domain. A perfect place for the two of us to spend the evening.”
“It is pretty perfect,” you agreed. You really did like looking to the side and seeing earth, and the moon in the distance. Knowing how close you were, but still up and away where everything was quiet and familiar, but also completely unfamiliar all the same. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been skating somewhere no loaded with people.”
“I’m glad you like it,” the man mumbled, completely honest and adorably proud of himself. “A quiet evening alone sounded nice when you mentioned it, but just sitting in the TARDIS is no fun—not when there’s so much to see and explore. We barely spend any time alone when we’re not in the TARDIS.”
And you couldn’t argue with that. You spent a lot of time with the Doctor, but very little of it was just the two of you. More often than not, someone else was tagging along. Or you’d stumble upon someone.  
You skated a while longer, conversation flowing easily. You liked to just listen to the Doctor talk, about whatever happened to come to his mind. Together you danced along the ice, hands barely straying from each other now that you’d felt the warmth and connection.  
It was just a warm and easy atmosphere despite the chill sinking into your bones. Just you and the Doctor and nothing, or anyone else to worry about. Perfect for a night away from everything.  
Utterly perfect.
Well, except for--
You weren’t sure if it was you, or the Doctor whose skate hit a chunk of debris from outer space. You’d known that Saturn’s rings weren’t solely ice, but it was still a shock as the two of you tumbled down. 
You’d seen nothing but smooth, untouched ice and you honestly had no idea where the bump in the road had come from.
The Doctor tripped first, falling backwards. You weren’t sure if you’d tripped too, or if the Doctor had accidently tugged you down along with him, but in the end, you’d landing on him. Him breaking your fall.  
“Are you okay?” You gaped out, too stunned to be trying to get off him. It had barely even registered in your mind that you were, in fact, laying on the Doctor.  
One second, you’d been gliding peacefully with the Doctor leading you along gracefully, and then next, the two of you were a messed pile of sprawled limbs on the ground.  
The Doctor looked just as stunned as you felt, eyeing your face in a silent analysis, before his eyes widened and his cheeks started to darken in colour. He didn’t say, or do anything, so you continued fretting over him, “did you hit your head?”  
“No,” he mumbled, voice a bit higher than usual. He was quick to change that though, clearing his throat before continuing, “no, I didn’t. I’m alright. Nothing that hasn’t happened before. Perfectly fine.”
His eyes studied you again, looking up at you from where he was trapped between the ice and you, “what about you, are you alright?” His voice had returned to normal, but the flush on his cheeks certainly hadn’t.  
“I’m alright,” you blinked in surprise before ginning teasingly down at him, “I had a pretty soft landing, actually.”
The Doctor let out a surprised bark of laughter, grin so wide that the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkled happily. You liked that look on the Doctor, cheeks flushed lightly and smile wide and bright.  
You beamed at the response from the Doctor, before your words promptly caught up to you. And following those, the position the two of you had landed in. 
You were on the Doctor. Still. You were laying on the Doctor. You were using the Doctor as a cushion, and he hadn’t said anything about it.
“Oh,” you exhaled before your brain caught up. Then, a little louder and a bit more embarrassed, “oh, uh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to land on you!”
Below you, you felt the Doctor vibrate with a chuckle, “I don’t mind,” he tilted his head, “honestly, better me than you. Time-Lords are rather durable.”
“Don’t say that,” you scoffed as you finally started to pull yourself away. 
You rolled off him, finding that faster than actually standing up to get off him as quickly as you could. You pulled yourself to your knees before reaching a hand out to help the Doctor sit up. “Are you sure you’re alright? That was a hard fall, and... and then I landed on you?”
“I’m fine,” the Doctor nodded, “perfectly fine. A bit chilly now, but fine nonetheless.”
You looked at him skeptically, eyeing his sitting form before finally allowing the answer. Mostly. “Maybe that’s enough skating for one night, eh?”
“If you’re done,” the Doctor nodded, “don’t stop on my account, I’m good to go. Takes a harder hit than that to deter me.”
You frowned at him, knowing full well he’d want to keep going if you did, even if he was cold and maybe a bit sore. That’s just who the Doctor was.  
Thankfully, you knew there was one thing he couldn’t ignore.
“I’m actually getting pretty cold now.”
And that thing happened to be your needs.
“We’ll head back then,” the Doctor told you as he pulled himself to his feet, brushing off the snow dust that had gotten stuck to the back of his legs and his coat. You followed his lead, standing and brushing the cool dust from your own knees before sweeping your hand down the Doctor’s back to aid in removing the snow.  
He ran his hand through the back of his hair, dusting what was clinging to his hair before finally turning to you, and offering you a hand. “I promise we won’t hit the ground again.”
You laughed as you took his hand again and then the two of you were skating back towards the TARDIS.
“You know what a lot of people do after ice skating on earth?” You asked as you glided across the ice, making slow progress back. Maybe it was the recent fall, or just delaying the end a while longer. 
“No, what do you humans do?”
“Make a nice, steaming cup of hot cocoa to warm up. Useful and delicious. Interested by any chance?”
The Doctor turned to look at you briefly, expression adorning and smile wide, “how could I ever turn down an offer like that?”
“A perfect end to a perfect evening,” you hummed, looking up at him, sliding a little closer to his side. He looked down at you, giving you a fond hum of agreement. 
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Here’s some awesome fanart made by @nicole-lightfoot​! I loved it, so I thought I’d share with everyone else who checks out the the fic! Thank you for the fanart, it’s beautiful!
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As always, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to prompt me again if it wasn’t what you were looking for! Thanks once more for the prompt, it was perfect! And hopefully things sound right, since I’ve only been skating a handful of times :D
Anyways, have a great day/night!
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Being younger than Seb and dating him (hc)
Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Younger!Reader (18+ ofc)
Requested: Yep! A BLM-donation (as organised by @marvelsswansong​ ) of $20 was made by @myfandomchangesalot​ with the request of doing some Sebastian x younger!Reader stuff, the amout donated caused it to be a long headcannon 
Warnings: Age gap, probably swearing knowing me
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okay but first of all
he would literally like 300000000000% be the softest dude
he’s probs be kinda wary going into the relationship
we all know he can be fairly insecure (though don’t really see why the sweet little angel) and that would probably show during the kinda ‘hatching’ period of the relationship
Maybe you’re in your uni years? Nearing the end of your course? Or just graduated? 
And it’s a pretty standard meeting story - probably just like a coffee shop run-in, maybe he gets lost and you offer him directions, just something simple and casual like that
Nothing particularly ‘showbiz’ about it y’know?
Nevertheless y’all become friends - it’s an easy relationship, a lot of casual back-and-forth and just loving spending time together
And with the amount of time you end up spending together, he figures out fairly quickly that he’s got some kind of crush on you - which sounds so weird to admit, seems strangely childish to call it a crush but what else could it be called?
And he quickly becomes aware that you return those feelings to some degree
But those fucking insecurities are what prevent him from making  move
He’s certain you can do better - find someone closer to your age, someone who’s not in a different country over half the year, someone with less baggage
You, on the other hand, can’t figure out why he won’t ask you out bc he’s not exactly being subtle about having feelings for you
So after a while you realise that there’s no chance of him making the first move for whatever reason
So you take the initiative to ask him out on a date instead
He rejects you
Though it’s fairly clear that he doesn’t really want to
And he tries to avoid you for a while after that, not wanting to have to admit his reasons behind turning you down despite it going against what everything in him was screaming
You’re nothing if not persistent, however, and keep finding him, imploring him to give you the reason behind his rejection
Finally Sebastian just gets tired of trying to brush you off and just tells you
You fairly quickly disregard Sebastian’s insecurities, doing your best to reassure him as much as you can
Again your persistence pays off and he agrees to go on a date with you
Though he does keep some doubt in his mind over whether or not it would go anywhere, certain that you’ll get bored and decide to find someone younger than him
But anyway, moving on
He’d want to keep your relationship on the down-low for a W H I L E 
He knows what Hollywood’s like, he knows how it can affect relationships and he likes you too much to be okay with putting you through that when you’re likely at risk of it tearing you apart
So the relationship remains very much under the radar for at least a few months
He doesn’t even really tell his friends about it - just his close ones and his mum
But naturally you get a bit iffy about how secretive he’s being - worried that he’s ashamed of you and that’s why he doesn’t want anyone to know about the two of you
Queue the first fight
You avoid him for a while after the blow-up, not wanting to hear his excuses and just wanting to be mad and upset with him
He doesn’t let you do that, though, and tries to corner you every chance he gets, overwhelming you with endless apologies and attempting to explain the best he can whenever he sees you
Eventually you stop and listen to him, hear him out
And it hurts to hear him putting himself down so much, to actually hear all of his insecurities laid out for you
It ends with an emotional make-up filled with tears and whispered apologies, both of you promising to be better - him by attempting to be more open with the relationship, telling more people and not hiding it as much, you by swearing to listen to his side and talking it through properly with him before getting too upset
After that he does become more open about it - more people know that the two of you are together, most of his Marvel costars especially just because he spends so much time with them and the paps start to speculate about it more
But the PDA is still minimal because Sebastian is still a very private guy so I think that in any relationship he wouldn’t exactly be a fan of too much PDA
The confirmation of the relationship comes with his next film premier in which he invites you to be his date
And you’re like.... for real???????
And ofc he is
“I want you by my side, I don’t want anyone else there with me”
What a soft boy
And naturally the paps go wild
The fans go wild
People aren’t sure what to think about it
And ofc some people are dicks about it because of the age gap but honestly
Neither of you care all that much
Because you’re together officially in the public eye - there’s no going back from that and more than anything it’s a relief that it’s finally out there y’know
But in terms of what he’s like dating you
It’s a lot of softness
A lot of movie nights
Teasing him about some of his previous *cough* facial hair choices (man look at me making facial hair jokes years after it happened wow)
He makes a lot of teasing jokes about your age
“though you probably don’t remember that - what were you when it happened? A foetus?”
So ofc you would retaliate with jokes of the same calliper
A lot of pet names
including some Romanian ones but that hc always makes me SOFT as FUCK
Going to every premier with him bc we STAN SUPPORTIVE COUPLES
He comes to your work events as well, despite the likely star-struck responses of coworkers for the SAME REASONS
When he’s away filming he sometimes writes you letters
Not to post them but bc when he’s away he often can’t sleep but doesn’t want to wake you up bc timezones are a bitch and so he writes to you instead
He doesn’t tell you about them but you find them accidentally when he gets home and you’re helping him unpack
But yeah basically you’re the softest couple, despite how dick-ish the public sometimes are about the age difference and just support each other no matter what
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phoenix-downer · 3 years
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Autumn Mending Chapter 2: Festivities and Memories
~4050 words. Romance, Angst, Pining, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Comfort, Healing, Making Up. For SoKai Day 2021.
Sequel to Kisses and Lies because I couldn’t just leave Sora and Kairi hanging, now could I?
Will have three chapters because the story took on a life of its own, and the actual final chapter will be the one posted on SoKai Day.
Summary: Sora and Kairi are still broken up, but with the help of old friends and Twilight Town’s autumn festival, the spark between them just might be rekindled.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
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After her mission with Sora, Kairi had been left so confused. She’d thought, after that kiss, after that conversation, after the way Sora had looked at her, that he’d make a move. Ask to talk. Try to work things out.
But he didn’t. He was nice. He was cordial. But there was a giant wall around his heart, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t get past it. 
Breaking up with him was the worst mistake of her life. She could see that now, and how she regretted it more than anything. Because it was done out of fear. She’d been scared of the future. Scared he’d leave her alone again and never come home. Not like he’d done it on purpose before, but when he told her he was planning on continuing to fight instead of going to college or settling down, a deep, awful feeling of dread had settled in her stomach. 
Instead of discussing things with him, she’d talked at him and told him a bunch of things. Told him she was scared he was addicted to fighting and hopping from one world to the next. Told him she was afraid he wouldn’t ever want to settle down and start a family like she wanted to. Told him she feared he’d leave again on yet another dangerous journey and never come back this time. Told him she couldn’t live a life like that, couldn’t live a life where she never knew when her husband would be home, a life where her kids might be abandoned without any clue as to what happened to their dad and she’d be left to raise them alone. 
She’d never forget the look in his eyes that night on the beach. The hurt, the pain, the agony. The begging and pleading and promising to be everything she wanted and needed, then the tears and anguish when she told him it was over. They’d both cried their hearts out, and she assumed he would never forgive her after hurting him so deeply. Especially when he ran off the next day and avoided her for months afterwards. It wasn’t until Master Yen Sid had assigned them to go on that mission together that she got to talk to him again. 
How wonderful it was just to spend time with him once more. When she’d kissed him to fake out their enemies, it hadn’t been fake for her. She’d missed him so badly. Missed his smiles, his laughter, his heart. His hugs, his warmth, his kisses. His sass, his humor, his love. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened. Apologize for breaking his heart and beg for forgiveness and explain that the problem wasn’t him, no, it was her, it was always her, she was always the one making things difficult for them both—
But he’d been standoffish. He’d cut off her attempts to talk to him. Only near the end of the meal they’d shared in that food court was she able to confirm he still had feelings for her. It was his eyes that had given him away. It was always his eyes. They really were like the window to his soul, or more accurately, his heart. 
So then why did he act so awkward around her afterwards? Why did he avoid her? She despaired and figured she’d blown her final chance with him. So when the cute guy who worked at the souvenir shop asked her on a date, she thought heck, why not. Why not give another guy a chance. He was nice and the date was nice, but the moment he tried to kiss her at the end of the night, she knew this was wrong. It was all so wrong. 
Here she was, at the door to her parents’ house, the moon and stars shining down on her and this perfectly nice guy trying to kiss her, and all she could think about was Sora. She couldn’t get his face out of her mind, couldn’t help but wonder how he would feel if he knew this guy had almost kissed her. Couldn’t help but remember all the times he had kissed her.
Sora. It was always Sora. He would always have her heart. No matter what happened, that would never change. 
“You okay?” her date asked with a frown. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first—”
“No, it’s not you, it’s me,” she told him. “You’ve been wonderful and tonight was wonderful, but I… I can’t go out with you again. I’m sorry.”
She’d retreated inside the house and threw herself on her bed and cried. Sora was the only one she ever wanted to kiss for the rest of her life. Wiping her eyes, she dialed his number. It just rang and rang and rang. She tried texting him. Nothing. So she called his mother. 
“I’m sorry, Kairi, but you just missed him. He said he’d be leaving and wasn’t sure when he’d be back.” 
Her heart sank as she thanked his mom and hung up the phone. Her timing really was awful. And if he wasn’t picking up her calls, she only had so many ways to reach him. 
He avoided her attempts to contact him for the next few months until finally, finally, she got a lead. She was chatting on the phone with Olette when Olette casually mentioned that Sora would be visiting Twilight Town for the fall festival. 
“Oh really?”
“Yep! Are you gonna come too? I thought you two were still broken up.” 
“We are, but I think he might still have feelings for me. And, to be honest, I still have feelings for him too.” 
Olette squealed. “Then you have to come!”
“Really?” Kairi asked, then chewed her lip. “You don’t think he’d be upset?” She hadn’t gone chasing after him because she wanted to give him his space. He hadn’t blocked her number, but he hadn’t responded to any of her attempts to contact him either. The message he was sending her was loud and clear: I don’t want anything to do with you right now. 
“Maybe he will be,” Olette said, “but if he is, you can just apologize and leave.”
“I don’t know, I don’t want to ruin his visit,” Kairi said as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. 
“You won’t, trust me. If things get awkward, we can go do something else. I really do want to see you and hang out, you know.” 
So that was how Kairi had ended up here in Twilight Town, cautiously following Olette into the gang’s old hideout. Several different emotions warred on Sora’s face as he registered her presence. Shock. Frustration. Anger. Pain. But then, when their eyes met… the hurt and anger melted into something soft and vulnerable as he stared back at her. 
“Kairi?” he said, his voice far more tender than she deserved. 
“Um, hey,” she said back. “Listen, I know this is really last minute and unexpected, so Olette and I can go somewhere else if this is too awkward—”
“No, it’s okay. It’s… good to see you.” 
“It’s good to see you too,” she said, her voice breaking a little. They just stared at each other for a few moments until Pence cleared his throat. 
“So, um, shall we?” he asked, gesturing towards the makeshift curtain. 
“Let’s go,” Hayner agreed, and Sora stood. Kairi wasn’t sure what to do. Should she walk beside him? Give him his space? 
But their friends made that decision for them, because soon they were walking side by side through the back streets while Hayner, Pence, and Olette continued up ahead of them. Kairi loved seeing the little lanterns strung up between buildings and the fall leaves hanging on garlands, taking in all the delicious scents lingering in the air, and feeling the magical autumn atmosphere of the town. But no amount of good vibes could bridge the gap between her and Sora. 
“How have you been?” she finally asked because the awkward silence was unbearable. 
“Not too bad,” he replied, and his voice was surprisingly chipper, all things considered. “I’ve been saving munny, talking to Hiro about going to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, that kind of a thing.”
She stole a glance at him. Saving munny? Going to a university? This was a far cry from the Sora who wanted to hop from world to world with no plan for the future. 
“What about you?” he asked. She couldn’t help but think he looked especially handsome today. Relaxed and casual and ready for the fall festival, and yet still put together. He always made everything look so effortless, even looking good.
“I’m still working at the crafts shop on Main Street,” she said, avoiding thoughts of how nice a hug from him would be right now. “Except for missions of course. And I’ve been thinking about going to a university too. Not sure which one though.” 
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll do great wherever you decide to go.” 
She smiled sadly at him. That was Sora, always cheering her up and cheering her on even when he was upset. She wanted to say more, but they were at the festival now, and it was getting too loud to comfortably talk. Booth after booth lined the streets of Twilight Town, the trolley was decked out in fall leaves and decorations, and a few stages had been erected throughout the area for performances. 
First up for their little group were all the food booths, which was good because Kairi’s stomach was growling and she was craving delicious festival food. Pumpkin soup with piping hot bread, warm apple pie with cold ice cream, roasted chestnuts and salty pretzels, and her favorite, apple cider to wash it all down. The non-alcoholic kind because she wanted to be fully aware of whatever happened the next several hours. 
Sora got non-alcoholic apple cider too, as did Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and the five of them toasted each other. Sora’s hand shook a little when he accidentally brushed up against her hand, and their eyes met as they took their first sips of the cider. But instead of immediately looking away, his gaze lingered on her for a few more seconds.
Those few seconds made her want to hold his hand, to hug him, to apologize and explain everything that had happened—
But then the moment was over and he looked away. She ducked her head and tried not to let it get to her. Of course he was still guarded around her. Anyone would be. 
The five of them enjoyed the festivities in town for a while (Hayner, Pence, and Olette even gave a rousing karaoke performance of an old classic on Twilight Town), then hopped the train to go out to one of the farms in the surrounding area. Here was where the fun would really begin: a pumpkin patch, hayrides, an apple orchard, a corn maze, cozy campfires, falling leaves… 
As they walked the short distance from the station to the farm, Kairi took in the scenery around them. The pathway was lined with trees shedding their brilliant red, yellow, gold, and orange leaves, and the temperature was perfect. If she and Sora were still dating, this was the moment she would’ve grabbed his hand and leaned against his shoulder and sighed happily. 
But they weren’t, so she kept her hands to herself and tried not to stare at his hands. They were so big and strong, so gentle yet firm. She always felt safe in his arms and melted at his touch.
“Alright, first up is pumpkin carving!” Pence said once they’d arrived at the farm. “So, we gotta grab our pumpkins from that patch over there, then once we’ve paid for them, the three of us always compete with each other to carve the best pumpkin, and you know what that means?”
“What?” Sora asked.
“You and Kairi are joining the competition too,” Hayner said with a grin. “No backing out!”
“You’re on,” Kairi said. She grabbed Olette’s hand, and they giggled and took off towards the pumpkin patch.
“We’ve gotta get the best ones before the boys take them,” Kairi said. 
“Absolutely,” Olette replied. As they carefully scoured the pumpkins for the best-looking ones, Olette scooted closer and lowered her voice. Even though the boys were a little ways away, better safe than sorry. 
“He seems happy to see you,” she said. 
Kairi stole a glance at Sora. He was currently fighting Hayner and Pence off of his choice pumpkin, laughing as he swatted their hands away, and when their eyes met, she couldn’t help but smile. 
“And you seem happy to see him too,” Olette added. 
“It’s just nice to see his smile,” Kairi said as she examined a big orange pumpkin. Yes, this one should do nicely. 
“Kairi, it’s totally obvious you’re still in love with him and he’s still in love with you! Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Kairi sighed and hoisted the pumpkin onto her hip. “It’s my fault we broke up. I’m the one who broke his heart, and he’s been avoiding me for months on end. There’s no way he still feels the same way he used to about me.”
Olette sighed as she selected a white pumpkin and stood. “Maybe not, but it’s clear he still feels something for you. Why are you denying it?”
“Because if he still loved me, he wouldn’t be pushing me away,” Kairi said, staring intently at her pumpkin like it held the answers to all her problems. 
“Maybe he’s pushing you away because he does still love you. Maybe being around you just hurts too much.”
Kairi stole another glance at him. Was it possible? Was it possible he’d fled, not because he hated her, but because he still loved her? Was it possible they could fix what went wrong and make things better than ever? If only she could apologize. That was all she wanted, to apologize and ask his forgiveness. Then maybe at least they’d find peace.
Their eyes met again, and he smiled. A soft, gentle smile that reached his eyes this time, and she blushed and smiled back. Then Hayner grabbed his arm and Pence snatched his pumpkin away, and he let out a shout and chased after them, leaving her and Olette in stitches, they were laughing so hard. 
When at last the pumpkin situation had been sorted, the five of them carried their pumpkins to the carving tables and got to work. Gutting the pumpkins was always messy, but the pumpkin seeds were well worth the effort. She would take those home and roast them later with oil and sea salt for a delicious snack. That taken care of, she stared at her pumpkin. What to carve? A typical Halloween creature, like a wolf or witch or bat? No, that didn’t feel right. Wait, she had the perfect idea. She grinned and began, and before long, she was etching the same drawing she’d sketched on the cave walls of the Secret Place all those years ago. On a whim she included the paopu part too because why not. 
When it was time for everyone to reveal their pumpkins to each other, Pence had made a very impressive ghost, Hayner had carved a vampire, and Olette had made an adorable cat. Kairi’s nerves got the better of her when it was time to reveal her pumpkin, however, and she clammed up and said, “I’ll reveal it later, when it’s dark and everyone’s lighting their pumpkins!”
That way she’d have time to get rid of this one and do another one that wouldn’t pressure Sora or put him on the spot. 
“Sora?” Hayner asked.
“Oh, um, I’ll do the same,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 
“Alright, next on the agenda isssssss… apple picking!” Pence called out like he was announcing the Struggle Tournament. They went to the entrance of the apple orchard, where a nice old woman handed each of them a bag and a pair of scissors and told them they could keep whatever they could carry. 
The best part about apple picking on Twilight Town was the experience. While Kairi did intend on filling her bag to the brim with juicy ripe apples, a big part of apple picking was eating a couple of apples first before picking more to take home. There were so many different kinds to choose from, soft plump red ones, tart crunchy green ones, golden ones with a rich flavor, sweet multicolored ones with her favorite taste… a veritable feast of delicious fruit. 
When they’d gathered the first round of their bounty, the apples they would eat right then and there, they sprawled out on a picnic blanket on the grass and munched away. Kairi’s eyes traveled to Sora as they so often had today because she loved the perfect look of contentment he always got on his face when he was eating something especially delicious.
And these apples were delicious. Kairi had only plucked three so far because that was all she knew she could safely eat, but she wished her stomach were as big as her eyes. The apples were juicy and delicious and perfectly ripe, and she kept having to dab at her mouth and chin because the apples were just that good. 
Once they’d had their fill and had filled their bags, they went to a special tent that would keep their goodies for them until it was time to go home. Their arms free once more, it was time for the corn maze.
“Hayner and I have already tried the one this year,” Pence said, “and let me tell you, it’s so convoluted it’s easy to get lost. Some people call it the Eighth Wonder of Twilight Town.”
“We’ll see about that,” Olette said with a smirk. “Bet I can beat your record.” 
“Oh, you’re on,” Hayner said, a glint in his eye. The moment the group entered the corn maze and were surrounded by stalks, Hayner, Pence, and Olette took off, leaving Sora and Kairi behind. 
“So, that’s a thing,” Sora said with a chuckle. Kairi giggled awkwardly and glanced at the sky. They probably only had about another hour of daylight left, going by the sun’s position. 
“I hope we can finish this thing before dark.”
“If we work together I bet we could.”
She nodded. “Okay.” 
They walked largely in silence as they tried different routes. Some were dead ends, but little by little they were making progress. And it was nice to just… be with him again. Working together on something. The silence between them wasn’t awkward the way it had been earlier today, either. It just felt safe. Comfortable. The crunch of crushed corn stalks beneath their feet was soothing, too. 
Kairi wondered if now would be a good time to say something or apologize. 
“Sora?” she said as they rounded a corner. One of the corn stalks brushed against his arm, and it rustled when it moved back into position.
“What is it?” he asked. 
“Thank you, for letting me join you guys today. I know you didn’t really want to see me, but I’m glad you let me stay.”
He was silent for a few moments as they continued, an unreadable expression on his face. “Who says I didn’t want to see you?” he said at last. “I have to admit, it took me by surprise, but I’m glad you came.”
She fiddled with her sleeves. “I am too.” 
He looked at her, the sun setting behind him, and she thought he seemed more radiant than ever. How could she have agreed to be away from him for so long? She should’ve run after him the moment he ran away from her. The first time and the second time. She’d gone after him before, why had she let her fear and shame stop her this time?
She reached for his hand. “Sora, I—”
“There you guys are!” Pence called as he burst around the corner. “Buncha slowpokes.”
Aaaaand the moment was gone. Sora ribbed on Pence for calling him a slowpoke, and soon Hayner and Olette joined them too, and together the five of them finished (or, in Hayner, Pence, and Olette’s cases, re-finished) the maze. 
But as she got a little badge from the booth at the end of the maze that congratulated her on finishing, she noticed Sora was waiting for her. He must already have his badge, so maybe he wanted to talk more. The other three had gone on ahead to get them tickets for the hayride, as it was quickly getting dark. 
“You should put your badge on,” she said as she joined him and they started walking towards where the hayride would start. 
“Already have,” he replied, pulling back his hoodie and pointing to the badge. Twilight Town Fall Festival Corn Maze Completionist! was written on it in tiny letters, along with a photo of this year’s maze. “But you haven’t put yours on yet. Here, let me do it.”
As he gingerly lifted her shirt enough to stick the sharp part of the badge through, she wondered if he was as affected by their closeness as she was. He was focusing carefully on the badge so as not to accidentally poke her, and that meant she could take everything in. His scent, his warmth, his eyes. How she’d missed seeing him, talking to him, being with him.
“Thank you, for doing the maze with me,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.” 
He smiled and met her gaze. “Yeah, it was, wasn’t it? I missed doing this kind of thing with you.” 
“I did too.”
A few moments of silence lingered between them. But then he took a deep breath and said, “Kairi, what were you gonna tell me earlier? Before Pence interrupted us, I mean.” 
Her mouth went dry and her palms got all sweaty. “Oh, um, I wanted to… I wanted to…” 
He patiently waited, and she knew she had to do this, she had to get it all out.  
“I wanted to apologize,” she finally said. “For hurting you. For breaking up with you. I never should’ve done that.” 
He stared at her, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Something very vulnerable was in his expression too, and that vulnerability gave her the courage to continue. 
“The way I handled it was awful too, just talking at you instead of discussing things with you. Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t have—”
“Hey, lovebirds, the hayride is about to start!” Hayner called, and her chance was gone. Or so she thought.
“We’ll be there in a sec!” Sora shouted back. “If you need to go, go on without us!” He turned his attention back to her. “This is more important.”
She nodded and fiddled with her sleeves again.
“You aren’t the only one to blame for this whole mess,” he said sadly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I ran away like a coward instead of talking things through with you. I was so hurt that I—”
“Last call!” Hayner yelled, and Sora sighed, irritation flashing through his eyes.
“This hayride had better be the best hayride in all the worlds,” he grumbled. 
“It’s okay,” she said, “we can talk more about this later.” 
He nodded. “We will. I won’t run or hide this time, I promise.” 
She dared to offer her hand. “I know you won’t.” 
He smiled sadly and took her hand, and as they hurried to scramble onboard the hayride together, she couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, things would be okay between the two of them. Sora didn’t let go of her hand as they settled in on one of the bales next to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, so that was a good sign. And as their guide began telling ghost stories as the tractor and wagon rattled along, she rested her head on Sora’s shoulder. He didn’t push her away, just leaned his head against hers, and his closeness made her feel so warm inside despite the chilly night air.
She hoped and wished and prayed with all her heart that after this was over, they could mend the hurt between them for good. 
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If anyone wants to be part of a taglist for Assassinate But Nah, feel free to message me/send an ask/or mention it in reblogs.
Taglist: @sleepysnails @causeimfabulous
Ao3 link
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Thanksgiving weekend Ranboo takes Tubbo to one of his sibling’s matinée drag shows. Tubbo enjoys himself, but he can’t help but know in the back of his head that this person is used by the Jays.
The two boys slip backstage after the show. “Hey Eret!” Ranboo throws his arms around her shoulders.
“Ranboo!” Eret sees Tubbo over her little brother’s shoulders. “Who’s your friend?”
“Tubbo Jacobs.”
Eret flinches imperceivably. “Jacobs?”
Tubbo knows Eret recognizes him. “Mhm.” He stands his ground. “You might have heard about my dad?”
“I think I have.” Eret stares Tubbo down. “Editor of the Houver Mailer, yeah?”
“Yep.”
Eret gives Tubbo a wink, less playful and more a warning than anything though. Ranboo is luckily oblivious to the exchange and simply sits down and starts talking to Eret.
Tubbo doesn’t sit, instead he takes a look around the room. He wanders over to Eret’s dresser. Under the frills, and the sparkle, and the headdress he spots a few envelopes. He files that away for later and sits on the floor next to Ranboo.
He falls easily into the siblings’ conversation. Eventually, Eret sends Ranboo away to pick up their food delivery.
Eret stands up and brushes away the frills on her vanity stand. “Jacobs?”
“Yes?”
She hands him three letters. “The third is for your father, the other two are for you.”
“Understood.” Tubbo pockets him. For Karl, got it. “Ranboo isn’t my mark,” he says.
“Oh.” Eret lets out a breath and his shoulders slump in relief. “Good. I don’t want him to see your stuff.”
“So he doesn’t know about yours?”
“Of course not!”
Tubbo melts into the couch. “He won’t see my stuff. That’s just dumb. Besides, I’d like to keep Ranboo.”
Eret barks a laugh. “You seem like a good kid Tubbo. From what I know about you, I wouldn’t mind having you around as Ran’s friend, But if you think you can keep him, you’re delusional.”
“I know.” Tubbo pats the pocket where he put the letters. “A boy can dream.” He abruptly sits up. “Even with the assassin thing?”
“Tubbo if I met you in any other circumstance you wouldn’t be an assassin.”
“If you met me in any other circumstance I wouldn’t have been shaped by the world to be like this.”
Eret smiles sadly at the teenager on his floor. “Just use your skills to kill the guy that comes after him because he’s your friend.”
Ranboo chose that moment to come back with the takeout. “I have spaghetti!” He notes Tubbo rolling on the floor in laughter. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing big man.”
After eating with Eret, Tubbo and Ranboo spend the rest of the afternoon at the bowling alley.
Tubbo has never been bowling. Ranboo has been bowling at least four times every year for his whole life.
Tubbo has a higher strike radio than Ranboo. Must be the precision training he’s done while working for the Jays. Tubbo brushes off Ranboo’s amazement.
Ranboo really starts to become Tubbo’s friend. They share a lunch period and four of six classes. They would joke around in the back of the classroom; nudging each others’ shoulders and sharing secret laughs.
Tubbo doesn’t ever remember being this happy. He honestly hopes it’s because he buried his childhood when he started working for Schlatt at ten, -- learned how to use and clean a gun on his first day -- and not that he didn’t have happy memories. In any case, it had been a hot minute since he’d had someone his age to play with.
No. Tubbo was a teenager now.
In any case, it had been a hot minute since he’d had someone his own age to hang out with. Tubbo applauds Ranboo’s strike.
Fuck. This isn’t real. He’s going to kill Thomas Rough.
He has to kill Ranboo’s best friend Tommy.
Fuck.
Tubbo has been trying hard to remember that this kid is Thomas Rough, his mark. But it’s so hard when everybody around him calls him ‘Tommy’ and Ranboo excitedly tells Tubbo about how much he thinks they’ll like each other when Tommy comes back from Oak Park Academy.
Tubbo isn’t ready to lose this. He rolls the ball down the lane, “Strike.”
But he’s also ready to go back to being Toby Maron, son of homicide detective Captain Maron, older brother to local fencing champion Lani Maron. Tubbo just needs to finish this job, then he can go back to that.
Ranboo gets another strike and shots Tubbo a toothy grin.
Tubbo wants to rebel. He wants to keep his new friend. And Thomas Rough feels more like his friend than a mark. Even if they’ve never met. Even if Tubbo feels like he knows his as well as he does Ranboo.
Tubbo spends dinner alone, eating a pizza out on the fire escape. He had given Karl his letter, and the man left immediately after reading it.
The first letter from Schlatt. He skims it. He picks out the important information, then rips it to shreds. Just Schlatt telling him to not lose sight of the mission. And because it’s thanksgiving, Schlatt mentions how thankful he is for having scuk a skilled young hitman.
Fuck that guy.
The other letter is from Lani. She thanks him for everything he does and for making sure she got a normal childhood, out of servitute from the Jays. She wishes him a happy thanksgiving and asks if she can have his slice of pie.
Karl had two slices of apple pie in the fridge. Tubbo slips back into the house and nabs the two slices. He eats them both out of spite. First, so Karl doesn’t get a slice. Second, because if Lani gets two slices then so does he.
Tubbo is only thankful for few things. He’s thankful that he’s got the ability to push through the shit that is his circumstance. He’s thankful that Lani gets a normal childhood, not that the Jay’s don’t affect her life as well. He’s also thankful that he has a friend.
Tubbo sits on the fire escape conflicted. He’s been over this, and either way he doesn’t get to keep Ranboo as a friend. He can’t see a way out.
Tubbo may have been working with the Jays for six years, but he only vaguely knew about the Craftsmen. He should probably get on that.
He pulled out his phone and started where all good research starts: Wikipedia.
Last Updated April 23, 2021
The Craftsmen are a crime family currently led by Philip “Philza” Wright, and his two sons Techno “Blade” Wright, and Wilbur “Sooty” Wright. The Craftsmen have been in Houver for multiple generations run by the Dabria Family. Kisten Dabria, the only child born to her parents, the past leaders of the Craftsmen, married Philip Wright in 1998. After the death of Dabria Sr. Philza and Kristen grasped power and took control of the Craftsmen.
Philza, Blade, and Sooty now run the family while Kristen runs a local bakery and has escaped the Craftsmen influence, as much as she can with the leaders literally sitting at her dinner table each night.
Techno “Blade” and Wilbur “Sooty” were born into the family and have been aiding their father willingly for as long as anyone can remember. They both had normal lives and graduated from Griante Bay in 2017. Blade was on the mathletes team, winning the trophy for the school every year, and Sooty was one of the school’s star performers in their drama department.
[. . .]
There are rumors floating around about a third son, but those have never been confirmed.
And there it was. That was Tommy for sure. Thomas Rough. Thomas Wright.
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c-swirlz · 4 years
Text
Trolley Problem | Sanders Sides Oneshot
Summary: After the LilyPadton incident in POF, Patton is plagued by a recurring nightmare of the dreaded trolley problem. It ends the same way every time: with him not knowing what the right thing to do is and ultimately taking on his despised alternative form. The other Sides eventually find out about his nightmares and decide to intervene.
Pairing(s): None
Content/trigger warning(s): Nightmare, death mentions, death (in a nightmare), moral dilemma, crying
[AO3 link]
|| Minor November 9th 2020 edit: changed Host to Whole. ||
Patton stood in front of a lever with a set of train tracks on either side of him, connected by a single track a little way ahead of him. He knew what was coming, but that didn’t make the situation any less terrifying. He fiddled with the sleeves of his hoodie, tears welling up in his eyes as he heard the train begin approaching. He looked up and glanced at the two previously empty tracks, which now had people bound by ropes standing on them. To his left was his famILY; Logan, Roman, Virgil and Janus -- Remus was absent as Patton was still too unsettled by him to approach him and invite him into their famILY.
However, to his right... was Thomas. Their Whole. The person he and the other Sides were sworn to help and protect. The obvious choice was to save him, but Patton loved his famILY too much to just let them die, and somehow, he knew object impermanence wasn’t going to save any of them, not even Logan.
Now that he thought about it, Thomas was part of the famILY too. So, what was the right choice? 
Save the Sides, or save Thomas?
Save his famILY, or save their Whole?
The death of the Whole would be the demise of all the Sides, so the answer was clear, but Patton was panicking too much to recall that particular detail.
In for four... hold for seven... out for eight...
As Patton went through the breathing exercise to prevent himself from spiralling into a full-blown panic attack, the train roared closer, showing no signs of slowing down or stopping. If Patton didn’t pull the lever, the train would collide with his famILY, leaving only Thomas alive.
A strange sensation ran through Patton’s body, said sensation feeling oddly tingly. The moral Side glanced down at the hand still clutching his hoodie sleeve, only to flinch and pull it away when it momentarily flickered and glitched out of existence.
What’s the right answer?
Tears streamed down Patton’s face as he fell to his knees, his entire body glitching crazily. The sound of the train was getting louder; it was bound to be close by now.
Too close.
What’s the right answer?
Patton didn’t know.
“I...” Patton sniffed, a small hiccup escaping him. “I -- I don’t know! W-Why can’t I save all of them!? Please -- Please, let me save all of them -- I-I don’t know what the right thing to do is!”
Patton promptly began sobbing, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he possibly could and pressing his hands over his ears. Hard.
His efforts failed to block out the sound of the train’s whistle, followed by the agonised screams of his famILY as the train screeched down their track, running them down in the process.
Patton’s glitching became uncontrollable, and he quickly found himself transforming into LilyPadton he didn’t want to turn into LilyPadton help me help me please-
Patton lurched upright in his bed, a scream of no echoing throughout his room. He took heaving breaths as he frantically glanced around Nostalgia Nirvana before glancing down at his hands and breathing a small sigh of relief when he saw that they were normal, human hands. There was no scaly, green skin (no offence to Janus), no webbing; no frog-like features.
No LilyPadton.
Patton attempted to guide himself through the four-seven-eight breathing exercise, but it wasn’t doing much to help even out his uneven breaths. He decided to switch tactics, naming five things he could see, four things he could feel, three things he could hear, two things he could smell, and one thing he could taste. Upon finishing that, he took a deep, deliberate breath, said breath hitching as he heard a quiet knock on his door.
“Pat?” a muffled voice called.
Virgil.
Patton hadn’t seen Virgil in quite a while, as the anxious Side had locked his room down -- meaning none of the Sides could rise up or appear within the threshold -- and stopped answering summons after the Remus incident, having only emerged to watch Frozen at movie night before retreating back into his haven. In fact, none of the Sides had seen Virgil since then.
So, if he was so determined to avoid the others, why was he at Patton’s door?
Not having the heart to send Virgil on his way, Patton waved a hand, unlocking the door.
“It’s open!”
Patton cringed as obvious fake cheerfulness oozed from those two words. However, he managed to look somewhat inconspicuous as the door slowly swung open and Virgil crept in, flinching in surprise when Patton turned on the lights with a snap of his fingers, though he made sure to make them dim as opposed to bright as to not alert the others, who were sleeping soundly in their rooms situated at various points down the hall. He also waved his hand again to quietly close the door behind the anxious Side as he pulled his blanket off himself with his free hand.
“You good, Pop Star? I, uh... thought I heard you scream.”
Patton’s heart skipped a beat, though not in the good way as his eyes darted every which way around the room, taking great care not to make contact with Virgil’s. He eventually settled for staring over Virgil’s head as he put on the most genuine smile he could muster, which, admittedly, could easily be identified as fake if you were paying attention.
He spent a moment carefully considering his reply, but upon drawing multiple blanks he just decided to wing it. All he had to do was say everything was fine in the least suspicious way he could.
“Y-Yeah, I’m good! Y-Yep, everything’s great -- just peachy, nothing to worry about, Virge!”
Nailed it.
Virgil frowned and raised an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. Oddly enough, however, he didn’t comment. Instead, he allowed his expression to relax into a lopsided smirk, a quiet, amused huff escaping him.
Just as Patton thought Virgil wasn’t going to say anything, he was proven wrong.
“Yep, sure, whatever you say. Just remember there’s a Side who’s a literal lie detector and keeps track of all lies.”
Patton’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped, but, luckily, Virgil didn’t seem to notice, not that it would matter anyway as he was already suspicious of the paternal Side and wouldn’t require any more confirmation that something was amiss.
There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment, broken by Virgil as he scratched the back of his neck.
“Well, I’ll... leave you to it, I guess. Um... sleep well, or whatever.”
And then he left, sinking down as opposed to going through the door. Patton released a breath he had no idea he’d been holding before settling back under his blanket and falling back into an uneasy slumber.
~---~
Three days after the late-night -- or early-morning depending on your perspective -- talk with Virgil, Patton found himself back in front of the lever with the tracks on either side of him, his famILY tied up on one and Thomas tied up on the other. He had assumed his nightmares were finally over when he didn’t have any the previous night, but he had clearly been sorely mistaken.
Patton could already feel himself glitching as his figurative moral compass spun wildly, he himself still having no idea what the right thing to do was. As he decided to give in and simply let himself transform so he could wake up, he was stopped by the sound of... ropes snapping?
Wait-
Glancing over at the track his famILY was on, Patton’s eyes became as wide as saucers as Logan, Roman, Virgil and Janus all broke free of their bounds and stumbled off the tracks, quickly approaching the moral Side.
“What-”
Roman placed his hands firmly on Patton’s shoulders, smiling warmly despite the sadness in his eyes. The genuine care in his expression made Patton tear up.
“Everything’s okay, Padre. We’re right by your side; you just need to wake up.”
Patton caught a glimpse of Virgil, who seemed to be purposefully avoiding his eyes. Connecting the dots and realising what Virgil must’ve done, the hoodie-clad Side shot him a grateful smile before willing himself to wake up, long before the train had the chance to be heard approaching.
As Patton’s eyes flew open, he let out a gasp, only to be shushed softly as he was pulled up into a sitting position and into someone’s arms. Patton instinctively returned the gesture, tears building up in his eyes as he buried his face into Janus’ shoulder.
“Virgil informed us of your less than desirable experience with a nightmare three nights prior to tonight, and when we suspected you had been experiencing this for an extended period of time, we hypothesised that the optimal thing to do would be to attempt to intervene,” Logan explained.
“I totally haven’t been aware of your nightmares the entire time because I most certainly cannot sense lies, definitely not including those you told Virgil the other night.”
Patton giggled halfheartedly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. Janus’ grip on him tightened and he began gently rubbing his back. 
Virgil stepped forward.
“You know repression’s bad, Pat. It’s okay to cry; we aren’t gonna judge you.”
Yes, he already knew that, but having vocal permission seemed to be what prompted the waterworks to flow. Patton began sobbing, his tears soaking Janus’ nightwear, though the deceitful Side didn’t seem to care as he mumbled soothing words into the father figment’s ear. He glanced behind him at other three Sides and gave them a look. Moments later, Patton found himself within the embrace of the other three members of his famILY in the room. Logan’s hug was quite awkward, as if he didn’t exactly know how to execute it, but Patton appreciated the effort.
“If you have any more nightmares, you can rest assured that I will arrive promptly to slay whatever horrid things spawn within them and save you!” Roman proclaimed loudly as he pulled off his iconic pose with his left arm, earning groans from Virgil and Janus and an exasperated sigh from Logan.
Patton laughed, his mouth curling up into a grin despite the tears still cascading down his cheeks. “I know you will, Roman. Thank you -- all of you.”
~---~
The following night, Patton was confronted by the nightmare once again, but Roman kept his promise and was by his side before anyone had even appeared on the tracks. When Patton awoke, he was promptly comforted by Roman. That routine was maintained for the next week or so -- with the comforting involving another Side from time to time, but after that, the nightmares finally stopped.
Patton was glad he didn’t have to worry about being confronted by moral dilemmas in his sleep anymore. Sure, there was the possibility of him transforming into LilyPadton again for real, but he pushed that thought aside. All he wanted to think about at that moment was his famILY, how much he loved them, and how grateful he was for their help with the entire ordeal.
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witchygirl99 · 3 years
Note
ALONG CAME SHIPPO
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Here! Have a 2.2k snippet because I don’t know if I’ll ever finish this:
The End of the World begins on a Tuesday.
Fucking finally.
X
Inuyasha taps out a rhythm on the old wooden desk he’s sitting at, his sharp nails creating tiny indents with each press. There’s no pattern to it really, just boredom shifting the beat from fast to slow, erratic to sedated. He’s sitting in some sort of bedroom, the furniture vintage and the curtains threadbare. The ceiling fan hums as it rotates, too loud to be pleasant. The bed is covered in some sort of ugly quilt, the white patches stained from age.
As far as punishments go, being in here is a good one.
It sucks, being as powerful as he is but as trapped as his current predicament shows. Inuyasha could burn the earth down, shatter the realms, rip apart dimensions. He could do anything he wanted really. For millennia, Inuyasha had done nothing terribly wrong. A few species were extinct, sure. The odd fireball. The whole witch rioting thing was a pain in the ass but overall, not really his fault, no matter what anyone else says.
He’d been just another Almighty Being, living his immortality.
And then the Winged Ones came. Idiots with too many feathers and not enough brain power who at first, Inuyasha will admit, seemed rather harmless. Just fluffy little things. Kind of like fleas but with too much of a complex and not enough use.
Hindsight is, of course, 20-20.
Stupid Winged Ones. Stupid, flying morons who thought they could rule the world. The End of the World is coming, he told them. Don’t be dumb, he pressed.
But no. The Winged Ones banded together, tore him open and flayed him screaming. They chained him, burned him and did the only thing they knew would keep an Almighty Being from gaining back his freedom: they locked him in the Pit, deep in the earth where Creation was born. It was a place so full of magic and power, that it was both everything and nothing at once.
Currently, it’s a bedroom with a shitty ceiling fan and some really disgusting curtains.
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Inuyasha sighs. The Pit changes often and at random, too much power to stay as any one thing for too long. He vaguely hopes the next bit of scenery will be a little more interesting.
The ceiling fan suddenly stops. Not like a normal fan would, where it slows bit-by-bit until it grinds to a halt. No. The dingy ceiling fan stops so suddenly it was like it was never on at all, the humming silenced. Inuyasha doesn’t worry; this is actually the coolest thing to have happened to him since he Created fire. Still, something is happening. The Almighty Being can feel it in his bones, a deep, gut-wrenching knowingness that latches on and refuses to go away. The Pit around him is vibrating, fluctuating, pleased.
And then the bedroom door opens.
“Oh good.” A redheaded boy, looking no more than six years old, bursts in and grins up at him. It’s toothy and kind of weird, but the child doesn’t falter at Inuyasha’s lack of response. “I was worried you’d be somewhere else.”
Inuyasha’s not really sure what’s happening, but it’s probably good. The child is not a child at all. He’s not even an Almighty Being. He’s something… Inuyasha frowns, unable to get any sort of read. It’s the first real puzzle he’s stumbled upon since he opened his eyes to the galaxy and the stars sang to him. “Who are you?” he asks. His voice is deep and gruff, scratchy from disuse. The sound of it actually is a little startling. He’d forgotten what he sounded like over the past hundred thousand or so years.
The redhead waves dismissively at him. His eyes are a startling green, like emeralds. The smile never leaves his face. “You can call me Shippo. Names are strange, aren’t they?”
Inuyasha’s frown doesn’t deepen, but it sure as hell doesn’t lessen either. “Shippo.”
“Yep.” The kid bounces on the balls of his feet, hands clapping. “I’m glad I caught you.” Inuyasha wonders where the fuck else he would have been all this time. It’s not like he’s moved. “The End of the World is here so we gotta go.”
He’d like to remind everyone that this is, in fact, the oddest thing to have happened to him in a very, very long time. While he doubts the Pit is this creative in its scenery, Inuyasha figures it’s best to not take it for granted either way. “Go where?” Inuyasha asks. He doesn’t want to ask, but he does it anyways.
“To destroy the world?” Shippo levels him with an unimpressed glance, smile instantly gone. “Did you not get the whole End of the World thing?”
Inuyasha narrows his eyes. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Ugh!” Shippo throws his hands up in the air, looking exasperated beyond all measure. The expression looks peculiar on his face, too old and worn for a body so youthful. “It’s no wonder the Angels locked you up.”
“The–”
“Winged Ones, whatever,” Shippo interrupts, waving a dismissive hand yet again. “You Almighties really like to mess around with names. Seriously. Probably my fault, I was kind of absent but we can only move forward, you know?” He brushes back his bangs and lets out a long breath. “So, like I said. It’s the End of the World. Are you in or are you out?”
“Are the Winged Ones involved?”
Shippo makes a seesaw motion with his hands. “Kind of?”
“Can I destroy them?”
“No.” Shippo looks rather firm on this answer, which makes the next admission all the more startling. “But the End of the World will more or less dismantle all the shit they’ve been doing the last few centuries and will likely throw them into a pit of despair.”
“Can it be the literal Pit?” Inuyasha asks, because fair is fair. They started it.
Shippo gives him that flat look again, his green eyes too piercing for the monotony of the room. Eventually, he huffs out a breath and turns around. “Yeah, fine, whatever.”
Inuyasha gets up slowly and follows the redheaded child out the bedroom door and into the deepest, darkest part of the ocean. Bermuda, the creature of all creatures, opens a lazy eye at them before going back to sleep.
“She’s probably my favourite,” Shippo says then, grinning that big, toothy smile at the creature. “Top five best names, for sure.” He says it like he was the one that named her. Inuyasha opens his mouth to ask but Shippo skips ahead then, muttering to himself as he goes. “One down and three more to go. I should probably leave the easiest one last, right?”
Inuyasha half-swims, half-stumbles through the water. He has no idea how the kid can skip through like it’s nothing, “Wait, three more?”
“Three more,” Shippo confirms. “I’m thinking Miroku first, and then Sango. Sango will put up a much bigger fight if we do it the other way around and we’re on a time crunch.”
Yet another question he doesn’t want to ask, but does anyways. “Who the fuck are Miroku and Sango?”
“Uh, your co-Almighties?” It’s more of an incredulous statement than a question, but Inuyasha feels anger bubbling up in his system anyways, the familiar rage burning in his veins like an old friend. He’s missed feeling like this, feeling anything at all than the nothingness of the Pit. His hands curl into fists, his claws digging into flesh and though he doesn’t bleed, the pain of it is almost startlingly good.
Shippo eyes him like he can read every thought that’s racing through his mind. “Weirdo,” he lands on finally. “I really have been absent.”
“Explain,” Inuyasha grits out.
“You actually thought you were the only Almighty Being?” Shippo snorts, smacking a palm to his face. He looks rather disappointed, which is again such a strange look on a body so young. “Well then, you’ve got some catching up to do. There are four of you, all Created differently but Made at the same time. You grew from the ground. The Earth split itself in half to carve out your Creation.”
Inuyasha remembers it, though the memory is hazy at best. For all the things that he can do and recall, his Creation was fuzzy, like looking through layers of fogged glass. “I saw the galaxy.”
“You did,” Shippo answers. “While emerging from the earth, you only had but up to look.”
“And the others?”
“Miroku and Sango are kind of strange. Basically, a rock was–” He stops and winces. “Well, it was blessed. Long story. Anyways, when Sun shone its light down upon the Earth, Miroku grew. That night, when Moon filled the sky, its light shone upon that very same rock and Sango was Created. One rock, two Almighties… You see how it’s weird?”
Inuyasha doesn’t. He nods anyways.
“And then there’s Kagome.”
For some reason, the name stabs something within him. It brings about a pain that rivals Inuyasha’s memories of being dragged into the Pit. He doesn’t know why. Inuyasha’s entire existence was himself, the Earth, and the fucking Winged Ones.
Angels, whatever.
“She was Created first,” Shippo says, wistful. Bubbles leak from his mouth as he sighs, still deep are they in the ocean. “She was Made with intention.” He sneaks a glance at Inuyasha before grinning slyly. “Race you to the top?”
“The top of—?” But it’s too late. Shippo has already flown, jetting up towards the surface without having moved a muscle. Inuyasha stares for a long moment, baffled. He wishes, suddenly, that Shippo had gone for someone else first. Why hadn’t he gone for someone else first?
When he gets to the surface, the waves are all-consuming. Shippo hovers over the top like the water is a solid mass, a floor to be walked-upon. He laughs at Inuyasha’s struggle before snapping his fingers, and then – finally – Inuyasha is by his side, dry, and drowning no more. “You’re a mess,” the redhead tells him with glee.
“What intention?” Inuyasha demands instead, because he may have been chained to the Pit for a very long time, but he’s no fool. He knows a distraction when he sees one. Shippo’s flight out of the ocean was as clear as day, a neon sign of distrust.
Inuyasha is not dealing with this shit, free of the Pit or not.
For a moment, those green eyes pierce him. Shippo is six year’s old in body, but certainly not in mind. He’s difficult to get a read on, but the reverse doesn’t seem true. Finally, the kid shakes his head and sighs, long-suffering. “Still a pain in the ass,” he grumbles.
Still? “We only just met,” Inuyasha growls back, irritated. “Look, this has been a fun few minutes but—”
“Kagome was Made from the Light and the Dark,” Shippo interrupts. His body hovers higher, taking Inuyasha with him, though the child doesn’t seem to notice. “She was born out of love, staring down at the Earth.”
Inuyasha has no idea why this is such a secret. That thought must be written all over his face, or maybe Shippo doesn’t need to read expressions at all. Maybe the child simply knows.
“You were Created second,” Shippo tells him casually.
The comment means nothing. “And?”
A startled laugh comes out, oddly cheerful and childish. His tiny hands form fists around his stomach, like he’s trying to keep himself together. “Nothing,” he gasps out. “Oh, nothing. This is going to be great. The gang is back together!”
Back…together?
But before Inuyasha can ask anymore, Shippo whoops and flings them both into the sky.
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whumphoarder · 4 years
Text
Who Needs Disney When You Have Russell Crowe?
Summary: When Peter’s ear infection gets a little out of hand, Tony and Morgan have slightly different ideas of how to help.
Word count: 1,874
Genre: Sickfic, domestic fluff, Whump Lite™
A/N: Thanks to @xxx-cat-xxx for beta-reading and ideas <3
Link to read on Ao3
Peter wakes to the sound of quiet whimpering.
It takes a few seconds for his groggy brain to register where he is, but the warm glow of the bunny-shaped night light on the opposite wall illuminating the Arendelle toy castle and the pile of stuffed animals on the floor gives it away. He’s in Morgan’s room. Morgan, who insisted on getting a bunk bed for her sixth birthday so that she and Peter could have sleepovers whenever he came to visit.
Morgan, who is clearly in the midst of a nightmare.
“Mo...” Peter whispers hoarsely. There are a few more quiet, pained whimpers. “Mo,” he tries again, louder. His left ear is throbbing and it’s ridiculously stuffy in this room—he’s actually sweating. Kicking the tangled bed covers off of himself, he lifts a hand to tap the wooden bed frame over his head. She stirs. “Morgan, wake u-up.” His voice cracks on the last word.
Morgan sits up in her bunk. “Yeah?” she asks drowsily. She leans over the edge of bed to look at him, strands of her long hair falling in her face. “What is it?”
She doesn’t seem particularly upset, which Peter finds strange. “Did… did you have a b-bad dream?” he asks.
In the dim light of the room, he can just make out her curious expression. “I don’t think so.” She swings her legs over the side of the bed and shimmies backwards down the ladder. “Did you?”
“Wh-What?” His ear is ringing, the pain feeling almost bone-deep. There’s another whimper, barely audible.
“You’re crying,” she says simply, perching herself on the edge of his bed. Her brow knits together. “Are you sad?”
Peter wipes the back of his hand roughly across his face and finds it’s wet with tears. It takes a second for his addled brain to realize that she’s right, and then an instant wave of self-consciousness washes over him as he looks into the eyes of the frowning six-year-old. “No, sorry, ‘m fine.” He pushes himself up on his elbows, hurriedly brushing the tears away.
Morgan’s eyes go wide. “You’re bleeding!” she gasps.
“Huh?” Peter follows her horrified gaze down to the pillow he’s been using. It’s covered in something dark and sticky. Alarmed, he lifts a shaky hand to his throbbing ear and feels more liquid trickling down. “Oh – um – wow, uh...”
“I’m getting Daddy!” Morgan declares, jumping up from the mattress and spinning on her heel. “Hang on!”
“Wait, no, don’t freak him—”
But she’s already out of the room.
“...out.” With a small groan, Peter carefully sits the rest of the way up and flips the lamp on. The pastel lilac pillowcase is stained with a mixture of blood and yellowish fluid. Grimacing, he grabs some tissues from the box on Morgan’s dresser and dabs them carefully at his dripping ear, hissing sharply at the stabbing pain it causes.
Within a minute, Morgan is back, dragging the hand of a disheveled but surprisingly alert-looking Tony in after her. “See? He’s crying and bleeding out of his ears!” she blurts.
“Just one ear,” Peter corrects, lowering the tissue down to look at the fresh blood and pus on it. “Gross...”
Tony rolls his eyes. “Oh, well in that case I’ll just go back to bed—you’re perfectly fine.” He moves over to the bed, Morgan following close behind. “Anything you wanna share with the class? You take any good hits to the noggin’ recently? Blow something up?”
Peter shakes his head as much as he dares, which only increases the ringing sensation. “No, nothing like that,” he mutters. He wishes this was something cool and Spider-Man related, but he’s pretty sure it’s just his patented Parker Luck™. “Ear started hurting a couple days ago,” he admits. “Thought it would go away.”
Tony pulls out his phone and flips on the flashlight. “Can I see it?”
“Yeah,” Peter says, wincing. He bites his lower lip and does his best to keep as still as possible as Tony peers into his ear with the light.
“What does it look like?” Morgan asks curiously.
“Ugly as hell...” Tony mutters. He flicks the light off and turns to Peter. “Pretty sure you ruptured your eardrum, kiddo.”
“Ah.” The pain seems to ramp up with the confirmation. That checks out. Certainly feels like someone just bored a hole through his ear. He can feel the fluid dripping out down his cheek.
Tony must notice it too because he grimaces and pulls a couple more tissues out of the box to hand him. “You know, if you weren’t feeling well, you could have told us that when you got here,” he points out. “Instead of waiting until”—he glances at his lock screen—“3:37 in the morning.”
Peter manages a small smirk. “Gotta keep you on your toes. You know, now that you’re retired and all...”
Looking very unamused, Tony extends a hand and helps pull Peter up to standing. The movement only increases the throbbing in his ear and Peter squeezes his eyes shut tightly against a wave of dizziness.
“Alright?” Tony checks, still gripping his arm tightly.
“Yeah,” Peter breathes, the ringing growing louder. “Sorry. Just... really hurts.”
“He can have some of my medicine,” Morgan offers in a slightly hushed voice. “The one Mommy gives me when my ears hurt.”
Tony lets out a short laugh. “That’s nice of you, sweetie, but I don’t think grape-flavored Children’s Motrin is gonna cut it here.” He gestures up to the top bunk. “Why don’t you hop back up there and try to sleep some more while I go get Peter fixed up?”
Morgan sticks her lip out in a pout. “But I’m not tired now.”
Instant guilt comes over Peter at having woken her up, but Tony doesn’t miss a beat.
“Nope, you are, you just forgot,” he says knowingly. He lets go of Peter’s arm for a second to scoop the now quietly giggling six-year-old up and deposit her on the top bunk. “Count some sheep, kid,” he advises, flipping off the lamp and snagging Peter’s ruined pillow to toss in the laundry.
With Morgan situated, Tony guides Peter out of the bedroom and down the stairs. He leaves Peter to clean up in the bathroom before heading to the kitchen in search of some kind of painkiller that might work on an enhanced metabolism.
Eventually, Tony returns with a bottle of Tylenol-Codeine, a glass of water, and an apologetic look. “It’s the strongest stuff we’ve got here. Might take the edge off at least.”
Peter murmurs his thanks and takes the pills, mostly to humor him. They both know it’s a lost cause. He can burn through a dose of morphine in less than ten minutes; there’s no way over-the-counter meds are going to do anything.
“First thing in the morning, I’ll take you to see Bruce,” Tony promises. “We’ll get you on some antibiotics and something better for the pain.”
Peter just hums in response.
Tony sighs. “We can try a heating pad,” he suggests. “That helps Morgan sometimes.”
“Sure.” Peter shrugs, listless. He’ll do anything at this point to make his ear stop aching.
Tony locates the heating pad and gets Peter set up on the chaise section of the couch under a blanket with the heating pad resting on the pillow under his ear. It helps marginally, which is slightly more than Peter can say for the pills.
“Sorry, kiddo. If only you’d known me in the nineties,” Tony says with a sad chuckle. “Could’ve tried all kinds of stuff on you.”
Peter lets out a short, empty laugh. “Yeah, too bad. Sure May would’ve loved that…”
Tony settles down onto the other end of the couch and flips on the TV for distraction. After a bit of channel flipping, he picks a period war drama about a badass sea captain fighting during the Napoleonic Wars, starring Russell Crowe.
(It was that or “My Strange Addiction” on TLC, and neither of them felt like watching a woman eat a couch).
Peter doesn’t exactly sleep, but he closes his eyes and drifts in and out while the movie plays low in the background. He’s kind of queasy—probably a combination of the otherwise useless drugs and the low grade fever he’s pretty sure he’s got going—but it’s nothing too awful. At least the sounds of cannons firing and battles being waged on screen drown out the incessant ringing in his head.
He isn’t sure how much time passes before a new voice joins the mix in a stage-whisper:
“Are they gonna cut his arm off?”
Peter’s eyes snap open. He sees Tony dozing on the other end of the sofa, so he sits up a little straighter and turns around to look at the staircase behind him. Sure enough, Morgan is sitting on the fourth step from the bottom, just high enough to see over the couch to the TV.
“I thought you went back to bed,” Peter whispers.
Morgan shrugs. “Counting sheep is boring.” She stands up and tiptoes down the rest of the stairs and into the living room. “Are they gonna cut his arm off?” she repeats.
Peter looks back at the movie. The ship’s doctor is in the midst of a rather intense amputation scene on a young boy’s infected arm. “Yeah, looks like it,” he says through a wince. He should probably change the channel to something more child-friendly, but Tony’s got the remote balanced on his knee and he’s all the way on the other end of the sofa. Oh well.
Morgan nods at the screen, looking impressed. Then she looks back to Peter. “Does your ear still hurt a lot?”
“Nah, it’s not so bad,” Peter lies. “No need to cut it off or anything.” He scoots over on the cushion a bit. “You wanna sit here with me?”
“Yeah.” She nods and hops up onto the couch beside him, snuggling against his right side. “Did Daddy give you medicine?” she inquires.
“Yeah, he did,” Peter assures.
She nods approvingly. “And did he give you the heater thingy?”
Peter lifts the heating pad up slightly for her to see. “Yep.”
“Good.” She nods again. “And cuddles?”
“Eh…” His gaze drifting to his quietly snoring mentor, Peter smirks a bit. “I think I’m getting too old for those.”
“Everybody needs cuddles,” she says knowingly. Scooting a little closer to him, she wraps her arms around his waist. “See?”
A small smile creeps across Peter’s lips. “Yeah, I see.”
They sit there for a moment, Peter doing his best to focus on the steady pressure of the six-year-old’s gentle squeeze rather than the thumping in his head. It’s almost peaceful.
“Either that, or you need a stick,” Morgan pipes up, breaking the spell.
Peter’s brow furrows. “A stick?”
“To bite down on,” she explains, pointing at the TV. “Like the boy in the movie.”
Peter blinks, then shifts his gaze sideways to the little girl watching nineteenth-century field surgery technique with genuine interest.
“It’s so he doesn’t scream,” she informs.
Peter holds out his hand. “Just give me the remote, Mo.”
X
Link to all my fics
If you enjoyed this story, you might also like: Adventures at the Stark Lake House
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porkchop-ao3 · 4 years
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A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 64)
Loose Ends
Yep, I’m still alive! Just not spending any time at all writing 😅😬 Here’s another chapter anyway, I hope you enjoy! Also, happy holidays and here’s hoping for a better 2021!!
Tagging @emily-strange and @actuallyhansolo ❤
(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)
-
We moved west, staying north, and found a place to camp far from where any Pinkertons were still patrolling. We travelled for hours, all through the remaining hours of the night, through the morning and into the afternoon. We ended up at Cotorra Springs when the sun began to set; it was cooler there and when we found a spot away from any trails, pretty secluded, we decided it was as good a place as any. The rushing sound of the geysers erupting every now and then kept making me jump at first but soon became a somewhat comforting sound. A reminder that no matter what happened, life always carried on, the world wasn't going to stop spinning and fall to pieces just yet.
We set up a small campsite with a few tents and a fire, over which we cooked meat from a deer that Charles had hunted while the rest of us set up. None of us knew how long we would be there but it was clear that we all needed some food and some rest before we even attempted to figure out our next move. We all sat around the fire with our food and little Jack was asleep with Cain by his side; the dog had tagged along with us on our journey, jumping atop the Marston's wagon whenever he got too tired.
"What exactly are we all gonna do?" John was the first one to bring up the elephant in the room, and everyone turned to eye him almost irritatedly.
Nobody spoke up or offered any sort of response, and after a moment, Lenny threw his hat in the ring.
"It's a good question. We can't live like this forever, can we?"
"Course not," Arthur said. He didn't quite snap the words but they weren't untroubled. "We've got a chest full of money on that wagon, we'll… we'll figure out what everyone wants to do and split it accordingly."
"I don't want a penny of that money," Sadie hissed, then spat into the fire, "reeks of Dutch and Micah and dirty betrayal."
"Hey, that implies it was all their money. Dutch barely put a penny in if it weren't from a job we all did together," John scoffed.
"I don't want it either but let's be rational. We're gonna need it," Charles said, looking at Sadie. "We didn't just go through all that only to starve to death at the end of it, all because of pride."
"He's got a point," I agreed. "I don't think any of us should have a problem taking that bastard's money," I added.
"Ain't his money," John shook his head, picking at something stuck in his teeth, "it's our half, fair 'n' square."
"Yeah," I nodded after a moment, but frowned a little. Silence lingered. 
"It's obvious none of us feel too good about takin' it," Abigail broke it, stating the unspoken.
"I feel fine," John snorted.
"Me too, for the most part," I hesitantly agreed. Arthur sighed beside me and everyone looked at him.
"For the love of God, not a single one of you refuse that money. This is hard enough, at this point, that money's the only thing that made this possible. Without money, we're trapped, and if we're trapped, we'll end up in the damn ground," he told us through tensely gritted teeth. More silence followed, broken by Susan.
"You're right, Mr. Morgan. This ain't no time for pride and making things needlessly hard on ourselves. We've just gotta take this opportunity to get the heck out of this mess, so I don't wanna hear no bellyaching from any of you," she said sternly, and John nodded in agreement. Lenny took a breath, and nodded too. 
"And what're you gonna do Miss Grimshaw?" I asked her softly. She met my eyes across the fire, her brows arching a little in surprise that I'd asked. 
"Me? I'm- I'm–" she began hesitantly, and glanced at the others before letting out a breath. 
"You ain't thought about it none?" Abigail asked, and Susan turned her gaze to her.
"Quite the opposite," she scoffed a laugh, then patted the side of her hair bun in an attempt at brushing back fly-aways. "Maybe I'm just a little bit ashamed to admit that I've been planning for this for a while."
My eyes widened, and so did most of the others'. 
"Oh come on. Please. A woman would have to be foolish to not consider a few back up plans in this way of life. Especially with how things have been the past few months. Even Miss O'Shea had her plans," she added, and my eyes dropped down at her mention. I always felt strange about the whole Molly situation, considering I was potentially the last person to really talk to her.
"You ain't wrong. So what's your plan?" Abigail asked. 
"I know a lot of people Miss Roberts, I have options," she chuckled. "But I think I envision a future in moonshine. An old friend of mine's been wanting to go into business together for a while now, I think I'll pay her a visit."
"Which old friend is this, anyone we know?" Arthur questioned.
"No. If you knew her, you'd know exactly who I'm talking about. She ain't a lady you easily forget," Susan chuckled, shaking her head. 
"Ain't nothing to do with those Braithwaites, then?" John snorted and Susan rolled her eyes.
"The Maggie I know would sooner hang than have anything to do with those idiots," she laughed. I smiled as I watched her laugh, feeling my admiration for her swell. Susan was a woman I would never be like, and I knew I'd miss her sorely despite all of the times I'd giggled when one of the girls would roll their eyes or pull a face at her behind her back. I knew everyone had a lot of love for her, and I did too. 
"What about you then, Lenny?" Arthur asked. "What's your plan?"
"Ohh, I'll be a rolling stone for a while I think, see where life takes me. I’d like to… learn,” he said almost hesitantly, a mild frown puckering the skin between his brows. His eyes lifted and settled on Charles for a brief moment, “maybe, if the stars align, I might just have a chance at making something of myself,” he laughed, but there was an ugly reality behind his words that bittered them slightly, though he kept smiling, and it was no accident that it was Charles that his eyes landed on. The smile that Charles returned to him was one of quiet understanding.
“My father, he wanted me to be a lawyer,” Lenny turned his grin to me, his eyes brightening a little. “From bank robber to lawyer, can you imagine that?”
I chuckled, despite the fact that with Lenny’s intelligence, charisma and articulateness, I didn't doubt his capability.
“Dutch always said I had too much potential to stay robbing banks for the rest of my life,” he breathed, looking down into the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes, making them shine bright even though his energy dulled a little at his mention. Yet another silence fell across the campfire and I kept my eyes on the young man before me, so full of potential yet held back by so many factors far out of his control, and my heart hurt.
“I think that's the only thing I know of that came out of his mouth and made a lick of sense,” I noted. He looked at me, held my gaze for a few moments, then released a quiet breath.
“Maybe I’ll head to Washington D.C. Try to get a job, or go to school. I don't know about being a lawyer,” he breathed a laugh and shook his head, “but doing something… more than what I have been doing. That’d be good. I think my dad would be proud of that.”
“Your dad would be proud of you already, Lenny. I mean that. You’re a good kid, got a good heart,” Arthur told him, and everyone made a show of agreement, nodding, humming confirmations and patting him on the shoulder. 
“Thanks, all’a you, I… it's been quite a ride, ain’t it?” Lenny sighed. 
“That it has…” Charles trailed off. 
“And I think I’m gonna hit the hay,” Abigail announced, dropping her plate on the ground before rising to her feet. I watched as she very carefully bundled Jack up into her arms. “Goodnight, y’all.”
“Goodnight,” the rest of us whispered softly, as if suddenly we would all wake up the boy, even though he’d been sleeping just fine before. 
“I need some sleep too,” John agreed, and it set off a chain reaction, and Lenny and Susan retired to their sleeping spots. Charles drained the contents of his bottle of the beer that Sadie had managed to snag before we all left. 
“Arthur, tomorrow night we should…” he said quietly as he rose to his feet, trailing off. Arthur met his eyes and stared silently for a while, then nodded. 
“We will.”
“Alright. Thank you,” Charles nodded, then headed towards his tent.
“I weren’t planning on leaving him, not for a second,” Arthur called after him and Charles waved a hand dismissively, smiling over his shoulder at him.
“I know. Goodnight, folks,” he added, then crawled inside his tent to bed down for the night. I glanced at Arthur for some clarification and his eyes dropped to the ground.
“Eagle Flies got captured by the army. I said I’d break him out, I have to, princess–”
“Don't think I’m gonna try to stop you,” I whispered. He turned his head towards me, and I kissed his cheek. 
“Thank you. He got caught when I was helping Dutch screw the lot of ‘em over, pretending to be helpful. I gotta speak to him and his father, tell them about what happened with the gang today. Eagle Flies can’t keep on trusting him, getting sucked in by his fancy words just like I did at his age. It won’t do anyone any good in the end,” he explained, and I nodded in agreement.
"You need some help breaking him out?" Sadie questioned. Arthur met her eyes and shook his head. 
"Charles has a plan, shouldn't need more than the two of us."
"In that case, maybe there's something you can help me with instead," she said, leaning forwards, elbows on knees. My stomach squeezed a bit at the way her eyes lit with devilish determination. "O'Driscolls. There's a bunch of 'em hiding out over at Hanging Dog Ranch."
"Sadie–" Arthur began, his hand raising.
"With Colm gone and with just a few stragglers left, we can end those bastards for good," she cut him off, her hands clenching into fists. I took a breath and looked down at my feet, pressing my lips together.
"Sadie, I… I don't think we– we just got out of a bad situation, we're doing all we can just to get by–" he began again, and I could feel his tense but careful sympathy in his tone.
"We can finish 'em. We can. This is all I got left now, bringing some kinda justice to those sick bastards after what they did to me, what they did to my husband," she leaned forwards even more, her body tensing up, I could see her from the corner of my eye, getting full of desperation. I sensed Arthur glance at me.
My heart ached. We were finally away from Dutch and I had hoped that it would be the end of Arthur risking his life over grudges. I could handle him going with Charles to break a good man out of prison, I wasn't happy about the risk he was putting himself at but I knew he had to do it. But going to kill O'Driscolls? I was so conflicted. Sadie deserved closure over what happened to her husband, but I didn't want to lose Arthur over it. I couldn't stand it if we came this far only to–
"Please, Arthur. I need someone to ride with me. I can't go in there on my own but if I got no one–” Sadie's voice cracked and my eyes flashed up to her. "You're the only one I trust to do this with me and do it right. And I gotta do it, Arthur, I can't just let them get away with it. Please."
I stared at Sadie, feeling her pain emanating from her in waves, it made the hairs on my arms stand up and bile rise in my throat. My eyes tingled as tears threatened to form there, and Arthur looked at me again. Then Sadie did. Suddenly, I found, it was my choice, without even saying a word. 
I nervously toyed with the locket around my neck, and saw Arthur's eyes momentarily flitter down to it. 
"Arthur you–" I began after some time, when it was made clear that they were waiting on my blessing. Mine. Like I had any control over anything. "Sadie's done so much for us," I said monotonously, though it wasn't without feeling, "it's clear she needs this." 
"Thank you!" Sadie exhaled, and I rose to my feet. 
"I need to sleep," I whispered, then stepped over the log I'd been sitting on and headed for the tent I shared with Arthur. "Goodnight."
I climbed inside and laid down on my bedroll, wrapping myself up in the blanket and curling up on my side. I could hear quiet voices outside the tent, a muffled mix of soft tones from both Sadie and Arthur, none of which I could make out as words. It was only a few minutes before cool air filled the tent as the flap was pulled back, and Arthur climbed in beside me. He shuffled around, getting under his own blanket and scooting up behind me, his hand gingerly resting on my hip.
"Princess," he whispered. I made a small hum of acknowledgement. "Are you okay?"
I nodded my head, and Arthur exhaled, then kissed the shell of my ear. 
"Talk to me, please."
"I'm sorry Arthur. I'm trying not to put a leash on you, and trying to give Sadie the opportunity to get justice for her husband. All the while I'm worrying any one of these jobs people have you doing'll be the one that kills you. Right when we're finally doing what we've been waiting for," I whispered. Arthur's hand gently drifted up and down my side, his lips still at my ear giving me little pecks. 
"I could try to reassure you, but it won't help, will it?" He said softly, sadly. I shook my head. "What do you want me to do instead?" 
"Nothing. I don't want you to do anything, Arthur. I can't ask you not to do all these things. That's why I came in here to sleep, cause I know anything I say ain't gonna do any good."
"Are you angry with me?"
"No, I'm not," I breathed, then rolled over to face him. "I'm not mad, I'm worried. And I'll be worried until we're away from here for good. That's it. All I need from you is just to hold me right now, so I can enjoy the time I have with you," I told him, and kissed his chin. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head.
"Just a couple more jobs, princess, then it's over. I promise," he told me. 
"Please keep your word," I whispered, closing my eyes and nestling my face into his collar. 
"I will. I'm under nobody's thumb no more, I do what I want. These things, they're just… they're things I gotta do for my friends. I know you understand that, right?"
"I do. It's why I'm not stopping you."
"I'm real lucky I have you. And that you're like this. You're a good woman," he told me and I chuckled, shaking my head a little. 
"You don't have to flatter me, Arthur."
"I ain't flattering. I'm thanking you. Thank you," he said, pressed his lips momentarily to the crown of my head. "I love you."
"I love you too," I replied. 
After a few moments of silence, Arthur spoke again. "Can I ask you something? Or shall I let you sleep?"
"Now I'm curious about the question. Go on," I answered.
"Where'd you get that locket from? The one you been wearing since I got back. Looks familiar." 
The question surprised me. It wasn't anything like what I was expecting, and I laughed. Then stopped when I considered my answer. My heart was suddenly pounding because I knew I had to address how I had felt while he was away in Guarma.
"It was Susan's," I told him. "She gave it to me."
"That'll be why it's familiar," he mused. 
"It has a photograph of you inside it," I added. He was quiet for a moment.
"It does?" He questioned, tone going up a note.
I hummed my confirmation. "I… I was real bad for a while when you was gone. Susan wanted to cheer me up. I haven't taken it off since."
"Did it make you feel better?"
"A little. It was nice to have something of you, at least. But it didn't hurt any less, that you were gone."
"It would've been a comfort to have something of you with me while I was away. I thought about you constantly, I wanted to see your face just once… I didn't even have my journal, with my drawings of you. They don't live up to the real thing but they're something, at least," he whispered, squeezing me tight. 
"Let me see them," I whispered, kissing his collar bone. He made a small sound, a sort of hum, sort of sigh. 
"My drawings?"
I nodded as I moved back a little to look at him. "I've only seen a couple of your drawings of me. How many have you done?" 
"More than you've seen," he chuckled sheepishly, then rolled onto his back, staring up at the top of the tent. I shifted onto my elbow and gazed down at him. 
"May I see?" I questioned insistently, his grin widened. He was embarrassed, it was clear. "It's just me," I whispered, stroking my hand over his chest.
"Just you? That's the problem."
"Problem?"
"I'm worried I'll embarrass you." 
"Why would I be embarrassed?" I laughed. Arthur sighed and met my eyes. 
"Get my journal," he acquiesced. I giggled and sat up, reaching for his satchel that sat by his feet. I retrieved the journal and handed it to him, but he nodded towards me, urging me to keep it. "Take a look, princess." 
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dappercritter · 4 years
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Random She-Ra Season 5 Thoughts: THE FINAL RAMBLING
Yep. I finally got all my crazy absurd thoughts about this gay adventure-romance-drama cartoon summarized into one incoherent yet fun to read computer document/article! ...four months after the show itself ended. Oh well, no one’s perfect. Anyways, there are a whole lot more insane observations than ever before, so I had to put it below a link so this thing didn’t back up my blog or any of yours. Hope you enjoy reading through these as much I enjoyed spouting them for no discernible reason other than I felt like it!
-I feel that since is the last season, I ought to talk about an important part of the show that I’ve been putting off: the animation. It’s… okay. It’s definitely smoother than what the original 80’s show and it’s brother series (heheh) looked like, but at the same time it still seems to suffer from similar limitations which causes some distracting moments of stiffness. But other than that, it’s pretty good. It’s no Titmouse or Studio Mir but it looks good and it gets the job done.
         -After all, let’s not forget: “Imperfection is beautiful!”
-Even when things are at their lowest, Adora is a jock with a heart of gold.
-Horde Prime and the Galactic Horde’s aesthetic feels like a mixture of Catholicism, Scientology, Heaven’s Gate, and modern Microsoft, and honestly, that just makes him creepier.
-Speaking of Horde Prime, he didn’t waste any time with destroying Bright Moon. …apparently.
-Furthermore, on the topic of his giant holographic messages, WAS THAT A FREAKING MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MOVIE REFERENCE?!
-Boy, Glimmer and Catra sure got along quickly! It’s almost like they magically understand each other because they both assumed leadership roles and screwed up big time! …I guess.
         -Either that or this season is going to be a speedrun.
-Wow, the Rebellion sure got used to having a once-thought-dead king as well as a known enemy general/abuser running around their camp awful fast, didn’t they?
-Mara’s got a spaceship, a cyber girlfriend, a magic grandma, a dragon, a tragic backstory, AND a force ghost?! Dang, even in death, the girl’s got it all. No wonder everyone likes her!
-(*me looking at the TV rating at the start of episode*) “Why is language in there? Is there surprise cuss words or something in this season?” (*sees Horde Prime seize control of a clone for the first time*) “HOLY FREAKING SH—oh that’s why.”
-Applause to the crew for making the “dinner with Prime” scene for making a meal between a sparkly princess, a catgirl, and alien cult leader feel even more uncomfortable than it had a right to.
-(*me throughout the season whenever a clone was onscreen*) Is that Hordak? Is that him? Is that him? Is that him right there? Oh it is—oh no wait. … Is that h—
-Extra applause for having Glimmer learn from her grey-area wetwipe phase and refusing to sell out her friends again whilst telling the imperialist cult leader where to stick it.
-I would pay a sizeable portion of my life savings to hear what a Scorpia and Swift Wind duet would sound like.
         -In fact, I’d double it if it was just Scorpia singing.
         -Ah what the heck. I would triple it for an entire She-Ra musical!
-As happy as I am to see to see Entrapta interacting with the other princesses again, I have to say that their big reunion left me with some mixed feelings. Here’s a quick rundown:
         -Entrapta, a grown autistic woman, being led around on a leash by non-neurodivergent teenagers—again: that’s bad.
         -The Princesses confronting Entrapta about joining the Horde: that’s good!
         -The Princesses blaming all their problems with the Horde bots on Entrapta’s actions and her hyper fixations alone: that’s bad.
         -Entrapta explaining herself, admitting that she regrets her mistakes, and getting the Princesses to understand that she thinks and communicates differently, but in spite of that, she really does want help find Glimmer: that’s good!
         -Entrapta never gets to call out the Princesses for how poorly they treated her: that’s bad.
         -Entrapta saves the day and goes to space: that’s good!
         -Scorpia and Entrapta still haven’t interacted even though the former is with the Rebellion in the first place because she went to look for her because she is her best friend: …can I go home now?
-How nice! Michah finally got to shapeshift!
         -And he’s rocking that She-Ra outfit to boot!
-So is Darla a back up of Light Hope or do they just run on the same operating system and have the same voice?
-I could watch an entire season of Adora, Bow, and Entrapta going on space adventure in a rundown ship with their custom-made spacesuits, tbh.
-Is anyone else weirded out that Catra’s younger self looked at her in her flashback(?).
         -Actually what WAS happening there, anyhow?
-(*watching Bow’s spacewalk to save Glimmer*) “Is that a Gravity reference?” asked the man who never saw Gravity.
-Speaking of spacewalks, how did Glimmer survive those precious few seconds in space? Does the teleporter teleport a breathable atmosphere too?
         -Also, Catra, WHY did you think it would be a good idea to teleport Glimmer into space? I know you had a plan and the ship was right there but… Ah, never mind.
-Not that I’m complaining but Glimmer’s apology to the rest of the friend squad for her HORRIBLE plan last season went… surprisingly quickly.
-You know as cool as The Star Siblings are, being a quirky band of space-travelling siblings with cool powers and some trans rep to boot, I only have one small problem with them: weren’t there already Star Sisters on Etheria back in season 1?
         -That doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know enough about Masters of the Universe characters to dispute it.
-Entrapta confirmed pan, objectum, AND horny on main. Dang girl, you’re gonna have fun whether you got Hordak back or not…
-“The Velvet Glove” is both a menacing and stupid name for a decadent overlord’s mothership.
         -Wait, it’s from the 80’s canon? Oh. That kind of explains it, actually.
-Goshdangit, I wanted Catra to face punishment for her crimes, but I didn’t think that would involve going to evil alien conversion therapy!
         -Nor did I want her to die! For a second. Actually, since it obviously wasn’t going to last I was… weirdly okay with that part???
-Horde Prime seems awfully okay with Catradora. I mean he’s still super creepy and manipulative about it, but also oddly progressive for an evil brainwashing cult leader.
-(*Adora transforms into a She-Ra through seer will*) First of all, called it. Second of all, WOAH MAMA now that’s a glow up!
-Wrong Hordak did not have to be a thing, and yet, I’m glad that he is.
-Hordak remembers the LUVD crystal and Entrapta… Hordak remembers Entrap—! It’s happening! Oh my gosh, it’s happening! Everybody stay calm!
-Wow, Entrapta didn’t have to be so forgiving of Catra for everything she’s done to her but she did. Only I’m not sure if that was Entrapta taking the high road or the low road.
         -Or which road the crew took for that matter.
-I remember when I thought those “Chipped AUs” floating around here on tumblr were just something the fans came up with and that chipping people was not an actual despicable thing Prime does in canon. I miss those days.
-I know it’s not the same as before or the original design, but True She-Ra’s designs and powers? I think they slappin’.
-Hooray, Adora and Catra are finally making up! And it only took four and half seasons worth of communication failures, toxic villainous behaviour, and physical violence for Catra to snap out of it!
         -…We can go back to Entrapdak now, right?
-Poor Elberon. First they unknowingly adopt a double agent then get invaded by the Horde and now they’re getting brainwashed and chipped by the Galactic Horde. They might be a cute village, but they got some pretty lousy security.
-You know it’s cute that Micah is doing his best to be friends with Frosta and get back in touch with his dad-side, but look I can’t be the only one worried about how the local King is a less proactive leader than the princesses or the known war criminal/abuser, right?
-“The Perils of Peekablue” or as I like to call it, “You Thought ‘Boys Night Out’ Caught You Emotionally Off-guard? Hah! Watch This.”
-You know I didn’t think Scorpfuma would be a thing aside that one moment of flirting near the end of season 4, but they really pushed for it to be a thing! This is… actually pretty great! Perfuma’s not perfect, and I would have appreciated giving them a little more time to bond and form some real chemistry, but at least she reciprocates Scorpia’s sweetness instead of rebuffing it in increasingly aggressive fashion.
-I’m not sure what’s more concerning: that Mermista set a boat on fire, that it’s worded like she had a fling as part of some experimental phase, or that Sea Hawk is turned on by this.
-Peekablue might not be real, (I think?) but he is one dapper dude! Female-to-male redesigns could learn a thing or two from him.
-It involved them getting stung and seizuring, but that was a heck of a way to reintroduce Double Trouble! I swear I got watching them cycle through their transformations in some sort of physical reaction.
         -Or maybe that was just me worrying about their wellbeing…
-Okay, I get the Chips are huge, and actually rather clever threat, but how do these characters get chipped in the first place? I get there are chipped people who spread the chips throught the population but where do they get those from???
         -Do one of those Horde Prime drones just sneak behind someone, slap a chip on their nape then hand them a whole bagfull and say, “Beep boop beep, Horde Prime’s Light, blah blah blah. Alright have fun, kiddo”?
         -Or is it some sort of Alien: Covenant deal where they’re just floating around and Lord help you if one sticks to you?
-HOLY CRAP THEY ACTUALLY GOT SCORPIA TO SING! AND SHE WAS GREAT!
         -Oh shoot. Guess I owe the crew twice my life savings now…
-Entrapdak might be what got me into this show, but it’s Double Trouble that kept me around, so you can imagine how happy I was to see them make their grand reappearance!
-Conversly, you can imagine my disappointment when they just disappeared until the finale.
         -And on that note: HOW DID YOU GUYS LOSE DOUBLE TROUBLE?!
                  -You forgot to cherish them, didn’t you?
-So, Scorpia sacrifices herself just after finding a new girlfriend and gaining some newfound confidence, Mermista and Sea Hawk are split up,and Double Trouble didn’t join the main cast. Why can’t you just have fun like a normal cartoon, show?
-Gosh, I love me some shifting title cards!
-Is it just me or did they sneak in some more Annihilation references on Krytis?
         (-Said the guy who was too chicken to watch the movie and just read about it and watched a few clips online.)
-(*audibly sighs*) FINE. I guess I like Catradora now. Are you happy now, SPOP Crew? ARE YOU?!
-Hooray, Catra’s got a emotional support animal! And they’re a shapeshifting magic alien cat. Those are the best kind!
-Is it weird that I knew that weird glowing stuff on Krytis was just magic all along, or was it just not hidden very well. Anyways, I like Krytis. I like that we got to see a truly alien world with its own form of magic.
-Plus, we got a logical advancement of the magic versus science subtheme with magic being Horde Prime’s weakness! Neato!
-Getting back on the “which is worse?” wagon for a second, I don’t know what feels less right: that Wrong Hordak’s big revelation and his resolution to free himself and his brothers and friends from Horde Prime’s control is played humorously, or that Real Hordak should be the one having this moment.
-That bit with Castaspella and Shadow Weaver where she tells Casta about Etheria being a living thing with inherent magical property, or whatever, while we got a peaceful shot of some boar creatures sleeping was actually kind of nice. It would have been nicer though if it wasn’t part of a power hungry abuser’s obvious scheme. If only there was a kindly old witch lady character who was in touch with nature and knew just what to say when someone was feeling downOH WAIT.
-Furthermore… Why did Shadow Weaver and Castaspella need to have romantic tension?
-Seriously though, where’s our Madame Razz quota this season? Where’s my supportive magic grandma timelord at, yo?
-Yup, they speedran this season.
-I’m actually really disappointed we didn’t see more of an intergalactic new rebellion rising up to fight Horde Prime’s forces across the universe. Especially if it meant we got to see more Star Sibling action!
-Again, I adore Wrong Hordak but I keep wondering what was keeping the crew from just bringing in Original Flavour Hordak. (You know, aside from teasing us Entrapdak fans and trying to distract us with a loveable new character in the meantime.) I mean he could have done the whole infiltrating the clone squads and tricking them bit, too.
         -Heck, he could have done the wink, too!
-I’d gleefully point out Loo-Kee’s cameo this season but apparently, they already made some several seasons ago. That’s what I get for not rewatching the 80’s show and training my eyes first.
-(*sees Erelandians*) Are those freaking Toads and Toadettes?
-So, what’s keeping them from just hitting Spinerella’s chip again? Besides emotional baggage and gale force winds, I mean.
-Perfuma coming out of a cave scared out of her wits, demanding to know who’s there, clinging to her friends as soon as they come back, and balling her eyes out is a big, BIG mood.
-Frosta absolutely decking Catra in the face was nestled somewhere between cathartic and excessive.
         -Netossa spraying her with a bottle of water on the other hand…
-Oh, so Greyskull was the name of a Rebel Squad! I think. Meh, the important thing is we got an explanation and it still sounds cool.
-Leave it to a couple of dads to make a secret message out of a dad joke.
-You know I made fun of Light Hope for being creepy, but I swear that avatar from the Spire is even creepier. I don’t know if it’s her face—those dang blank eyes, man—or just that it she’s less animated than the real thing, but it just felt… off.
-Aww, Noelle made Netossa’s princess weakness illustrations! So cute!
-Forget episodes that deserves Emmys, Keston John deserves one for voicing Hordak, Horde Prime, all the clones, and several minor villains and giving each and every single one a distinct voice! Where my king’s respect, eh?
-Yes, Catra you had a small disagreement with Hordak. …Over sending his girlfriend and your “friend” to DIE IN A LITERAL LIVING HELL.
         -Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system.
-Why does Perfuma get pressured to get angry and go wild when Entrapta’s the one who’s had it the worst out of all them? Why can’t my gamer girl go berserk, dammit!?
-Okay, but really, how do these fricking chips work??? Are they parasite devices who store Horde Prime’s Baptizing Dew then slowly pump it into their host’s bodies? Do they have their own nervous systems? Are they technorganic? Also, how and why do we need to make these chips are bigger threat then they need to be?
-Horde Prime showing up on Hordak’s throne in grand Killing Joke style and casually throwing shades at his brother’s overblown attempts to impress him is pretty awesome, but it feels strangely underdeveloped. Hordak’s not there to have his hard work insulted and we never got to see Adora have any similar encounter with Hordak here before, so unless you look at it from the perspective of someone who has been here before in the Horde story like Catra it lacks the dramatic weight it should have had.
-Scorpia resisting the chip to save her new friends was pretty great, though.
-I swear, when they got to the scene where Adora and the others figured out that Shadow Weaver was grooming her so she could use her to get to the Heart of Etheria, I was mouthing “You B***H” through the whole thing.
-They really brought back Etherian deep magic just so they had something to make Micah threatening. …okay.
-Okay, the rest of “Failsafe” messed me up, so here’s a rundown on all the other messy thoughts I had while the show ripped my heart and ground it to dog food:
         -Entrapta and Hordak reuniting: Yay!
         -Swift Wind yanking her away before she can get through to him: Boo.
         -Catra encouraging Adora to try and take care of herself for a change: Yay!
         -Adora hurts Catra and she runs away: Boo.
         -Adora finally calling out Shadow Weaver on what an utterly horrible person she is: Yay!
         -Adora resolves to risk sacrificing herself to save the world: Bo—okay, seriously, was all this suffering really necessary, show?
-I know I mentioned in my previous She-Ra random thoughts that I supported Glimmadora, but I am okay with Catradora and Glimbow ending up canon. The only problem I have is how rushed they feel—moreso with Glimbow. With Catradora, the crew had an entire season to make it work again and they took it. Glimbow it feels like they were down to the last few episodes and went, “Oh right, we were gonna do something with these two!” then did their darndest to fit in some chemistry in between all the other stuff going down.
-As ominous as it was, the music where Horde Prime starts hacking Etheria honestly SLAPS.
-Okay, I know everyone is magic or something, but I am legit surprised getting electrocuted in water didn’t kill the heroes right then and there.
-Sea Hawk tries to flirt with his girl even as she’s trying to kill him. Truly, he is a man of taste.
-What do you know, Shadow Weaver can only do good when she’s (canonically!) punch drunk.
-You know a whole lot of this could have been avoided if Holo-Mara was Adora’s mentor instead of Light Hope.
-When I think about it, it was actually really clever to make Horde Prime the final villain for Adora to face: a domineering decadent man who’s been in power forever against a humble emotionally vulnerable compassionate young woman.
         -Not to mention the divide between cult-like oppression and progressive freedom. Or something.
-Holy crap, did the First Ones get a great freaking a Great Old One for a guard dog?!
-So, you guys seriously didn’t bring Angella back to reunite with her family OR mention her all season after the impact her death had on everyone all last season until Glimmer needs a power-up at the last possible minute and then you never bring her up again. That is absolutely a dick move in bird culture.
-Entrapta’s hacker sticker gives me life. Gamer girl gremlin princess forever!
-On the one hand, I’m disappointed that Adora and Catra don’t get to have an awesome couple battle against the security monster and win. On the other hand, Shadow Weaver is finally dead. YAY!
         -With apologies to the writers and especially Lorraine Toussaint. She did splendidly bringing this character to life and even if I hated Shadow Weaver, I adored the effort she put into making her one of the most emotionally complex villains I’ve ever seen.
-Words cannot, will not, and will never describe the pure joy that I experienced when I first saw Hordak’s big scene: standing up to and disowning his tyrant brother, saving Entrapta, declaring his love to her (albeit in a nicely lowkey fashion), and then throwing Horde Prime to his apparent doom Disney style with Entrapta cheering him with sheer glee. GOSH, it was everything I could have hoped for from this season!
         -Now if only they kept the deleted scene where they got a moment to themselves before Prime body-jacked him again like the creepy sonuvabich he is.
-Horde Prime just wouldn’t be a religious villain if he didn’t tell everyone to burn.
         -Bonus points for actually trying to burn the frigging planet.
-Aside from the idea of Adora switching to wearing a She-Ra themed dress everywhere in the future, the future vision was really quite sweet, and seeing Prime step in to ruin it made it all the more impactful.
-Can I just say that it’s absolutely wonderful that the show, for all it’s flaws, said  “**** senseless heroic sacrifices”?
-BREAKING: Lesbian cat finally makes up with her jock ex, has a canon kiss so pure it saves the world!
         -In other news, Catradora fans are still spoiled rotten.
-Wow, look at all those character comebacks they skipped through! Look, there’s the chefs from Dryl, Double Trouble, Huntara, the Horde Trio, Imp, Madame Razz—are you kidding me?!
-Grumbling aside, I actually find the idea of the Horde Trio and Imp getting involved in a G-rated science-fantasy version of the first Hangover movie quite amusing.
-Oh dang, they pulled a Castle in the Sky with the Velvet Glove!
-As nice as it was to see Aodra save Hordak from Horde Prime and destroy the latter through exorcism via sheer compassion, I’m rather disappointed we never got to see She-Ra go full Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengence on any creepy old cult leaders.
         -Yeah, it would have gone against the “love conquers all” set up, but love takes on many forms, does it not? So, why can it not manifest as cleaving your mortal enemies with extreme prejudice to save your loved ones?
-Furthermore, in addition to Holo-Mara being a better mentor, Hordak raising Adora instead Shadow Weaver could have prevented a lot of similar problems. Maybe. Possibly.
         -Eh whatever, he has a lifetime’s worth of fanfiction to make up for it.
-ENTRAPDAK IS CANON, ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.
-And so is Catradora and Glimbow! That’s nice, too.
-Aww, how sweet of them to skip through Catra and Scorpia, and Glimmer and Micah’s big reunions! It’s not like we’ve been waiting forever for this stuff or anything. HahahahAHAHAHDHAHAHFHAFHKSADJHFKAJHDfine.
-And so it all ends with everyone either friends, in love, or both, as heroes decide to make up for it all with a grandiose sequel promising more exciting space adventures we probably won’t see! HOORAY!
-All snarky ranting aside, I actually really enjoyed the finale. It was exciting, heartwarming, and above all it ended on happy, hopeful note without leaving too many frustrating questions unanswered. (*glares with utmost contempt at Voltron and Star vs. The Forces of Evil*)
-You know, this wasn’t bad for a final season, but I think this might have worked better as two seasons. Not in Netflix’s cheap “split a regular 13-episode season in two 6-7 episode long seasons” strategy, but I mean two full seasons with their own storylines leading up to the grand finale:
         -First, one that starts out with Horde Prime’s arrival the downfall of Etheria, focuses on the space adventures, ends with their return to Etheria and gives the characters time to recuperate from season 4.
         -Then, we have one final season that focuses on the Best Friend Squad’s Return to Etheria, Horde Prime’s plan, gives everyone more time to properly reconcile before ¾ of the entire cast gets chipped, sets up a new Rebellion made up of Princess Alliance and former Etherian Horde members, maybe even set up a proper Hordak redemption arc or something, and then our big happy ending.
-On a mostly unrelated note, I also feel that the whole show could have turned out even better if it had been either a dedicated science-fantasy war drama with some levity (like the good Star Wars shows or Avatar: The Last Airbender) or a lighthearted yet empowering slice-of-life action-adventure romcom (i.e. basically a well-made remake of the original show in the style of Adventure Time and Parks and Rec or something).
-My final random thought for this whole thing: we really could have used a triumphant end credits song or something. Aside from obviously recommending Fabulous Secret Powers, I would have also recommended the original 4 Non Blondes “What’s Going On,” a reprise of “Warriors,” Gorillaz’s “We Got the Power,” or (my favourite) Talking Head’s “(Nothing But) Flowers” since the ending scenes remind me of it.
Thanks again to the crew for giving me something to live for and/or complain about!
Now, let’s hope the He-Man reboots do as well...
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