#but laughed with me anyways when i showed her

[ckret2]

What's your stance on Ford as a person? Honestly, I believe that for thr majority of canon he is a bad person. But I believe he grew. Still not great though XD

(Love him anyways obvs)

I disagree entirely! I think he's equally as good a person as any of the other main cast.*

*Except Mabel, who, as we all know, is always right about everything.**

(**This is a lighthearted joke. For the love of god, I don't want Mabel discourse in my inbox.)

His biggest sins in the show:

After telling his brother that he was thinking about changing their shared life plans, and then discovering that his brother had gone to the high school that night for no good reason and gone to the science fair for no good reason and messed around near Ford's science project for no good reason and broke it and didn't tell Ford about it... Ford believed Stan did it intentionally and held a grudge for it. You know what, it WOULD be pretty damn hard to believe it was an accident.

Hilariously ill-equipped to cope with Fiddleford's mental health. A guy who responds to "I have anxiety" with "have you tried yoga, it helps me" isn't a bad person, he's clueless. "Character cheerfully enacts a bad idea while a loved one in the background goes NO PLEASE DON'T DO THAT" describes half the episodes of Gravity Falls.

Was successfully manipulated by a professional manipulator into believing his best friend wished him ill. Man, what a terrible person Ford is for being manipulated by a manipulator and saying cruel things to somebody he'd been genuinely convinced was trying to harm him.

??? Didn't say thanks to a guy he was still mad at after the guy fixed a problem he himself had caused. This is a solitary example of stubborn bad etiquette, jesus christ. There's half a dozen different reasons why it makes perfect sense Ford wasn't in the right mindset to feel grateful, this is not something worth indicting his entire character over.

He had high ambitions, which everyone seems to lambast him for, but high ambitions that wouldn't have required doing anybody harm! (Until the professional manipulator started manipulating him into harming the people around him, but we are going to demonstrate some reading comprehension and not blame Ford's underlying morality as a person for things he never would've done if not for Bill's bullying, con artistry, and outright lies.) Like, what is it that he wanted to do with his life? Use his talents to get rich and famous? Shit, that's exactly what Stan wanted to do with his life. It's what Dipper fantasizes about doing with his life. Even Mabel, who thinks about her long-term future the least, dreams big with her art & performances and is already making big money off cheap-ass commissions. What terrible people they all are, for—let me check my notes here—uhhh... unrealistically fantasizing about achieving success in life by doing the things they're good at.

When their dad accuses Stan of lying as a child, Ford puts his entire summer on the line to defend Stan even though he knows Stan is a habitual liar and has no reason to believe Stan is telling the truth this time.

When his new college roommate he barely even knows gets laughed at for proposing an outlandish scientific theory, his first emotion is outrage at this injustice and he drops everything to convince his already-despondent roommate that he was right and help him prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

When he moves to a new town, he tries again and again to befriend his new neighbors, and fails not because he's rude or a jerk, but because he's awkward as hell, tells terrible jokes, and sucks at identifying phoenixes.

When Fiddleford gets hurt around him, he cares about it, feels guilty about putting him in that position, doesn't want it to happen again, and tries his best to help even though he's bad at helping.

When he gets kidnapped by a weird holiday folklore creature, he concludes without even thinking about it that he's now in charge of protecting and rescuing the kidnapped kids. Yeah, then he immediately starts hollering at the folklore creature for trying to impose his religious beliefs on Ford and the kids—but like, Ford was right tho, he just had bad timing.

When he discovers that the Northwest family committed atrocities against their poorer neighbors a century ago, his first instinct is to march up to their house, find the first Northwest he can locate, and give them a piece of his mind for it. Like, this won't even FIX anything. He's just THAT OUTRAGED over the injustice.

When he sees what he thinks is a fortune telling fraud conning the people, he attempts to debunk her because he's mad to see someone cheating other people with lies—and when he can't debunk her, he just leaves her alone rather than harass her about it. Typically, if assholes think somebody's doing something wrong but don't have any proof of it and fail to get proof when they look, they decide they're right anyway and keep giving that person shit. Ford doesn't give her shit. That's the opposite of an asshole move.

When he discovers his Portal To Knowledge (And Fame & Fortune) is actually a Portal To Doom (But Still Possibly Fame & Fortune, Maybe Even Godly Power), he isn't tempted for a second to keep working on it anyway. There is no moment where Bill manages to tempt him. No matter what Bill offers, no matter how long Bill offers, never, at ANY point, does Ford have a SECOND of "but what if I did make a deal with the devil?" the way so many heroes in similar situations often do.

You ever notice that? So often moral moments in the show are presented as choices the characters make. Will or won't Dipper give Bill a "puppet" in exchange for knowledge. Will or won't Stan fight a pterodactyl to protect Mabel's pig. Will or won't Mabel hand Bipper the journal. Ford is never given a "will or won't he" moment over Bill's threats, offers of friendship, or offers of infinite power—he steamrolls straight past them without a second of consideration—because, to him, the selfish, cowardly, easy choice ISN'T EVEN AN OPTION. He doesn't even SEE it as making a choice because the possibility of doing the wrong thing is invisible. A character who wavers first before turning Bill down would look more noble for "overcoming" temptation—it's harder to notice just how much stronger Ford's moral compass must be to not even feel temptation in the first place.

Greed and pride never tempt him to join Bill's side. Exhaustion, despair, and fear never tempt him to give up. He bears up under weeks, possibly months of extreme sleep deprivation, physical torture, psychological torture, emotional torture, threats of death, threats of brainwashing, threats to his family. He doesn't hold up so that he can pat himself on the back for being a hero—if that was all it was he would've gone "screw it, this isn't worth it and nobody would know I'm the one who gave up" a week in—he does it because he simply knows it must be done and because he's so isolated (half because of Bill's influence!) that he believes he's the one who must do it, all alone.

Thinking he has to do it by himself isn't egotism or pride; it's helplessness. He thinks no one else stands a chance. He thinks he's alone.

And, when he discovers his Portal To Knowledge is a Portal To Doom, he immediately feels guilty. No trying to deny the situation to protect his ego. No shuffling the blame off to someone else. No "maybe the apocalypse could have a silver lining!" No locking the door and trying to ignore the problem. He blames himself for being fooled—he IMMEDIATELY takes full responsibility for his actions—and he CONTINUES to take responsibility FOR THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS.

He takes more responsibility than is even warranted—he treats himself like he's an idiot for believing in an APPARENT GOD who's been practicing manipulating humans for thousands of years and who had never given Ford reason to believe the portal was anything but what Bill said it was. He beats himself up to no end every single time his past with Bill comes up. He even keeps beating himself up thirty years later when he's shoving warning notes to future readers in Bill's evil unkillable book!

When he falls into the multiverse, he dedicates his entire life NOT to finding a way to rescue himself, but to finding a way to permanently stop the CHAOS GOD who's still at the threshold of destroying Ford's world and countless others. He makes himself a hated criminal in the process, just to stop Bill. He's ready to spend the rest of his life trying to protect a world he doesn't think he'll ever see again. He does it because, as he sees it, somebody has to stand in between the children and the obnoxious folklore cryptid menacing them, and he's the only adult in this damn cave with the skills and knowledge for the job.

When he gets home, he doesn't tell his family about Bill and his quest because he's afraid that doing so will get them involved and endanger them too—and because he's too deeply ashamed of himself and his mistakes to stand the thought of his family knowing about the horrible things he's done (AGAIN, WHILE BEING MANIPULATED BY THE GOD OF MANIPULATION).

He loves his great-niece and great-nephew the second he lays eyes on them; he nevertheless tries to steer away from them to keep them safe from Bill; and yet he caves to the very first temptation to emotionally bond with his great-nephew he gets, because in spite of his noble "keep them safe" intentions, he wants so so badly to be close to his family.

As pissed as he still is at Stan and even though neither of them can look at each other without hissing like cats, he still makes an attempt to start bridging their divide by inviting him to play DD&MD.

When the apocalypse happens, he immediately puts his life on the line to try to kill Bill.

And when he's captured, isn't fazed for a second by Bill's offers or threats... until his family is threatened. The exact thing he'd been trying to avoid & prevent from the very start.

And when he's reunited with Fiddleford, his immediate reaction is to point out that Fiddleford's well within his rights to hate him—which isn't a new revelation, it's not like Ford had to do any soul-searching to reach this conclusion, he'd concluded that 30 years ago the instant he realized Bill had played him and that he'd been lied to about Fiddleford.

And then he tries to kill Bill again.

And then he's ready to sacrifice his own life to kill Bill—and the only reason he doesn't is because he has a metal plate preventing him from making the sacrifice... but, Stan doesn't have a plate. If Ford hadn't had the metal plate, he would have gladly done the exact same thing Stan did—and he would have thought it was right for him and only him to make that sacrifice, because it's VERY clear he feels (and has felt from the start) that this is all his fault and he's obligated to fix it.

Over and over and over, these are Ford's two defining character traits: getting so pissed off at injustice that his common sense shuts off and he goes into terminator mode until he's righted this wrong as best he can, even when he can't actually do anything about it; and feeling like he's Atlas, weighed down with the full responsibility of fixing everything he's done wrong and made to believe that, for everyone else's sake, he has to do it all alone. Even when doing so puts himself in harm's way, even when he has to put his entire life on hold for it, even if it might cost him his life. Scrape off his awkward social skills, his loneliness, his nerdiness, his endless curiosity, his zealous love of the strange, his starry ambitions, his yearning for recognition and success—scrape his personality down to the bone and that's what you're left with. A man who believes in defending the exploited so strongly that it makes him a little stupid.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that you probably don't think Stan's fundamentally a bad person, and that you probably think that isn't even worth questioning. Stan's made a whole career out of swindling people, conning them out of as much money as he possibly can, stealing, lying, committing a long list of goofily-named crimes, and attempting douchy pick-up artistry on women; and to cap it all off, he held the safety of the entire universe hostage to demand a goddamn "thank you." Don't send me any "But he had reasons—" "But it was only to—" I don't need it, I don't want the essay, I'm not arguing that Stan's a bad guy, it's fine.

But. You can look at Stan's moments of cruelty and unkindness, his uncharitable thoughts, his character flaws, and think, "that doesn't define him. He's more than his cruelest moments and worst mistakes. He's imperfect, but he cares so much and his heart's in the right place, and beneath all the flaws his core is good."

And if you can't do the same for Ford, it's not because he's a worse person. It's because we got two seasons with Stan and five and a half episodes with Ford—and while we saw Stan yearning to fish with the kids or encouraging Mabel to whoop Pacifica's butt at minigolf or crying over a black and white period drama or punching zombies to save his family, we only saw Ford at the worst moments in his life and under the stress of a prolonged apocalyptic crisis—and, it so happens, all the moments he was pissed at the guy we spent two seasons learning to love.

Ford's got moments of cruelty and unkindness, uncharitable thoughts, and character flaws. But, at his core, he's a good person, and he always has been, and he still is.

[heavensoutofsight]

i want you to see (how you look to me) - billie eilish

synopsis: you're hopelessly in love with your best friend, billie, and you're unsure if she feels the same, choosing to keep your distance -- until one fateful night in the studio where your feelings finally boil over.

word count: 3506

tags/warnings: angst if you squint, mostly fluffy, love confessions, mutual pining, best friends to lovers

author's note: GIFT FOR YOUUUU. sorry i took so long to write something LMAO. this was very quickly proofread at 3am. any mistakes are mine! hope you enjoy :) comments/tags/reblogs are always appreciated! (credit for the divider goes to @/cafekitsune)

In the dim light of your bedroom, you scrolled through your phone's photo gallery, feeling your heart constrict at all of the pictures you had with Billie. Some were taken directly after shows, some after particular interviews, and some during a random outing the two of you decided to go on. In many of the pictures, Billie left little to no personal space, her face squished against yours and her arms completely wrapped around you. You missed the times when Billie could touch you like that and it didn't set you aflame – when it didn't make your head spin as you took in her perfume and felt her soft body underneath your hands, her ocean eyes bright and full of mirth as she looked at you.

There was no denying that there was some distance between you and Billie now. And you hated it.

You weren't sure when it happened; when you first started feeling those stupid butterflies around her. When even just the sound of her laugh made your heart soar. If somebody asked you to pinpoint the exact moment you started falling in love with your best friend, you wouldn't be able to – it was all so fuzzy and frankly you didn't think it could be attributed to a single moment anyway. It might have been that one night she slept over and you fell asleep with your head on her shoulder as she sung you to sleep. Or the time the two of you were at her place, making some vegan recipe together, playing loud music and using spoons and forks as microphones, performing for no one but yourselves and giggling profusely at Billie giving you the performance of a lifetime in the comfort of her own kitchen. Or perhaps it was the time she comforted you all night after a breakup, holding you closely and never letting go, her ring-clad hands petting you gently, as if you were made of glass.

Your heart had always belonged to Billie, long before you truly understood your feelings. And now that they were more apparent to you than ever, you simply didn't know what to do.

You knew Bille loved you just as much as you loved her. But did she feel the same fire within her whenever your hands brushed together? Did she feel those same butterflies whenever you laughed at a dumb joke or gave her a bright smile? You couldn't bear even just the thought of pouring your heart out to this woman only for the feeling to not be mutual.

You glanced at the time on your phone screen. It was late. You should've been sleeping but you were just riddled with anxiety instead, too busy imagining up a million hypothetical situations in which you would dramatically confess your feelings. You wish you had the same confidence you had in your daydreams in your real life.

You sighed, scrolling to the very last thing you had in your gallery. It was the most recent video of you and Billie, taken only a few weeks ago. The both of you were in Billie's living room. You couldn't stop the smile that tugged the corners of your lips when Billie came into view as you secretly recorded her in all of her casual glory. Her long hair was down, falling in front of her face in a way that made the breath leave your lungs. She was in an oversized t-shirt, wearing a pair of simple black shorts. She was very focused; her lips forming a pout as she stared down at the notebook in her lap, a pencil in hand.

What started as a small grin evolved into a wide, lovesick smile as you watched Billie look at the camera in the video, finally having caught on to you filming her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Past Billie had asked, a smirk slowly appearing on her face as she eyed you suspiciously. You heard yourself giggle, suddenly aiming your phone camera away from her and poorly trying to appear innocent.

“Nothing.”

“You are a fucking liar,” Billie said playfully, barely able to get the words out through her own series of chuckles.

“I'm not!” Past you exclaimed. Billie just shook her head, scrambling over to you to grab your phone, the both of you erupting into whole-hearted laughter. The last blurry frame of the video was of Billie's smiling face looking at you. You admired her perfect teeth and lips, the shape of her nose, and those damn ocean eyes, far more beautiful than any body of water you'd ever seen.

That familiar fluttery feeling returned to your stomach again.

You shut off your phone and quickly placed it on your bedside table. You rolled over in your bed, still thinking of that video. You were beginning to feel something in your chest. Your heart felt like it was constricting again. You tried to ignore, instead attempting to shift the focus of your thoughts on the weight of your blanket encompassing you, or the gentle sound of whatever random sitcom you had playing on your television for background noise; but your mind always wandered back to Billie. Her smile, her laugh, her touch.

You were deeply, madly in love with Billie Eilish, your best friend, and it was starting to drive you insane. This was not a crush, no, it was more than a crush – it was like a craving, a desire so strong it entirely consumed you.

You were so fucked.

You closed your eyes, desperately just wanting to sleep. You weren't even necessarily physically tired. Just tired of your brain going a thousand miles a minute and constantly thinking about her.

After a few long minutes of battling complete and utter restlessness, you had mentally exhausted yourself enough to the point where you were finally starting to drift off – until you heard your phone go off, which abruptly pulled you away from the brink of sleep. Normally, you would ignore it, but you recognized that notification tone. It was a tone that you specifically gave to Billie, and whenever she texted, you had to answer.

You opened your messaging app, squinting a bit at the brightness of your screen in the dark room.

heyyyy u up

i'm in the studio by myself

feeling lonely as hell

You heard the messages in her voice. You found yourself smiling again, imagining her in her little swivel chair, maybe playing a melody on the piano or strumming a tune on the guitar.

Without wasting a second, you replied.

you: of course i'm up

you: god you can't do anything without me huh?

You chuckled to yourself, watching those three little dots disappear and reappear.

billie: you are absolutely correct

billie: you just really inspire me what can i say

billie: i'm not even joking you really do

You ignored the warmth in your cheeks at her words, opting to play around some more.

you: ew

you: cheesy ass

To that, Billie replied almost instantly:

billie: shut your mouth

billie: ARE YOU COMINGGG

bille: seriously tho i know it's late but we haven't hung out in a while and i kinda miss youuuu or whateverrrr

You didn't respond right away, staring up at your plain white ceiling, releasing a sigh. Your smile faltered a bit.

She missed you. And you missed her. And even though being around her made you feel like you were gonna lose your mind, she didn't deserve to be pushed away.

“You are going to get over your feelings, starting now.” you said to yourself encouragingly, getting out of your bed to meet Billie at her place. You finally threw her a reply back.

you: i'm omw :))))))

______

You didn't knock when you finally arrived since you had the key, but you did make your presence known.

“Bil,” you shouted out. You didn't get a response, but you shrugged it off. She was probably deeply concentrated on whatever lyric or melody she was trying to create. You made your way to the studio, feeling your heart race inside of your chest. As you walked down the stairs and down a hallway, getting closer to the studio door, you felt more and more anxious.

You were going to open the door, your hand resting on the doorknob, but you froze when you heard the soft sound of humming. You leaned in closer, honing in on the gentle sound of Billie's voice, muffled and just barely audible.

“I want you to stay… til I'm in the…” She trailed off. You heard her let out a heavy sigh. That’s when you decided to make your presence known.

You slowly opened the door, quietly enough that Billie hadn’t even turned around in her chair, looking up at the large television screen in front of her, messing around with some music production software that you could never understand. You continued to stand in the doorway, watching as Billie made some small edits within the current song she seemed to be working on. She hit play after making some miniscule changes, the unfinished song softly playing out of the large speakers. As soon as the instrumental filled the room, you felt chills on every inch of your body; it sounded beautiful despite the fact that it wasn’t even done. You’d never get over how lucky you were to be able to hear the early versions of Billie’s songs – it was like being let into a secret world, and it made you feel special that you, alongside her family, got to witness every step of the process.

Eventually, the short snippet of the song had stopped, and Billie leaned back in her seat. Just from her posture you could tell that she seemed defeated, like something about the song just wasn’t right to her. She began humming again, mumbling out some lyrics here and there. You found yourself grinning as you admired Billie in her element, but then you remembered that you still hadn’t announced your presence and that you were just creepily ogling at her from the doorway. You audibly chuckled at yourself which, of course, finally grabbed Billie’s attention.

She spun around in her chair, seemingly startled at first before she realized it was you.

“Jesus Christ,” she started, her adorable laugh filling the quiet studio. “Did you just get here?”

You shook your head, heading over to the couch and making yourself comfortable. “I was standing there for a good few minutes.” You replied with a grin.

“Don't ever do that again – my heart fell into my ass.” She exclaimed, and you let out a loud cackle at that. You grabbed one of the throw pillows next to you and held it in your arms, reclining back into the familiar cushions.

“Okay, won't happen again. Maybe. No promises.” You joked, to which Bille just rolled her eyes playfully.

“Anyway, whatcha workin’ on?” You asked curiously, your eyes going back to the music software she had on the screen.

“The album, obviously.” Billie said with a smirk. Now it was your turn to roll your eyes, not being able to fight the grin tugging at the corners of your lips.

“Shut up,” you said with mirth. “Which track?”

“It's called Birds of a Feather, it's track 4. It's… pretty shit, right now.”

Your eyes widened in complete and utter bewilderment, your eyebrows shooting up to your hairline.

“Billie, what? I just heard the little snippet you played and it sounded incredible.”

“You say everything I make sounds incredible.”

“Because it's true.” You replied sincerely. To that, Billie gave you a gentle smile, looking down at her lap as if shy at the sudden praise. You felt the sensation of warmth throughout your body at just how endearing she was.

“All you do is gas me up.” Billie replied through a series of chuckles.

“Of course I'm gonna gas up my amazingly talented super star best friend,” You responded. “But… can I ask why you think it's bad?”

Billie sighed, leaning back in her chair again, twiddling her thumbs. “It's just… the lyrics are giving me a hard time. And the instrumental is missing something but I don't know what it is.”

“Can I read the lyrics?” You asked.

At that, Billie looked at you with an expression you couldn't quite read. She seemed hesitant, which was definitely unusual–she always let you read her lyrics and never felt shy about sharing stuff with you.

“Yeah, go ahead.” Bille said after a few long seconds of pondering, but you could still hear the uncertainty in her voice. Curious, your brows furrowed.

“Bil, I understand if it's something you don't wanna share with me yet–”

“No, please,” she said, quickly handing you her journal, already having opened it to the pages that contained the lyrics in question. “You can read it.”

You glanced at her expression one more time as you took the journal, and noticed that this time – she was holding back a smile, biting her bottom lip.

You were equal parts confused and eager to see what Billie seemed a little hesitant to share. You silently began reading what she had written, taking in her adorable, albeit messy handwriting. There were all kinds of scribbles on the page, certain words were crossed out. It was fascinating to you to see her thought process on the page. You loved just how deeply she thought about every word, every sentence.

Eventually, you stopped admiring her crooked letters and side notes and finally began analyzing the lyrics themselves – and when you did, you honestly wanted to cry at how lovely they were.

I want you to stay

Till I'm in the grave

Till I rot away, dead and buried

Till I'm in the casket you carry

If you go, I'm going too

‘Cause it was always you

And if I'm turning blue

Please don't save me

Nothing left to lose

Without my baby

“Billie, these are…” you paused, searching for the right words. “These are so sweet.” You said with a smile, meeting her warm blue eyes that were still trained on your face.

“Thanks.” She replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

As you read some more, a question had crossed your mind. Your eyes trailed off the page as you internally debated with yourself whether or not you should even ask because you were little afraid of what the answer would be.

It was clear to you these lyrics were about someone– they had to be. And the very thought of this song being about someone else in Billie's life made you feel as if there was a heavy weight in your stomach. For a second, you foolishly thought that you'd be able to overcome the feelings you had for Billie. All it took was imagining her with someone else that made those feelings rush back all at once.

You must've been quiet for longer than intended, because Billie spoke up. “Are they actually terrible? Do you hate them and you're trying to figure out how to break it to me?” Billie asked, that playful tone creeping back into her voice.

You chuckled. “They are far from terrible, Bil, it's just…”

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat.

“I was just wondering… who's it about?” You asked, feeling unreasonably nervous about her response. You don't even know why, because you had long accepted that there was a possibility she didn't like you like that. You were prepared to be heartbroken – but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt any less.

But all Billie did was just… laugh.

“Guess.” She said, crossing her arms.

Oh, God. So there is someone else, you thought.

With a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes, you said, “How the hell am I supposed to guess? But I'm happy for you, regardless.” You said, trying to be lighthearted, but your voice dropped a bit, possibly revealing your true feelings.

“Okay, do you want a hint?”

You stared at her incredulously. “You seriously want me to guess?”

“Do you want a hint or no?” Billie asked again, ignoring your question. She was smiling widely now, and you were still feeling that pang of sadness that you couldn't quite shake, but you continued to play along anyway.

“Sure. I'll take a hint.” You said.

“Okay,” Billie started. “She's my best friend in the entire world.”

“You have a lot of best friends-”

“Girl, let me finish.” Billie said with a laugh. “She's my best friend in the entire world who's known me my entire life. She's come with me to almost every show, every interview, and has supported me through everything.”

Billie had come a little closer to you now, her tone becoming more sincere with every word.

“When I'm lonely, she comes and visits me in the studio, even when it's ridiculously late. And she always compliments me and never lets me feel bad about anything I make.”

Slowly, but surely, you were beginning to realize something. Her descriptions were becoming more and more specific. Were you being delusional?

“Billie, I… what are you saying?” You asked. Your heart pounded against your ribcage, hard enough you were sure they'd be bruised.

“Still don't know?” She asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

You shook your head.

“Okay, I'll just tell you then.”

Billie gently cupped the side of your face. You leaned into the touch almost instantly. She was close enough that you could feel her breath on your lips.

“She's right in front of me.” She said with a grin.

You couldn't even process the sentence that just came out of her mouth, frozen in shock and disbelief.

“This song is about me?” You asked quietly, your voice breaking slightly. You felt a stinging sensation in your eyes, all of the emotion brewing within you threatening to spill.

“Do you remember the last time we hung out and you were filming me writing? I was writing this. I was writing this and thinking about you and how much I love you. I realized it as I was just… sitting there. You were laughing at some dumb meme on your phone and I just remember thinking how much I wanted you all to myself.”

You didn't realize you were crying until Billie had wiped away a tear.

“Hey, hey,” Billie said ever so softly, opting to hold both of your hands now. “Why are you crying?”

You laughed a bit through the tears, sniffling a few times before answering. “Because I… can't believe you felt this way the whole fucking time. I was going crazy, Billie.”

Billie let out a loud laugh of her own. It was your favorite sound in the world.

“Sorry. Honestly, I was trying to figure out my own feelings and how to tell you.”

“No, I'm sorry. For pushing you away.” you replied. Billie shook her head.

“Oh my god, stop. You don't have to apologize. It all worked out in the end, right?” She asked.

You smiled. “Yeah. It did.”

For several long seconds, there was a comfortable silence that stretched between the two of you. The both of you were smiling at each other, completely lost in the other's eyes. You didn't miss the way Billie's eyes glanced at your lips.

“Billie.” You spoke.

“Yeah, baby?”

The pet name made your heart soar.

“If you don't fucking kiss me right now–”

Billie didn't even let you finish your sentence, her lips colliding with your eyes in an explosion of pent up feelings and passion. She held both sides of your face in your hands, while yours snaked around her waist. You held onto her like she was gonna disappear any second and kissed her like you were starving.

The kiss started off innocent– but it quickly delved into something a bit more intense when Billie just slightly bit your lip, not enough to cause pain but enough to make you gasp. She introduced her tongue hesitantly, silently asking for your permission, which you granted without a second thought.

At some point, Billie finally got out of her swivel chair and moved to sit down on the couch with you. The two of you had pulled apart briefly for that, and when Billie was seated, her eyes were hooded and she was gazing at you like you were sex on longs. She patted her lap, and liked an obedient dog, you wasted no time crawling into her lap.

“I've dreamt about this.” You said, completely breathless and warm in the face.

“Oh, yeah?” Billie asked with a smirk that had your insides flipping upside down. “What else have you dreamt about?”

“Being able to call you mine.”

At that, Billie smiled. “That's all?”

“No, that's not all, but… I'd rather show than tell…” you trailed off, but it was obvious what you were referring to.

“We are getting out of my brother's basement, right fucking now.” Billie said.

The two of you snuck out of Finneas’ house, hand-in-hand and giggling like little kids in love.

[anamericangirl]

A South Carolinan woman was arrested and held for 22 days in jail after being initially denied bond, but eventually released with an ankle monitor, after suffering a miscarriage of a wanted daughter in the second trimester and being charged with murder.

This is the horror of criminalizing abortion. Jail time for a miscarriage.

It's great that y'all send me these stories because the lies you and the media spread need to be exposed and I'm happy to be the one to expose you as the liar you are.

And I'm done being nice about this. Just so you know, spitting lies in my inbox doesn't work on me because I actually read the stories and will provide the context you maliciously leave out and show everyone that pro-aborts like you never tell the truth.

First of all, the story you are referring is about a woman named Amari Marsh and what actually happened here was she woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain and went to the bathroom where she gave birth to a live baby over the toilet.

Her boyfriend called 911 and dispatcher repeatedly told her to get the baby, who was still alive, out of the toilet but no one did. And the reason she gave for ignoring the dispatcher and just leaving her child to drown in the toilet was "“I couldn’t because I couldn’t even keep myself together.”

When the emergency responders arrived the baby was still in the toilet and still alive. They attempted to perform life saving procedures and rushed the baby to the hospital but sadly, the baby died while at the hospital.

The reason she was arrested is because she failed to remove her living daughter from the toilet as she was instructed to do several times by the dispatcher which ended up being "a proximate cause of her daughter’s death."

Anti-abortion laws had nothing to do with this case and the CNN article that reports on this story even includes that admission from the prosecutor even though it's at the end because, like you, they are liars and want people to believe this is somehow the fault of abortion bans when it's not.

So tell me, what do abortion laws have to do with this? What anti-abortion law is responsible for the death of a baby that was born alive?

This baby was born alive and her mother left her to die in the toilet. So she should not be charged for that?

And also, just going to add people like you always claim infanticide has nothing do with abortion and y'all are still laughing at Donald Trump for talking about babies being left to die after birth following failed abortions because iT dOeSnT't HaPpEn but here we have a case of it happening. This baby was born alive and left to die. This was a case of infanticide and you pro-aborts are immediately blaming anti-abortion laws but I thought abortion and infanticide aren't related so how come they are in this case?

Anyway, you should feel bad about how you presented this story. You should be ashamed of yourself for either being willing to lie to promote murder or being too lazy and stupid to actually read about the case before spreading blatant disinformation.

I know me responding to you with what really happened will not change anything for you and you will continue to lie and spread disinformation because the reason you are willing to do that in the first place is a serious flaw in your character that will only change when you decide to be a better person but at the very least people reading this will know not to ever trust these claims from pro-aborts because it's always a lie.

So please keep sending these because it helps everyone see that pro-aborts are bad people who lie about everything.

[metalomagnetic]

Either must die snippet

***A dear friend asked on discord if I have some EMD writing left, so here it is.***

----

Harry hadn’t stopped screaming since he entered the kitchen; he’s furious. It’s been a long time since he exploded in such righteous anger.

Cheeks red, jaws set, and those damned eyes of his glinting. Why, it’s almost like before, back in the war. Of course, now at least he can appear somewhat intimidating, what with the size of him. He doesn’t intimidate Voldemort, but it is easy to imagine he could make a random individual cower. Voldemort would like to see Harry going off like this on some pesky journalists or one of his stalker fans. It would be entertaining.

As it is, it’s not entertaining at the moment. It irritates Voldemort to be screamed at.

One flick of his wrist, and he could silence Harry. Another flick and he can send him crashing into the wall. To resist temptation, he drums his fingers on the table, reaches inside to find patience. It’s getting harder and harder to be patient these days. He had to suffer it for a while, but now he’s back in power. A Minister, not a war lord, yet people learned not to trifle with him, not to glare at him, not to talk back.

Even Harry learned, as the years passed by. He minded his business, and he let Voldemort be. Yet it’s not worth the trouble to put him in his place, now. He can already imagine the dramatics that would follow. Harry would break again, and Voldemort will either have to lock him in an attic, never to be allowed in public, or he’d have to put in the effort to build him back up, and he certainly lacks the patience for that. Hermione would be insufferable about it. Delphini would cry.

Harry must be aware of these unpleasant outcomes, too, because while he screams, he doesn’t dare do more than that. He cries, too, tears of pain and frustration and pure despair. That improves Voldemort’s mood a tad. Harry always looks good when he’s crying. “I asked for one thing!” his voice breaks, rough. “One thing! You have everything, and I said nothing- you use me, you use my name, you- I only asked for one thing.”

What a lie. Harry might not verbally ask for much, but those pitiful eyes of his ask plenty, and Voldemort gives it to him. The ungrateful brat.

“And you couldn’t let me have it! You’re a monster!”

Show him, a voice begs, a voice that was dormant for so long, but it’s waking up lately. Show him the monster. Show him how patient you’d been with him all these years. Show him how it could have been.

Voldemort ignores it. His fingers curl around the table, momentarily, because just drumming them isn’t enough anymore, he itches for his wand, but then the crisis is avoided, and he is in control, he won’t snap. He does stand, because it’s safe to do it, his temper is in check, and Harry tired himself out with his tantrum. “You asked for her life,” Voldemort reminds him. “She is alive.” Moly Weasley lives. Thought it seems a misfortune befell her earlier that day. Well earned. Delicious revenge. Harry, sadly, is not the type to enjoy the poetic justice, the mastery in this delivery of punishment.

She lives, like he wanted, she isn’t even in pain, but the score was settled. Fleetingly, he wonders if Bella is happy, if she laughs gleefully in the afterlife. Perhaps not- Bella was never one for poetry, for subtlety. She got her vengeance in blood and screams. Harry stares at him, shaking his head. “I hate you,” he whispers. Voldemort did not want to break him, but he broke, anyway. So fragile, this boy of his, despite his impressive muscles, he shatters like glass. “Nothing new,” Voldemort replies, and walks out of the kitchen.

As soon as he reaches the garden, he feels his anger rising, now that he isn’t focused on not hurting Harry until he explodes into a pile of blood and bones. He gets angrier and angrier with every step. He feels as impotent as Harry must feel. No matter how mad the boy was, how obviously hurting, he did not even think to draw his wand at Voldemort, or punch him, like he once did. He would have- for Molly fucking Weasley, he would have. Harry has few limits, but the Weasleys are one. Harry would crash and burn with them, for them, the world be damned. He didn’t, however, because he must know, deep down, that it wasn’t Voldemort. But he can’t admit it to himself, not consciously. Voldemort is a convenient scapegoat. Voldemort is a monster, rotten and evil, and it’s easier for Harry this way. Easier than the truth.

He Apparates to Lestrange Manor, and he thinks of Bella again. How odd- he hadn’t truly thought of her in years, but now he feels her around; when he walks to Lestrange Manor, is feels like before, like when he’d walk this path and knew he’d find her and Rodolphus inside. He doesn’t, of course. He finds a copy of her, instead. Bella left him copies of herself, echoes that remain to dwell the earth in her absence. Voldemort walks past Andromeda, strolls through the Manor, until he finds Rodolphus’ copy.

Voldemort knows Rabastan is guilty as soon as he lays eyes on him. That stiff posture, the fear in his eyes, even if he keeps his chin up, defiant. “Your wand,” he snarls. Andromeda followed him, she’s frowning, confused, asking what the matter is. The matter is that Voldemort was disobeyed. “Leave,” Rabastan begs her. “Leave,” Voldemort snarls at her. Andromeda is a cheaper copy of Bella, in all senses. Tamer, sadder, broken. But wiser. She leaves.

Rabastan gives up ‘his’ wand. It’s not his, of course, just like Voldemort suspected. He knew, as Harry was screeching, as Voldemort sat there trying not to snap, he was thinking how all this could have been accomplished. Delphini is at Hogwarts, after all. Impossible for her to also be at the Burrow. Unless she Apparated there. But she wouldn’t risk doing all that with her wand. It became quite obvious who would have given her a wand. “It had to be done,” Rabastan dares to speak. “You moved on, but I can’t; not until justice was served. You moved on, but Delphi couldn’t.” Delphini is a far better copy of Bella, compared to Andromeda. But, as Voldemort feared- you do not fear!- as Voldemort suspected, she is no true copy of her mother. Oh, she’s her spitting image, she has some Black traits in her personality, but no- Delphi is his copy. The anger reaches its peak. Voldemort always treasured Rabastan over most others, awarded him more leeway than most others. But Rabastan is no Harry, he’s no Delphini, and Voldemort snaps.

He reminds Rabastan who he serves, whose mark is on his arm. Useless, of course. Rabastan was never one to cow for pain, nor learn from it. Yet his pain serves to soothe some of Voldemort’s anger, lets him take it out on him. Another convenient scapegoat.

(-)

She does walk like Bella, a confident, defiant tilt to her hips. She walks loudly, proudly, as if used to have others look at her in awe, covet her. She brought her heels, even if the path to the Forbidden Forest is not exactly best suited for heels. Whenever she angers him, she knows to make herself look even more like her mother.

Once, when he searched her mind, he saw Rodolphus teaching her this, on the night before he left her at Rowle’s. “It’s best if you look like her,” he told her, advising her to let her hair free, to wear the dresses Bella favoured. “He treasured her above all others, and, in time, I hope he’ll treasure you, too.” She doesn’t stop at a respectable distance, like Bella would have done when she knew she messed up, when she angered him. No. Delphini comes close, closer than anyone dares.

She’s taller than Bella already, and the heels almost bring her up to his chin. She looks up, and those are his eyes, that is his glare, his defiance, his stubbornness. “What potion did you give her?” “My own invention,” Delphini says, and pride flushes stronger on her face. “They won’t detect it.” “And if they do, then what is the problem, no?” Voldemort asks. “Who is going to suspect a perfect school girl? And if they do suspect her, who is going to blame the Minister’s daughter? Who would dare arrest her?” Delphini shrugs.

“If you plan on using my influence to stay out of trouble, if you know you can easily fall back on me to protect you, then you should discuss things with me before you do them.” “Why bother,” she spits. “You would have said ‘no’. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” He should have tortured Rabastan more, because not all the anger is out of his system. Furry comes back hot, coursing through his veins, going to his head. “Ask for forgiveness, then,” he hisses, and he takes the step that separated them, towers over her. If she wants to play these games, he’ll play them. She will lose. It’s time for her to learn to lose- Harry spoiled her, far too much. He ignored Voldemort’s warnings that Delphini shouldn’t get away with everything she does, that he should push back, whenever she tests them.

As always, Harry’s kind, tolerant heart, explodes spectacularly in his face.

Delphini doesn’t cower, not truly, but he can detect the current of fear that passes through her. Strangely, it does nothing to improve his mood. Terrifying people usually soothes his fury, but now it just taints it with an unknowable feeling. “I thought you loved Harry,” he says, softly.

“I do!” Her fingers curl into fists at her side. Her neck is bent back uncomfortably, trying to keep Voldemort’s gaze. “She’s alive, isn’t she? Like he asked. She loves Harry, didn’t forget him, and she’ll no doubt dote over him, like a mother. In fact, now that she only remembers loving him, she’ll love him even more! I took nothing from Harry! He can have his pretend mummy! I only took away the memories of all her living children! It’s only fair!”

Delphini’s voice gets louder. Defensive. “She stole my mother from me! So it’s only fair she forgets all the beautiful memories she has with her children, memories she didn’t let me form with my mother. It’s only fair she will only remember her dead son, like I have to remember my dead mother, every time I step foot into the Great Hall, where that harpy took her from me. From us! You lost her, too! And now Molly Weasley cannot remember her husband, either! It’s fair, it is!”

It is beautiful, he agrees. It is poetic and it is just. It is perfect. However.

“You knew he’ll blame me for it; you understand he’s devastated; you understand how he’ll avoid me now, how he’ll suffer, how he’ll moan and whine at me for months on end, start drinking again, retreat into his spare bedroom and rot there for who knows how long. You are perfectly aware Hermione will blame me, too. That it could potentially harm my work. You knew this would affect me. And you did it anyway.” He cups Delphini’s face, and she finally flinches, though she doesn’t draw back.

So beautiful, this child. So intelligent. She loves Voldemort, understands him like no other. His perfect girl. If Voldemort would have ever wanted a daughter, if he’d have been given the chance to make her, build her from scratch- this is what he’d have imagined. Only, he still wishes she would have been more like Bella, or Rodolphus, or Harry; it would have been easier. For him, and for her. Alas, she is not like them. She is like him.

“She deserves it,” Delphini insists. “She hurt me!” Ever her tears are perfect, pretty shapes, clear, trailing down her cheeks. “That never works with me, Delphini,” he reminds her, using his thumb to brush one tear away. “I know!” she hisses. “Nothing works with you! That’s why I didn’t ask! Because you give Harry everything he asks, you are so attentive to provide him with what he needs, but you never care about what I want. What I need. I asked you to punish her, you promised me, remember? When I first met Ron. You promised me! But then Harry asked you to spare her, and you did what he wanted. You forgot about me, about my pain-“

“Shut up,” he says, softly. “I allow you far more than I would anyone else. Harry is my prisoner, he does only what I allow him to do, even if he deluded himself into thinking otherwise. I give you freedom. I don’t make decisions for you. I accept you as you are. But-“ he takes his hand away. “Do not trespass against me, Delphini,” he warns her. “If you want to hurt others, don’t use your mother as an excuse to do it. More importantly, don’t hurt people that are useful to me. Ask before you pull something like this again. And when I say ‘no’, better heed it. Or leave. Go far away, and make trouble there. This is my country, and nothing happens inside it without my say so. I worked for sixty years to subdue this island. If you want that kind of power, you will have to work for it, too.”

[mehiwilldoitlater]

Previously... "How you wished your phone hadn't died few days ago"

Me: Gentlemen,Ladies and Enby's. I have an solution >:)

OKAY OKAY SO,The party fights Yellow Loong and after defeat,they get their thunder staff,yeah? Reader thinks it's so cool and then it clicks to them to CHARGE their phone by the use of the staff!!! Which does work HAHA instantly goes %100 in span of 5 seconds lmao

And reader shows the destined one some photos (like their family,friends of school/college,time they went to zoo and hold finger monkey,yes. It's a thing,look at it up hehe)

At last,reader takes selfie with The destined one and Zhu Baige cuz they don't want to forget them c:

Also drink water,gotta stay hydrated! 💜🫵🏻

"This will never work."

"And if it works, you'll be so sorry you had doubted me, old man!"

Bajie, sighing, Just pointed out the destined one, who was holding that small black tablet in his right hand with the nail of his pinky in the small hole at the base of the same object.

"Kid, stop indulge her! Be the rational one here!"

"What can I say?" He said, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm quite curious too about this phone thing."

"Oooh, yes, of course! Cuuurious, he said. Well, if it's turned out to burn at a crisp, do not come cry to me, young lady!"

You just laugh it out; even if it were true, you knew that the old pig was a soft heart for you and would surely comfort you.

"Ok so," you started to explain for the last time, "go really low on the voltage, enough to the cilinder with the green liquid to appear. Once Is full and made a sound, stop!"

"It seems simple; sure, is it going to work?"

"Well, maybe? ... Anyway, it doesn't matter! Just go!"

So, what were you up to this time?

A few days after your arrival, your phone, as you suspected would have happened, had died since the lack of electricity.

Between a deadly danger and another being eaten attempt, your mind completely forgotten about the device's lost usage until, after the fight against Yellowbrow, the idea of using that newfound power struck you.

You weren't sure that it could work; you were prepared to lose forever your phone, to be fair, but a small try never hurt anyone, right?

And fortune favorite, the bold!

After the small sound front the phone, you started to jump in happiness, finally with the last connection of your original world in your hands.

"AH! YES! IT WORK IT WORK! AHAH!"

The other two laughed a little, noticing how your fingers were able to move in the device with knowledge and security.

"All right, all right," said Bajie, sitting next to you when you decided to calm down. "Now, what does this little thing do?"

"Okay! Basically, we use It tò call people, message them...communication in general!"

"Oh so..." Yuán Fèn seemed startled when, after touching one of the apps on the screen, the color changed "is like... a bird or... and Messanger?"

"Well yes? Everything happens in seconds instead of hours or days! Unfortunately, without connection, it's useless for that part."

"Ah! So I was right! "

"Buuuut It can do something more intriguing for you!"

Once you shot the camera, your two friends, after a brief moment of surprise from their own faces showing up inside that small box, seemed more interested than before.

"Is that a mirror?"

"Nope! It's a camera! We use it to make photos!"

"What's a pho-u-toh?"

"Photo! Or photograph!" You laugh after Bajie misspells "it's like a panting, but far more precise. Using light, you can press the image on paper. Now, a phone camera doesn't exactly work like that, but you get the idea."

You stod up and put the device in front of the pigface.

"Now smile! I'll show you!"

After you took the picture, with the image of a still confused Bajie on it, you showed it to him. After a moment of silence, he started to laugh about it.

"You are surely full of surprises!"

///

"HEY! Is that a baby?!"

"Baby, aren't you that small, you dork!"

"Yes, they are! They smal like your brain!"

Once again, you have to save yourself and your phone from another monkey's fist fight between the children. Now that you had shown them your small magic box, like they like to call it, they were always eager to make one with you or ask you to make one for them, only to laugh about their own faces or what was happening. You even make a few videos of them, which just make them go more crazy than before. 

But then they discovered your other photos.

They seemed to enjoy, especially the ones that you had taken the day you had decided to help your auntie in her school trip at the Zoo. They loved the ones that you had taken at the monkey enclosure; they loved to see that you were familiar with their kind even before the change of world!

Well, they weren't the only ones that enjoyed the device. Once, you decided to show it to the youngest of the spider sisters, showing her the video that you took of her while dancing, and she laughed all the time, enjoying it to see her own performance.

You even took the chance to use it to make ohotos of every place that you and the Destined one were able to visit. Yellow ridge, the snowy fields, the mountains...every place was a new set for one of your photos, and every time he was inside too.

He had never shown quite the interest like everyone, but he seemed still happy to know that you wanted to cherish the memories that you had there with him. But what he really loved were your own memories, the photos of your past, and your family. He loved sharing them with you, knowing you deeper.

"This is your..."

"Cousin. My cousin."

"Oh yes, yes...and this is your cat, right?"

"Sorta, it shows up now and then. I like to leave it some food for it, so it doesn't starve."

"Ah, got it..." then another photo, that you tried to pass fastly, had passed under his eyes of you near someone.

"And that one? The one with the guy?"

"Ah, it was nothing." Your tone seemed almost off, like to avoid the discussion.

"Nothing?" He raised his eyebrows. "I saw you smiling! How was it nothing?"

And soon, you get back on the photo and delete it.

"As I said, nothing."

It seemed that he still needed to know you better.

@sun-jglim @crimsonflameproxy @everlastingmoonlightsworld @biankanoir

@miraclecherryblossomsblog @certifiedsimpinggalore @sleepingdramaqueen @cromboloni @masksandfeathers

@cinnamonroll-anon @justrandomlypassing @cute-angi @luckyangelballoon @dressycobra7

@naarra @virtualexpertanchor @phoenixeclipse-lmkau @szynkaaa @kirax-the-lazy-girl

@sleepydang @weaverworks @kishimiest @marcu-bug @thepoweroffiction

@riolu4 @angryvampire @s0rr3l @rootin-tootin-morgan @lightlumi

@cleverfeststarlight

[curseofaphrodite]

PRE-OWNED RECORDS

Sirius Black x muggle!reader || fluff

summary: the time Sirius sneaked away from Hogwarts to see you.

The thrift store looked as cozy as ever, which was the obvious effect of a place filled with things that people had previously loved. The crooked statues and trinkets near the door, the sound of a Little Richard record playing somewhere behind the back, the huge stack of battered old books — all of them made you excited like the very first time you stepped inside.

You looked at the boy you came with and saw a gleam in his eyes that you haven't ever seen before.

"Pretty, isn't it?" you asked, taking a brown butterfly hairclip from the basket near him. Sirius still hasn't finished taking in the shop's eccentrics.

"It's so cool," he said in awe.

You laughed. You could see why he'd be so surprised. Sirius Black had been homeschooled all his life, or that's what he says anyway. All you know is that your strange, rich, pretty neighbour never comes out of his house unless it's the holiday season. When you ask him about it, he says his mother is old-fashioned and traditional. You hadn't understood what he meant until you saw her once yourself. From her attire to her cold glare, that particular cameo still gave you shudders.

Even the times you do see him, he's covered in leaves and dirt, as if he climbed down the window without anyone seeing. Sometimes you wonder if you ought to get him legal help to get him emancipated. But he never looked physically harmed, but he never looked completely okay either.

Str̥angely enough, your holiday friend wasn't out on a holiday though. This visit was right in the middle of the school year. When asked about it, he said something about apparition or desperation that you just decided not to ask further. He looked particularly worn out that day, so you decided to take him to somewhere he'd never been before, which happened to be a very long list. The thrift store was close, so that's the story of how he ended up gawking at the records beside you.

"Who's your favorite?" you asked, actually curious. Apart from his unusual attire and confused looks when you mention anything from music, you haven't had the faintest clue as to who he even listened to.

"Stubby Boardman?"

You blinked. "Uhm, you mean Buddy Holly?"

"Yeah, sure." Sirius looked more interested in the records before him. He brushed past the unorganized stack with a faraway look in his eyes. He then turned to you questioningly. You jumped a little and looked away because you realized you might have been staring a little too much at him.

"Look at this!" You were thankfully saved by the orange and red album in front of you. You reached for it gleefully, making a happy sound. "I've been looking for this edition for such a long time! Oh, I can't believe they have it!"

"Are they any good?" he asked, matching your level of excitement.

"The best," you sighed, hugging it closer.

This particularly sweet moment was cut short when you heard a small commotion at the front of the store.

Sirius's face showed immediate panic. "I knew that cat looked familiar!" He said, rushing to the cashier's area.

"The cat?" you blinked in confusion, then followed him.

A woman stood in the spot, wearing the biggest black hat you'd ever seen. She had small spectacles and smart, shrewd eyes behind them. She looked exhaustingly mad, as if she'd been in plenty of situations like this before.

"I'm still learning the ropes of apparition?" Sirius tried, smiling meekly. "I've no clue how I've ended up here."

"Mr. Black, you've excelled in apparition and rest assured, even the most horrible student wouldn't end up hundreds of miles away from where they are. I'm sorry to interrupt your date but you're coming with me right this instant!"

"Who is this?" you asked. The woman turned her gaze on you, and the wheels seemed to turn in her head.

"Let's go," she said more sharply.

"I enrolled in a boarding school?" Sirius directed the answer at you, though it sounded more like a lame excuse. The woman did not look happy to be ignored. "I've to go now but I'll explain everything when I'm back okay?"

"No, you won't!" the woman said shrilly.

"I'm sorry but you all have to leave," the cashier said, looking like she's had enough. "We don't have squabbles inside the store."

Sirius looked a tiny bit sad. Being unofficially thrown out of the store was not how you thought how the day would go, but you sighed and walked out anyways.

Your phone rang. It was your father, asking you to pick up the groceries on your wy back. By the time you hung up, both Sirius and the lady was nowhere to be seen.

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

"You're young and that's a fancy word for naive," Minerva said, walking or slightly running down the hall. Sirius struggled to keep up.

"She's going to understand."

She stopped in her tracks and Sirius almost crashed into her.

"That's not what I meant. How do you think your mother would take the fact that you're friends with a muggle? Let alone more than friends?"

Sirius blushed. "There's not more—"

"Oh, I'm not stupid. But that's not what this is about either. You're bringing her to her doom if you keep visiting her under Walburga's nose."

"She's all I have at that place!"

"That's not true. There's a person in your own house who needs you, but you seem to forget that."

"Regulus is like the rest of them. He's not who he was," Sirius said promptly. His words were harder than before. "If you doubt it, look for the mark in his arm."

Without waiting for her reply, he stormed away. To hell with the detentions, he thought. I have to do one more thing back in my town.

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

The next morning, the first thing you thought of while waking up was the boy with dark long curls and brown pretty eyes. You wondered if you dreamt him up.

There was a part of you that wanted to be mad that he left without a goodbye, but you actually didn't mind. Something said he'd be back soon enough.

"Hey kiddo," your dad knocked on your door and walked in, holding something familiar in his hands. "Someone left this at the door. Must be for you."

You gasped, grabbing the red and orange record from his hands.

"How—?"

"There was no note." He shook his head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a secret admirer. Now come down to the kitchen, we made pancakes."

"I'll be right there," you mumbled, examining the album once again. Once he left the room, you immediately went to the player.

While you took out the record, you noted something eerily familiar to dog hair sticking on the sides.

THE END

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

masterlist | KOFI | commissions

[ripdragonbeans]

Do You Believe In Fate // Part 4 // Aegon II x Reader

Summary: Tensions are high during dinner. The next day you all spend it outside but Cassandra decides to stir up trouble.

Warnings: None

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6

Entering the dining room, all was quiet. Just like in the living room, there was thick tension. Alicent sat at the head of the table with Criston to her right. Across from Criston sat Helaena. Next to Helaena was Aegon and Cassandra. That left the seats next to Criston open. 

Aemond played the part of the ever loving boyfriend perfectly. He pulled out your chair and kept your hand in his the whole time. You were sure to give him a sweet smile before sitting down. Aemond let go of your hand to seat himself but quickly had yours back in his grasp. He looked at you with a big, love struck eye. You let yourself get lost in it, thinking about looking into Aegon’s. Aemond simply gave you a knowing look and smirked.

Aegon cleared his throat. “Now that we're all here I’d love to share with you all how I proposed to my beautiful Cassandra.”

Bile ran up your throat but you swallowed it down.

“A story I'm wanting to hear since you didn't include me in it,” Alicent said.

Cassandra interjected before Aegon had a chance to speak. “Oh, it was so wonderful!”

A small frown appeared on Aegon’s face but was quickly replaced with a shit eating grin. Everyone else may have missed it but you didn't. You spotted Aegon taking his hand away from Cassandra and flexed it on the table. You knew Aegon well enough to know that he's the one who liked to tell the stories. 

“He took me out to a beautiful park. We walked around admiring the trees and flowers and stuff.”

You coughed. “And stuff?”

“Hey, she may not be as good with words as you,” Aegon defended Cassandra, “but at least now she has a future husband.”

“Wow, what a great way to insult your fiance, Aegon.”

“I did not insult her!”

“You kind of did,” Aemond jumped in. “You said that she's not as eloquent as my girl and implied that her worth is just now important because she's engaged to you.” 

Cassandra and Aegon looked at Aemond with their mouths open wide.

“Anyway,” Cassandra laughed, attempting to draw everyone’s attention again. “The park was beautiful and our walk had the best views. It was actually one of the first places Aegon took me when we started dating.”

You bit back a laugh knowing full well that Aegon wouldn’t take a date to a freaking park.

Cassandra continued with her story. “There was a bridge that looked across a stunning lake. He stopped me in the middle of the bridge and bent down on one knee. The rest is history.” She flashed a toothy smile and held out her hand to show off the sparkly diamond ring that adorned her finger.

Looking at the ring, you turned to Cassandra. “It’s so…you.”

Batting her eyelashes, she gave you an innocent smile. There was fire in her eyes, though. One that challenged you to say something else, to insult her. “Thank you. So when are you two going to get engaged?”

Aegon addressed Aemond but held your eyes. “Yeah, when?”

“Oh, we haven’t thought about that yet,” you jumped in. “We’re taking our time and we want to enjoy each other and not think or focus too hard about what’s ahead. Neither of us have graduated yet and we want to complete university before making any big decisions.”

“Well, you know what they say, brother,” again, Aegon only addressed Aemond. “Ring by spring; gotta get that ring before your final spring semester.”

“Hey,” Aemond gently gripped your chin so you could face him. “We’re in no rush, okay? We’ll take our time and we won’t let my brother, of all people, force us into something we’re not ready for.”

You nodded your head and brought his hand from your chin to your lips to brush a kiss on his knuckles. Silence enveloped the table again. While you were looking only at Aemond, you felt Aegon’s hot gaze on the back of your head. 

Helaena broke the quietness. “Well, if anyone is interested, I’m now the proud parent of a lunar moth, comet moth, and a rosy maple moth!”

“Oh, tell me about them,” Alicent hopped on the train fast.

Helaena and Alicent talked about the moths, what their names are, what their personalities are like, and so on. If only they were real. Helaena was lying out of her ass and you couldn’t help but tuck your head into Aemond’s chest and laugh quietly.

Dinner ended up being a fairly quiet one. There was the occasional giggle from Cassandra, usually due to something Aegon whispered in her ear. Each giggle was like nails on a chalkboard. They grated against your brain and it made you want to throw up. Each time your jaw tense, though, Aemond was quick to place a hand on your leg or hand in show of silent support. Desserts were about to be passed around but you took that moment to call it a night.

“Alicent, it's been wonderful catching up with you, with everyone, really,” you nodded at Aegon and he returned it with a blank stare. “But I'm really tired and I think I'll turn in for the night. I assume I'm gonna be in Helaena's room?”

Alicent gave you a warm smile. “That's where I was initially going to put you for the night but since you and Aemond are dating you can sleep in his room if you'd like,” she turned to Aegon. “The same goes for you and Cassandra.”

You held back a cringe when she brought up Cassandra sleeping in Aegon’s room. Instead, you went to Alicent to give her a hug goodnight and left for Aemond's room.

Once you closed the door behind you, you knocked the back of your head against it.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” you muttered to yourself.

After a few moments of standing against the door and contemplating your life’s choices, you crossed over to the bed and plopped down face first. You let the quiet wash over you and calmed yourself before you could start thinking about everything that has happened within the last couple of hours.

“Can I come in?” Helaena was on the other side of the door. “I know you're in there and you're probably thinking about something silly. Let me in so we can talk, sweetie.”

Groaning, you got up and dragged your way to the door and opened it, revealing a worried Helaena. She enveloped you in a tight embrace as she stepped into the room.

As she released you from the hug she asked, “So, you're dating Aemond now, huh?”

You chuckled and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess I am.” Taking a deep breath, you looked at your friend with some insecurity. “I just didn't know what to do. I don't know if I want to make Aegon jealous or to do something to make him talk to me. I panicked, Hel, I really did, and now I don't know what I dragged Aemond into.”

“Speaking of the devil,” Helaena chimed as Aemond entered the room.

“You didn’t drag me into anything. I willingly went along with it, it’s okay,” he said. “Like I mentioned earlier, bringing Cassandra was a stupid move. I’m also pretty sure it’s fake. Aegon wouldn’t settle down that quickly, if at all.”

The more you thought about it, the more you agreed with Aemond. It didn’t make sense. While it was a few years ago, Aegon said that Cassandra was just fun, nothing serious. 

“What’s your plan with the fake dating?” asked Helaena.

You weren’t confident in your answer, “I guess to make Aegon jealous? Try to lure him out of the engagement?”

“And if it’s real? His engagement?”

“Then I guess it’s time I let him go.”

You woke up in Aemond’s bed feeling a little more steady than when you fell asleep. The events of yesterday settled in your mind and you had come up with a better game plan. Picking up your phone, you checked the time. It was early enough that no one else but Helaena would be awake; she’s always been an early riser. The soft snoring from the floor indicated that Aemond was still asleep. Very carefully, you got out of the bed and tiptoed around Aemond to leave the room.

As you exited the room you found that you were correct. There was someone in the kitchen, humming to themselves, as they prepared breakfast. You knew that humming anywhere. It was Helaena. A smile graced your lips as you made your way to the kitchen.

“Whatcha making this morning?” you greeted her.

Helaena looked over her shoulder to glance at you. “Just some eggs and bacon for everyone. Speaking of bacon, can you get started on them for me?”

“Of course!”

It was just like when you were younger, making breakfast with Helaena. The two of you would be the first ones awake and prepare it for everyone while you two had some girl talk. 

“Sleep well? I know you had a comfy bed to share,” she winked.

Rolling your eyes, you prepared the sausages for the frying pan. “Yes, I was snuggled all up with Aemond and we whispered sweet nothings to each other.”

Helaena snickered, earning her a smack on the arm. 

“He slept on the floor, you goof. I told him I’d take the floor but you know how he is. Always being the chivalrous one.”

“It sounded like Aegon had a silent night, I didn’t hear anything coming from his room.”

“Thank the gods. If there were noises coming from his room I’d be gone. I wouldn’t be able to stand that.”

“Gods, Aegon, you’re just so good in bed!” You heard Cassandra yell.

“And of course they’re both awake. Prepare yourself,” muttered Helaena.

“Shh! You don’t need to yell it for the whole house to hear!” You could hear Aegon smack his face with the palm of his hand. They weren’t exactly good at being quiet.

You glanced at Helaena, both of you concealing your desire to laugh as best as you could. It wasn’t until you noticed the smoke coming from your frying pan that you were brought back to your breakfast making.

“Oh, shit! The bacon!” You hastily got them off the pan and onto a plate.  “At least they’re not absolutely unedible?”

They were burnt to the point of almost being black and they crumbled at the slightest touch.

Helaena sighed. “Aegon will eat them.”

“I HEARD MY NAME!” He called from the hallway. 

Cassandra and Aegon walked into the kitchen hand in hand.

“What is that delicious smell?” Cassandra asked.

“That would be burnt bacon,” you said matter-of-factly.

“My part of breakfast, however,” Helaena butt in, “is not burnt and is still edible. The bacon is only kind of edible.”

As Helaena passed you, you bumped her with your hip and stuck your tongue out.

“What a sophisticated woman you are,” she joked as she put the eggs on the dining room table.

Cassandra cocked her head to the side. “That’s all we have for breakfast?”

“You’re more than welcome to make whatever you like from what we have in the fridge,” Helaena offered. 

“Aegon, why don’t you make her breakfast? Since you’re engaged and you obviously love her so much that you’re engaged,” Helaena said sweetly.

Aegon puffed out his chest. “That’s right. I do love her so much. Now,” he clapped his hands. “Where to start…”

“I would check to see what’s in the refrigerator first,” you suggested.

“Yeah, a great place to start. Let’s see here.” Aegon opened it up and rifled through its contents. “Leftovers!” He produced a container of last night’s dinner. “Perfect for breakfast, a reminder of last night!”

Cassandra’s eyes lit up. “Aw, Aegy, you’re the best!”

You threw up a little in your mouth. “Since that’s settled, I’m going to wake up Aemond for breakfast,” you said as you exited.

Once you were out of their view, you booked it to Aemond’s room.

“Aemond! Aemond!” you stage whispered once you were in his room. “Something is up with Cassandra and Aegon!”

Aemond groaned as he sat himself up. When you left the room he took his bed back. Rubbing the sleep out of his one eye, he tried to pay attention to your ramblings.

“Cassandra was saying something about how good he was in bed, ugh, but then Aegon told her to be quiet. If it were anyone else but Aegon I wouldn’t think anything of it but he has never minded his achievements being known. Even by family, which is a little much. And then -”

“Whoa, slow down,” Aemond stopped you. “Aegon is bragging again? That isn’t news.”

You sat down next to Aemond and hit his arm. “You’re not listening to me. Aegon was telling her to be quiet. Like he didn’t want anyone to hear anything. When Helaena suggested that Aegon make something for Cassandra for breakfast, he just pulled out some leftovers.”

“No, that’s pretty accurate. I wouldn’t look too deep into that. He’s always been too lazy to cook anything. He just rifles through the refrigerator.”

“Well, either way, something is up. I just know it.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, I promise. Or we’ll just make Aegon miserable. I’m fine with both.” Aemond offered you a small smile. “Let me get changed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

With a nod of your head, you left Aemond’s room. When you closed the door, however, you found yourself face to face with Aegon. You almost ran into him but stopped yourself. Taking a deep breath, you could smell his cologne, something so familiar yet so foreign. His violet eyes bore into yours.

“Doesn't sound so couple-y to me. Are you sure you and Aemond are actually in a relationship?” questioned Aegon.

“What, like you and Cassandra are the epitome of couples? You two don’t sound like a real couple either,” you shot back at him.

“Cassandra and I are engaged. As in we’re going to marry each other.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, don’t remind me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” A smirk settled on Aegon’s lips.

“Of course I’m not jealous. I’m with Aemond, remember?”

“Ah yes, my brother. How could I forget that my once best friend is dating my brother?”

Heat boiled underneath your skin at him implication. “‘Once best friend?’ Don’t pin that on me, Aegon! You’re the one who left!”

“I didn't leave you!”

“You chose Cassandra over me. Once you started dating her you were never around anymore. No texts, nothing. So don't tell me you didn't leave me.” Tears burned in the corners of your eyes.

“But you avoided me! You were still around the house but would turn and walk away as soon as I showed up. You'd cross the street if we saw each other in town. Don't blame it all on me when you didn't put in any effort, either.” Aegon was stepping closer to you. 

“Did you ever think, that maybe, just maybe, I didn't want to be around you because you hurt me? That maybe seeing you caused me pain, that it hurt seeing you happy with someone else? That it was best for me to just avoid it all to ease that pain? I lived in ignorant bliss, ignoring you and Cassandra. I could forget that we were ever close, that there was something between us, that thing that you denied was ever there. So sorry, sorry for moving on. Sorry for healing.” You tried to push past Aegon but he didn't budge.

Aemond's bedroom door opened behind you. He quickly spotted you and Aegon against the wall.

“Hey, back off of my girl,” he growled at his brother.

“Relax, brother. I wasn’t doing anything to hurt her.”

Aemond scoffed. “Yeah, and I have two eyes. You're not going to hurt her, not anymore.”

As Aemond whisked you away, he immediately began asking questions about Aegon and what all was said. By the time you two had made it to the living room, you had answered most of, if not all, his questions with a quick yes or no. Once on the couch, the two of you continued your conversation in hushed voices. 

“I understand we're a fake couple,” Aemond started, “but our friendship is real and I refuse for you to be hurt by him again.” He held your hand tight in his.

Cassandra's voice cut to the living room. “I know, the ring is beautiful. He spent a fortune on it but, you know, he’ll do whatever he needs to do to keep my heart.”

You snorted at her proclamation. “Even she sounds fake, Aemond. You and I both know that Aegon wouldn't spend a shit ton of money on a ring.”

“Even if you're right, I don't want him to break your heart again.”

“He can't break my heart any more than he already has.”

“You say that but you know that's not true. Letting him in again gives him the opportunity to hurt you even more. I don't think I could stand by and watch that. Helaena wouldn't be able to, either.”

“I miss him so much, Aemond. Seeing him with Cassandra has always caused me pain but seeing him now makes me want to shake him and tell him to wake up. He's making stupid decisions but I've kind of missed that about him; his impulsivity and fuck it, let's go attitude.”

“We have today and tomorrow to get him to say something, if you're that sure. Other than that, I don't know when’s the next time you’ll see each other.”

“There's always the chance he'd come crawling to my dorm,” you joked.

“I wouldn't put it past him,” said Aemond. “I see the way he looks at you, when he thinks no one can see him. He doesn't look at Cassandra that way at all.”

You gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Aemond.”

As with most family gatherings, Alicent and Criston convinced everyone to step outside for the day and relax completely unplugged. No phones.

“This is nice,” Helaena said as she spread out on the picnic blanket. “The food was wonderful, too.” She rested her hands on her stomach.

You laid down next to Helaena and looked up at the clouds. Aemond joined you two soon, and together you looked up at the clouds. This was something you’d do together when you were children and it was nice to revisit it. Various clouds made up various animals. It brought you a sense of peace, a good reprieve from the last twenty four hours.

A few feet away sat Aegon and Cassandra. They were complaining about not having their phones.

“I don’t understand the point of ‘unplugging’ when we’re just going to go back to the house and plug right in again. It’s stupid,” Cassandra said as she rolled her eyes.

“Eh, it’s my mother’s way to get us all to bond or something,” replied Aegon.

Cassandra huffed. “There’s nothing to do out here.”

“If you got your heads out of your phones and looked up every now and then you would see that there’s not nothing!” Helaena called to them.

“Says the bug girl!” Cassandra called back.

You turned your head to face Healena. “I’ll fight them for you, even Aegon.”

Helaena shrugged. “No worries, I am a bug girl and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” She glanced at Aegon and Cassandra. “They’re not even holding hands. Are they even trying”

“Aemond and I aren’t holding hands,” you pointed out.

“Yeah, but you two naturally kind of meld together.”

“I’m not sure I like that.”

“It just means you’re compatible.”

You scrunched your nose. “Look, as much as I love Aemond, I can’t see myself with him. At all.”

“That’s fair.”

“Wow, way to make me feel great,” drawled Aemond.

Helaena jumped at his voice. “I thought you were asleep!”

“I was resting perfectly fine until you made a comment about how me and my best friend here would be compatible as a couple. That’s too weird.”

“And yet you two are playing the part perfectly.”

“Hel, whose side are you on?” you asked exasperatedly.

“Just playing devil’s advocate,” she smirked.

As your two friends settled back into their relaxing state, you looked over and saw Aegon mumble something to Cassandra that caused her to roll her eyes. Cassandra had a sly smile dance across her face briefly before grabbing Aegon by the back of his neck and pulling him into a searing kiss. He melted into the kiss and brought Cassandra closer to him. His hands wandered over her hips and came close to her ass. You could see him smile in the kiss and it made you want to throw up. 

Looking at your friends you mumbled, “I think I’m going to go inside now.”

Aemond reached a hand out to stop you but you shrugged him off and made your way back inside. Wandering, you found yourself in Aemond’s room. At least there you could cry with the safety of no one finding you. At least you hoped no one would find you. You knew Aemond and Helaena weren’t too far behind you, both of them pissed at Aegon for making you upset again. A constant in your life, it seemed. It was Aegon that hurt you. Always Aegon. But it was also always Aegon who made you happy. Always Aegon who would make you laugh. It was only in the last few years that he has been hurting you.

Sitting on Aemond’s bed, you hugged yourself tight and shut your eyes. Seeing him kiss Cassandra instantly brought you to the dreaded party night; the night he abandoned you. Bringing your hand to your mouth, you let out a muffled sob. It was one thing to hear about them being engaged, another to think it to be fake, and then it being completely something else seeing them make out. The fact that Aegon pulled her closer is what made your heart crack. If Cassandra had only initiated the kiss you would have rolled your eyes. Aegon kissing back was a stab to the heart you were not expecting.

There was a soft knock at the door followed by Helaena’s soft voice. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

You didn’t respond. All you could do was let the tears flow.

“Let me go in, we’re supposed to be dating after all, Hel,” you heard Aemond say.

The door creaked open; followed by the sound of soft footsteps. You still refused to open your eyes. The mattress dipped next to you and a hand found its way to yours. Gently, it moved your hand from your mouth down to your lap. A soft kiss was pressed to your forehead and you were soon enveloped in a hug. Again the mattress dipped, but on the other side of you, and another set of arms brought you in for a group hug. You knew without a doubt it was Aemond and Helaena.

“I’m sorry,” you said against Aemond’s chest.

“Hey,” someone squeezed you. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. He’s stupid.”

“We all thought it was fake. Hell, he told me it was fake!” Your outburst pushed you away from the group hug. “He lied to me. He fucking lied.”

Helaena tried to reach for you. “You don’t know that.”

“How can you be taking his side? You just saw him eat Cassandra’s face!

“Aemond, say something!” Helaena tried to get him involved.

Aemond didn’t say anything.

Helaena groaned. “You two are so blinded. It was Cassandra who pulled him in for the kiss.”

“Yeah, but he kissed her back,” you pointed out.

“Because he knew you were watching and would get jealous.”

“Well, I’m jealous. Someone should find him and give him a gold star.”

“Gods, you two are so dense,” Helaena threw her hands up. “You need to stop fake dating Aemond and just talk to him!”

“I’ll stop fake dating Aemond when he stops supposedly being fake engaged to Cassandra,” you shot back. You pouted and crossed your arms over your chest.

“Fine. I’m calling an intervention, then.” Helaena crossed over to the door and left, not even bothering to close it.

“Oh, gods,” you groaned.

Aemond patted your back. “It shouldn’t be too bad. You know she wants the best for you and right now Aegon is being difficult and you’re being difficult so she’s trying to make you meet in the middle.”

Helaena popped back in the doorway. “Come on, girl. Just you. Aemond, you can stay here or something, it’s up to you, but you are not part of the intervention.”

“I’m okay with that.” He put up his hands in a mock surrender before giving you one last squeeze before you went with Helaena.

Helaena took your hand and led you to an extra room. Already there was Aegon, sitting on her bed. 

“Here. Neutral ground. The guest room. Both of you are going to talk things out because you’re acting ridiculous,” Helaena said. 

She plopped down on the floor and encouraged you and Aegon to do the same. Aegon mumbled something under his breath about not wanting to sit on the floor but he did so anyway. You, on the other hand, immediately sat down. There was a tension between you and Aegon. So much has been left unsaid that it’s made the relationship between you two muddled. You held his gaze when neither of you said anything.

“One of you has to speak first; I’m not gonna call on you like you’re in a classroom,” Helaena chided.

“Fine, I’ll go first,” you said. Taking a deep breath, you tried to calm yourself before you let out a storm of emotions. “Aegon, this is stupid. We shouldn’t need Hel here to be a mediator between us but apparently we do. We had this talk earlier but you hurt me. You hurt me bad. I know we were interrupted by Aemond but then you go around and make out with Cassandra to rub it in? Great, I feel great. Seeing you eat her face made me feel so good about myself and my relationship you. Totally didn’t make me rethink everything and bring back old feelings of abandonment.”

“Cassandra was the one who kissed me. I didn’t start the kiss -” Aegon tried to say.

“But you still kissed her back. I was there, Aegon.”

“We are fake!” he threw his hands in the air. “We aren’t together. The engagement? Fake. The relationship? Fake. Well, it was real and then it was fake but that doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it was real, Aegon. I’ve seen you make out with her before. Still feels like being stabbed, though,” you mumbled the last part to yourself.

“What was that, bestie?” He spat out the name.

“Oh, shut up. Don’t get mad at me when you’re the one who fucking left.”

“You’re the one who didn’t go after me!”

You scoffed. “Okay, so it’s all my fault because I didn’t push through the absolute heartbreak of losing my best friend, and crush, to someone else? My bad. So sorry.”

“If you really liked me you would’ve called me out!”

“And I tried! Before Cassandra even stepped into your life I called you out for treating me differently, to acting differently when you were around different people. But you never took any of it seriously. You just brushed me off, something you’re doing right now.”

Aegon closed his eyes. “Hel, I don’t think you need to be here for this.”

There was no response from her but you heard the opening and closing of the bedroom door.

Aegon brought his hands up to rub his face. “Okay, let’s go,” he said to himself. 

You rolled your eyes at his dramatics but didn’t say anything.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“Yeah, you did that well,” you commented.

Aegon gave you a look before continuing. “I was stupid when I was younger, we both know that. I didn’t think straight and yeah, I mainly thought with my dick.”

“Your dick sure thought a lot about Cassandra.”

“Yes, it did.” He looked you in the eye. “But I know better now. Cassandra never has been the end all, be all. She’s been fun. That’s all she’s ever been.”

“That’s what you told me at the party but that’s not what I see right now. Right now, I see you engaged to someone you claim has never been serious to you.”

“She hasn’t!”

“Look at it from my perspective, Aegon. Or should I say Aegy since that’s what you’re so lovingly called.”

Aegon flinched at the nickname. 

“All that I know is that you replaced me.”

“I didn’t replace you, I promise. No one could,” Aegon begged. 

He reached out for your hands but you recoiled at his touch.

“How am I supposed to defend myself if you’re constantly denying me?”

“How can I? Because all your actions have proven to me that you don’t care. Maybe you did when we were younger but not anymore. That much is clear.”

Aegon’s voice broke. “I care about you. Please, I do, you have to believe that.”

“Sure.”

He took a deep breath. “Let me prove it to you then.”

Before you knew it, Aegon crashed his lips to yours. You were stunned at first but slowly melted into him. It was over as soon as it started.

“I never stopped thinking about you,” he whispered.

You closed your eyes in contentment for a quick second before pushing him away. 

“A kiss? That’s how you prove it to me?”

“Actions speak louder than words, don’t they?”

“But this? Aegon, you’re engaged!”

“I’m not! I’ve been trying to tell you that. It’s all fake, Cassandra is fake. I told her should could be my fake fiance if…”

“If what?”

Aegon didn’t speak.

“Aegon, what did you do?”

“She said she’d be my fake fiance if I’d fuck her.”

“Wouldn’t think you’d mind. You always wanted her,” you laughed mirthlessly.

“That’s the thing, I do mind. I thought I wouldn’t but the whole time I was with her I was thinking about you. You’re the only one I want.”

“I’m sure you’ve discovered this after sleeping with a shit ton of other girls, right?”

“So what? In the end it’s you. It’s always been you.”

You closed your eyes before giving him a chance. “One date. I’ll give you one date.”

A smile spread across Aegon’s face before it turned back into a frown. “Aren’t you dating Aemond?”

“No, he… Aemond got roped into my insecurities and being the good guy that he is, he went all in with it. We’re not dating.”

Aegon smiled. “Good, good - I mean, not good? Maybe good?”

“It’s fine, Aegon.” You smiled back. 

“I guess I should tell everyone I’m not engaged?”

“Yeah, that would probably be a good thing. Your mother is probably already planning.”

Aegon got up to leave but leaned down to give you a quick kiss on the cheek. Unlike the first kiss, this one had you blushing.

“I’ll be back,” he promised. 

You laughed. “No need, Aegon. I need to talk to Helaena and Aemond anyway.”

Aegon gave you one last wink then left the room.

[aurorangen]

From all the events of those days

Transcript & Bonus:

A neighbour notices the police

...

Charlie: [takes selfie with serious face] Got it ehehe. Look at that! Vincent: Wha-…is that you Charlie? Bleurgh this spit. Charlie: The one and only. Yah I'm gonna show this pic to Pam.

[It turned out that morning, the police came to update the case. My dad was confirmed as missing before we moved away and we did all we could to help then. Moreover, the corrupt officers disappeared too and were found working undercover at Gibbs Hill. So 4 people disappeared that year, although not simultaneously]

[There were no leads, so the investigation was closed. It seemed they truly did vanish into thin air. Loads of theories about their whereabouts were formed and whether they were linked. From all the existing evidence, it was concluded they had some connection to my dad…to me. I didn't want to think about it any longer]

[I was so glad Charlie came. He's the kind of friend that makes you forget all your worries] Charlie: [plays with Bella the dog] Yo I literally begged Dad to let me come too. I've not seen you in ages! Vincent: I can't believe you're here and it's crazy how long it's been. How are you Charlie?

Charlie: Urgh my cousins are so annoying. They both text me to complain about each other and I'm stuck in the middle, like what do I even say? I can't take sides [shakes head] Anyway, how's life Vince? Vincent: I'm a lot better, the countryside's great. And yeah I met the most amazing girl [talks about Nancy]

Vincent: What about you? [chuckles] I notice you keep real quiet about Pam when I call. Charlie: Mhmm…yeah about Pam…I'm dating her. Vincent: She already told me [gets playfully shoved and they laugh together]

...

?: [sees cop car in front of their neighbours] San Myshuno police? [walks to officer] Officer, may I ask why you are here in the quiet countryside? I hope nothing serious has happened to the Wilkinsons. Billy: Ma'am, we're only here to update the family on a missing person case. No need to worry, it's closed now.

Writer's note: I'm still trying to figure out how this will be solved. Strangerville is supposed to be next gen but it is also central to this...I'll think of something! That is why the investigation keeps being revisited or getting put in the archives for the future to solve. I was going to add another pic, "Perhaps it was delusional thinking considering the cases linked but they may have disappeared voluntarily". So guys just allow it, it's obvious to you they are linked but not to them! No one outside knows a thing about Strangerville and its people, they leave nothing behind 👀

[rey-jake-therapist]

We better get some real good Saurondriel content in the finale, because if the showrunners have been trolling and baiting us all this time and we’ll get Galadriel outright resisting Sauron and cast him away with Nenya or some Marvel-type sh*t, a huge chunk of their audience will be pissed.

I don’t understand what they are playing at here. Yeah, the kiss was strategic and not romantic, but wtf would they have that happening on-screen? No one will be happy about this scene, not the shippers (Elrond x Galadriel will), not the (actual) lorebros, and even the casuals might cringe. I would have picked a kiss between Galadriel and Adar any day, over this.

Ok, you may have seen my opinion on the kiss already : I don't mind it at all and I think it was very well done, in a way that there was no confusion possible about its nature. Now I can see many are confused anyway and it's understandable, but I found it the most platonic that a kiss on the mouth can be, and Galadriel's reaction said it all : "bro what?" was what her face said. She looked as stunned as if her own brother had kissed her. If you look closely it's very clear that he's gving her something, so she was also surprised by the subterfuge. And Elrond says, "forgive me," before doing it. Of course he's asking that because he regrets how he treated her, but I think it''s also a pre-apology for what he's going to do. To warn her that he's about to do something WEIRD and that she must play along.

It's quite confirmed by Morfydd Clark in the BTS interview : she said that Galadriel didn't think Elrond would be so bold (in the sense: bold enough to risk it all to allow her to escape, I think); when the interviewer expressed her surprise, Robert laughed goofily (he's so adorable, I can't). Then they were asked what he was doing, to which they answered: "he was giving her a pin!". End of story. There was no reason to talk about it more because it was all that it was.

So to be clear, I didn't intepret it at all as "Elrondriel baiting". Are there really many shippers, anyway? Everybody knows that Galadriel will become Elrond's mother-in-law, even the showrunners ackowledged that fact in an interview. Since the beginning their relationship is sibling-coded.

Why making it happening? Because otherwise the audience wouldn't understand how he gave her the pin in the first place. He couldn't put it in her hands because there was no way to do it discreetly. Kissing her was the only way, truly.

Personnally, I would have preferred it if it had been the Orc who discusses Adar's orders who would have released her, but well, they went for that instead... There was definitely a desire to surprise the audience and see their reaction. I must say my first reaction was a big "yikes!" because it really felt as watching two siblings kiss, and I'm pretty sure it was how most people reacted.

I keep seeing this kiss being accused of "breaking the lore", but it doesn't break anything. They didn't get married suddenly because Elrond kissed her to give her a pin... I must say that when I've read about the leak, I didn't believe it because in my view, it would make their relationship awkward and ambiguous. But I didn't imagine that it would happen in front of witnesses, because there was no other choice! For some reason, I thought that Elrond would sneak into Adar's camp and kiss her to give her the pin while he could give it to her in a completely different way. In this case, it would have felt awkward and would have inserted some unnecessary drama into a plot that doesn't need that.

An Adar/Galadriel wouldn't make any sense whatsoever, imho. Shipping them is very cool and fun, I found myself imagining scenarios where a romance between them could actually work, but it's not at all what the show is heading for.

No one can say how episode 8 will turn out, if it will be satisfying for the Haladriel shippers or not... We can now be quite certain that the kiss that Morfydd hinted at was this kiss, so there won't be a Saurondriel kiss. But is it really that surprising? We talked so much about the possibility that I caught myself hoping for it, but tbh I'll be content if their scene is emotional and isn't limited at "I hate you! I hate you more!" and useless fighting.

The only hope I have for Haladriel in episode 8 is that Galadriel realizes that Sauron didn't fake it all with her. I don't know how they'll manage that, but it's the most we can truly hope for, imho. The showrunners said episode 8 would be emotional... Now we just can wait and see!

[mandoriana]

Merlin broke her leg after a hunt and Arthur decided to visit her friend.

Arthur: Merlin.

Merlin: Hey, sir, came to visit me? *winks provocatively*

Arthur rolls his eyes.

Arthur: Just curious to know when you'll get better and return to your duties.

Arthur sits at the edge of the bed, and Merlin places his feet on the king's lap.

Arthur: Hey! *complains but doesn't remove Merlin's feet from his lap*

Merlin: Be quiet and listen, I have some gossip updates.

*Arthur pulls his feet up onto the bed, sitting cross-legged and being careful not to hurt Merlin's broken leg*

Arthur: I'm listening.

Merlin: Remember Lady Silvana?

Arthur: Lord Edward's lady?

Merlin nods.

Merlin: So, I was minding my own business when I heard a "Shut up, Diego." I thought it was a lady in danger and rushed to my window...

Arthur: Merlin, you have a broken leg! What did you expect to do to help?

Merlin: I thought she was in danger! And besides, I had a brilliant plan.

Arthur: Oh yeah? And what was it?

Merlin: Shout "stop!" really loud from the window. *smiles mischievously*

Arthur: *rolling his eyes* You're impossible.

Merlin: And you love me that way.

Merlin winked and crossed his arms.

Merlin: Do you want to hear the rest of the gossip or not!?

Arthur: Continue. *rolls his eyes and lets his hands massage Merlin's toes gently*

Merlin: Thank you. Anyway, I went to the window and saw Lady Silvana with old Diego...

Arthur: The cook?! *widens his eyes*

Merlin: Yes. Well, I don't know if you heard, but *whispers* recently Lady Silvana and Lord Edward separated.

Arthur: And is she okay?

Merlin: Oh, she's great. I'm the one who's not okay; their fights were my entertainment at the balls.

Arthur: Merlin. *reprimands, but his eyes are soft as he tries to look serious*

Merlin *smiles blushing*: Anyway, they divided the mansion. She got the inside, and he got the outside. *Arthur laughed* But the good news is that Lady Silvana already found a new suitor, and he's a thousand times worse than Lord Edward! Now the arguments are on another level!

Without realizing it, Arthur extended the foot massage to Merlin's leg.

Merlin: Just in the first argument, I already knew everything about cook Diego! I knew which Lord he worked for because she criticized his work; I knew who his friends were because she criticized his friends; I knew which horse he had because she criticized his horse; I even knew who Tiana, Diego's mother, was because Silvana criticized Tiana.

Arthur laughed, his hands massaging his friend's thin calf.

Merlin: The argument started early but went on until late at night. It was 7 hours of pure entertainment without a break. Lady Silvana didn't stop even when Sir Elyan got involved to calm the argument.

Arthur: Wait, wait, you mean you stood at the window for 7 hours!? *Merlin looks away innocently* Merlin, you have a broken leg! Do you know how much that can affect your healing!?

Merlin: But what could I do!? I mean, their fight was so loud I had no choice but to listen!

Arthur: Merlin!

Merlin: Do you want to know the end or not!?

Arthur huffed and rolled his eyes, his hands moving up and down in a gentle massage. He knew how much the leg tingled when you couldn't move it.

Arthur: Finish the story.

Merlin: Sir Elyan managed to stop Lady Silvana, but old Diego ended the courtship. It seems she managed to irritate the cook a lot!

Arthur *rolls his eyes*: I can't blame the poor man; Lady Silvana can be really annoying sometimes.

Merlin nodded wisely.

Arthur: And then, what happened?

Merlin: Well, then she showed up crying to Gaius and asked if there was any way to make people love her...

Arthur *widens his eyes*: She wanted a love potion!?

Merlin: Maybe, but she whined so much about men not loving her that even I missed Lord Edward.

Arthur: Missed? 🤨 *jealous*

Merlin: Just a manner of speaking, sir. *jokes, poking Arthur's belly with his good foot*

Arthur: Hmm 😒.

Merlin winks and blows a kiss to his king.

Arthur: Shut up, Merlin. *looks away, feeling shy*

Merlin: But I didn't say anything 🥰

Arthur: Merlin, you're impossible. *smiles, shaking his head*

Merlin: I'm adorable, sir.

Arthur: So, what did Gaius say to her?

Merlin: Oh, he tried to explain that love can't be forced, but you know Gaius, he ended up giving her a potion to "improve her mood."

Arthur: *laughing* And did it work?

Merlin: Well, she stopped crying, but now she's convinced that all the men in the kingdom are in love with her.

Arthur: *laughing even more* This will be interesting to see at the next balls.

Merlin: For sure. *smiles mischievously* And you, sir, have any gossip to share?

Arthur: *thoughtful* Well, I heard that Lancelot is planning a big surprise for Guinevere.

Merlin: Oh, this will be good. *leans forward, interested* What is it?

Arthur: I can't say, it's a secret. *smiles mysteriously*

Merlin: Oh, come on, Arthur, I've been following the couple's courtship for years, I need to know if they're going to get together or not! Come on, tell me he's going to propose to her!

Arthur: *laughing* My lips are sealed, I won't say anything.

Merlin *rolls his eyes and huffs*: You're not funny, sir.

Arthur: I'm just keeping the suspense.

Merlin: Well, I'll find out anyway. *smiles confidently*

Arthur: I'm sure you will. *pats Merlin's good leg* Now, get some rest. I need you back in action soon.

Merlin: Yes, sir. *smiles, closing his eyes*

Arthur: *gets up and adjusts Merlin's blanket* See you later, Merlin.

Merlin: See you later, Arthur. *smiles as Arthur leaves the room*

[gayleatherstories]

Selfbondage gone wrong

I couldn't believe it. I had flown a little too close to the horny sun and tightened the belt encircling my wrists just a tad too tight and now I couldn't get out. There was no way I was letting one of my friends see me like this. I was going to have to text my landlord..

Let me set the scene. I was 29 years old and I had finally reached a point financially where I could live alone, no parents, no flatmates. That level of privacy finally gave me the freedom to explore my kinks. Those kinks being leather, bondage and anal play. I had asked my ex-girlfriend how she felt about pegging. To say her reaction wasn't positive was an understatement. Anyway I'd saved up some money and bought myself a pair of black leather jeans with a two way zipper that ran from front to back, a nicely shaped plug, a leather muzzle head harness, a thick stainless steel cockring and a black mesh thong to give it all a certain level of sluttiness.

Combining all these attributes one evening I found myself googling how to bind wrists together with a belt. Flashforward a couple minutes later and now we're back to where this story started.

I clumsily I texted my landlord, a likeable man in his mid forties who so far had only ever been helpful. My text basically told him in vague terms that I needed his help with something. He texted back that it might take a bit but he'd get there as soon as possible.

45 minutes of unsuccessful struggling later I heard a knock on the door and someone entering my apartment.

He asked me where I was and I made a muffled sound hopefully pointing him to my bedroom.

The minute he steps inside my bedroom he starts laughing. But when I thought I was finally getting released from my self-made bounds. Steve, my landlord, takes out his phone and starts taking pictures. After I make an inquisitive noise he tells me it's been too long since he'd fucked a boy in bondage and before I realise he's touching my leather clad legs.

Through my gag I try to tell him that I'm not gay but when he forcibly turns me on my stomach and notices that there's a zipper running between my ass cheeks I realise how this looks. Especially when he zips it open and sees a plug nestled in my hole.

He takes his time fucking me with my own plug which in turn gets me hard as rock. He slaps my ass hard telling me to get on my knees and present my hole to him. Feeling like I have no other option I obey. Since I was already lubed and stretched from my plug it doesn't take him a lot of effort to start fucking me. I tried to resist at first but he knew what he was doing and before long I was pushing back on every thrust. He kept calling me a good boy and occasionally slapping my ass while he was fucking me.

He fucked me for a while before I could feel his dick pulsing and coating my insides.

Stupidly I thought that that was it but then I heard Steve make a few calls telling whoever was on the other end that he'd found a cum dump slut that loved anal. I started loudly objecting until he showed me the video he had taken. Apparently he'd put his phone on my dresser and it clearly showed me getting my ass bred and liking it. He told me that if I didn't do as I was told selected clips and photos would be posted online with all my personal info attached.

Six more loads were deposited in or on me that night. All of it recorded and photographed. When the last guy left I passed out from exhaustion.

When I woke up the next day I realised a couple things. My wrist were not stuck together anymore, my ass was plugged effectively trapping last night's cum deposits inside me and my muzzle was locked on.

On shaky legs I walked to my living room where I found my landlord sitting on the couch. He had changed his clothes and was currently decked out in a tight shiny black leather uniform.

[drchenquill]

The Prince and His Brave... Maid?

Trigger Warning: Violence and Blood

Here is the short story @satohqbanana 😊

Once upon a time in a land before our time. No, that’s dinosaurs. Again.

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a young prince. He was the only son of the old royal couple. The whole kingdom rejoiced when they heard of the child’s birth. Finally, after years of trying, they finally had an heir.

As you can imagine, the boy grew up spoiled. He was allowed to do everything. He only had to look at his mother with his beautiful green eyes once, and every wish was granted. The only thing he never got was his father’s love. The king was convinced that his son should grow up to be a strong man, and strong men were not hugged. Strong men were not praised, because it was taken for granted that they did the right thing.

The prince therefore grew up very conflicted. Overwhelmed with love and suffocated by coldness. Then, on his eighteenth birthday, the queen became ill. The entire kingdom was devastated when she passed away a few days later.

She fell ill with a very rare disease. It was called, “I bet my left leg she was poisoned by the jealous lady-in-waiting, but no one believes me.” It was a terrible disease, very prevalent among the queens.

Be that as it may, the king mourned for a few days, forgot his son’s existence, and everyone lived in sorrow and misery.

Years passed and the prince grew up to be a handsome man. He had his quirks, such as a fear of showing weakness or terror of his own father, but otherwise he lived well. And he owed that only to his loyal maid. Me.

Humming and with an energetic swing in my walk, I walked down the long hallway of the royal palace. Destination: the prince’s room.

“Good morning, Mona,” called another servant girl as we passed each other at the same brisk pace. “Good morning,” I called back. I continued humming as another lady carrying a bucket and broom came out of one of the rooms. “The prince went to bed late last night, so be careful,” she called after me. I turned around with a grin and said: “Don’t worry about me, he’s more harmless than he looks.” She laughed and then went on with her work.

I stepped in front of the wooden door and took a deep breath. With a hairpin that I carried with me, I tied my brown curls into a bun and stepped inside.

The bedroom was spacious, which in my opinion was unnecessary for just one person. The large four-poster bed took up far too much space. The wardrobe took up an entire wall. What did he have a wardrobe for anyway? His clothes were all on the floor.

Two nightstands for one man? A waste of money and space.

I stepped over to the bed and ripped open the curtains. There he lay. The disappointment of the whole kingdom, or rather, the disappointment of his father.

His silky blanket had been pulled off him in his sleep, exposing his muscular back. The prince liked to sleep naked, so the blanket, which was only millimeters above his hips, was the only protection I had.

His dark skin shone in the shy sunshine. His right arm hung off the bed, near his clothes, which he had simply torn off yesterday. His jet-black hair was braided into many long braids, spread out on the soft pillows.

A few golden rings had been woven into it, a little royal tradition. With each new year of life, a new ring was added. Now there were twenty golden rings, but they were nothing compared to his father’s eighty-nine rings.

Don’t look at me like that, I told you that the royal couple had the prince in their senior years.

Anyway.

I went to the window and pulled open the curtains so that the beautiful sun could shine in.

“Good morning, Your Highness! Time to get up.”

Like every day, my words were followed by royal grunts and groans as the prince’s sleepy eyes finally opened. “Morning already?” he grumbled. “I don’t want to scare you, but… It happens every day. Every day starts with a morning.” I replied with a pointed smile.

His apple green eyes, the only thing he had inherited from the queen, looked into my dark ones.

“I see you still haven’t choked on your tongue.”

I gave a short laugh and turned to the window, opening it to let in some fresh air. The prince had managed to roll over on his back, with a groan, of course.

”Why are you wearing that stupid hairpin?” he suddenly asked.

”Because you gave it to me.”

“When I was drunk,” he grunted as he slowly sat up. I started picking up his clothes from the floor. “Oh yes, I remember.”

I started to pretend to sob as I mimicked the prince. ”Mona, you’re my only friend. You’re so nice to me. You have-” As red as a tomato, he leaped out of bed in an attempt to grab me.

“Shut up!”

Unfortunately, he tripped over the clothes I hadn’t picked up yet and fell to the ground butt naked.

Tears came to my eyes as I couldn’t stop laughing. “The royal moon is shining,” I managed to say through my laughter.

Before you accuse me of bullying the prince, I just wanted to make it clear that we are great friends. We went through thick and thin and would do anything for each other. Since my mother had also worked here as a maid and the queen wanted children of the same age around her son, we practically grew up together. He was the brother I never had, and I was the sister he never wanted.

Finally back on his feet, he swung his braids back and tried to hide the fact that he had gotten out of bed in a very unceremonious manner.

“So, what’s on the schedule today?” he asked, picking out a pair of pants from the pile on the floor. I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I knew exactly.

“Very funny. I know that my father has set up a schedule for me. That old fart does everything to...” My ears switched off, my bored gaze wandered to the window as he continued to rant about the king.

I got big eyes when I saw a young man in the courtyard of the palace who was just bringing a dark horse back to the stables. The boy was two years younger than us and had recently started working in the royal stables. He had tied his almost black strands of hair in a small bun. His equally dark cat-shaped eyes were gentle and tender as always as he looked at the horse. His porcelain-white skin stood out under his dark clothes.

“Florian, Florian, shut up,“ I said hastily to the prince, beckoning him over to me. Annoyed, he stepped to the window. “What is it?” he hissed. I pointed down. “Parsifal, there’s Parsifal.”

”What?!” The prince almost catapulted himself out the window to stare at the courtyard, where the stable boy was just walking around. A dreamy smile played around his lips, while his dark skin blushed slightly. You see, our dear prince preferred playing with swords to playing with shields.

Unfortunately, this was a fact that would further alienate the king from his son. That’s why no one knew about it except me. No one was allowed to know about his affection for the same sex. But this secrecy was not reason enough not to tease him a little.

“Shall we call him a good morning?” I asked. Florian turned to me in horror, as if I had just gone mad. “No! I’m not dressed, my hair still needs to be fixed. I haven’t even washed my fa-.” “Parsifal! Good morning!” I shouted down. The prince slapped me on the shoulder and the stable boy looked up.

“Good morning, Mona.“ His eyes then met the prince’s gaze and I recognized the same sparkle as in Florian’s eyes. “Your Highness. It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it?” the boy asked enthusiastically. The prince cleared his throat. “Quite pleasant,” he said. I jabbed him in the side with my elbow.

”It became beautiful after I saw you.”

After these cheesy words from his mouth, all three of us stood rooted to the spot. Parsifal blushed, the prince blushed, and I had to stifle a laugh.

“Have a nice day!“ Florian shouted and slammed the window shut. We stood silently in his room. I heard the horse’s hooves, which meant that the stable boy had left, which in turn meant that I could now laugh out loud without any problems.

”‘It became beautiful after I saw you’? That was terrible,” I said, laughing. Florian grumbled and murmured as he got dressed. I’ve known about his affection for the stable boy for quite some time, but our prince is so clumsy when it comes to flirting that I doubt anything will ever happen between the two of them. “Instead of laughing, help me get dressed.” “Coming, your Highness.” Good old Mona had to take the reins.

The prince went about his royal duties, and I went about mine. It was my turn to scrub the floor today, but my duties as a friend called me. Grinning and quick of step, I approached the stables. If Florian couldn’t manage it, then I would inevitably have to do it. I greeted the other stable boys and set out in search of a particular stable boy who held the heart of my prince in his hands. The same stable boy who would probably be found slit open and bleeding to death on the banks of a river if he broke Florian’s heart.

And there he was.

“Parsifal! What a coincidence, running into you here.”

He looked up from the hay he was gathering and looked at me in confusion. “I work here...” With a small smile, I put my arm around his shoulders and pushed him down to my eye level. “Parsifal, Parsifal... just out of curiosity... are your nights cold?” I then raised an eyebrow, hoping he’d get the real question. But his pretty face contorted in confusion. “Not really, the blankets they distribute here are nice and warm.”

Damn. They’re both hopeless. Then I’ll have to work harder.

Still with him under my arm and probably with creeping back pain, I walked a few steps with him. “We are among friends, aren’t we?” I said to him. He nodded thoughtfully. “I think so...” “Good. Friends help each other, don’t they?” He stopped and looked at me with concern. “I have no idea what you’re getting at, Mona, but you’re scaring me.”

I held back from rolling my eyes and explained, “Don’t get all worked up, I’m not up to anything bad.” Now it was him who raised his eyebrow. ”You’re not up to anything bad? You only do bad stuff. You were the one who made Court Lady Marianne leave the court because you took her dog-» I put my hand in front of his mouth.

You don’t need to know that.

«I just wanted to know if you were interested in a blind date.» Parsifal’s lips pressed together as my words slowly sunk into his mind. He didn’t like the idea, which, believe me or don’t, was a good thing. “What’s the matter? Not interested?” I asked. His dark eyes flicked up briefly to the window of Florian’s bedroom.

Oh.

“I don’t know...” Perfect. “Now, now, Parsifal. Think of it as a little distraction. I can feel your heart aching.” He looked thoughtful, which was good, of course. I gave him a gentle shake. “Say yes, Parsifal. You won’t regret it.” He finally nodded, even if it was with a heavy heart.

I slapped him on the chest and stepped back slightly. “Tonight, after dusk, at the “Cat’s Eye”,” I said to him as I started to walk backwards. He nodded with a forced smile. “If you don’t show up, I’ll make sure you end up with Lady Marianne’s dog.” He turned pale and nodded vigorously. Satisfied, I turned away and went about my work.

Don’t look at me like that, I won’t tell you anything. That was between Lady Marianne and me, it’s none of your business.

Humming and singing, I wiped the long hallway that connected the royal family’s rooms. Well, it wasn’t a family anymore, more of a royal duo. Be that as it may, I felt great because I could, maybe, give my only friend a chance at love. He deserved it after all his father had done to him. When I thought about it, wouldn’t it be easier to overthrow the king? I mean, it wouldn’t be my first-

“Mona!”

I looked up and saw a raging prince. In a matter of seconds, I went through my entire day, wondering if I had done something to deserve this royal anger. I couldn’t find anything, so a smile grew on my lips as I held out my hand in greeting.

“Hello, Your High-” The word was replaced by a squeak as Florian grabbed my outstretched hand to pull me along. The broom fell and I stumbled after him like a fawn that had just started walking. He took me to his room, where he loudly closed the door behind us, and then groaned loudly. I opened my mouth, but Florian let out a loud, hateful scream. I froze and pressed my lips together.

“I hate him! That old, wrinkled excuse of a father!” he continued to yell. He grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. This time it was bad, worse than usual. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do except wait for a sign that he wanted me to be involved in this outburst, which, to my surprise, came quickly.

He dropped the pillow and turned to me with large, manic eyes. “I’m going to kill him...” I grimaced and tilted my head slightly back and forth. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t fit into your schedule.”

He ignored my words and started pacing the room. “I’ll sneak into his room tonight and suffocate him.” He looked up and pointed at me. “And you’ll keep watch,” I grimaced but didn’t say anything. “Right! We’ll sneak in and I’ll suffocate him with his own stupid braids. Or I’ll beat him to death with his walking stick.”

He mumbled to himself and paced back and forth. This time he was serious, but unfortunately I had to admit that his plan was terrible. He had to memorize the times of the guards, he had to have a plan B ready, an escape route had to be in place as well. Don’t even get me started on the blood. It’s so hard to get out of clothes.

“Mona?”

“Yes?”

“Am I a bad son?”

I smiled a little as I looked at the desperate expression. “You do realize you’re asking me this after you planned his death, right?” I tried to joke, but he groaned and dropped face first onto the bed.

I stepped up to him, my hand caressing his broad back. “You’re a frustrated and neglected son, which makes you do bad things, but you’re not bad.”

He removed his face from the blanket and looked up at me. “You’re just saying that because you want to kiss my ass.” I had to smirk. Florian’s way of saying thank you had always been something that amused me.

“Of course, why else?” I countered. He laughed and rolled over onto his back. The room fell silent until he finally came out with the problem.

“He wants me to get engaged... to some chick.”

“And you don’t like chicks.”

“Exactly...”

Silence. This room suddenly felt so small. I stared out, up at the bright sun. Florian rolled onto his side, clasped my hip and pressed himself against me. Not a word was spoken as I ran my hand up and down his back. Another problem for me to deal with. But first there was something else I had to take care of.

“Tell me, do you feel like forgetting everything and having some fun tonight?“ I asked him, but only got a grunt in response. “You’ll have a good time, I promise.”

”I don’t care. I just want to stay in my room and wallow in self-pity...” ”I got you a date with Parsifal.”

He sat up abruptly and looked at me with wide-open eyes. He didn’t believe me, I could see that very well from his horrified yet delighted expression. “You-What? Wait... seriously?” Nodding, I stood up and went over to his closet. “I asked him. I didn’t mention who he’ll be going out with, though,” I explained, taking out his best clothes. “He... he has no idea that he’s going to meet me?“ he asked, puzzled.

”Of course he doesn’t. Do you think he would have said yes if he knew he was meeting the prince? You know him as well as I do. The boy has some self-esteem issues.” I turned back to him, smiling, and threw his clothes on the bed.

“But tonight you’ll be able to show him that you’re a great catch.“ Pleased with myself, I put my hands on my hips and expected words of delight, if not applause, but all I got was his smile slowly fading away and being replaced by a sad expression.

”It won’t work... My father.”

Sighing, I stepped in front of him. He was worried about an old bag who, when he was little, liked to hit him with his walking stick because he had missed sword training. He wasted his thoughts on a pathetic old man who would achieve much more under the ground.

“Your father won’t interfere, I promise. I’ll make sure he doesn’t notice.”

Florian’s face showed me that he didn’t believe my words. “He has guards everywhere, and now that he’s desperate to get me engaged, he’ll certainly not let me out of his sight.”

He could be right about that, but I wouldn’t let it happen. I took his face in my hands and said softly, ”I’ll take care of everything. You go on that date and spend time with that boy you’ve been making eyes at since he started here. Got it?”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay... if you say so.”

I kissed his forehead contentedly and said, “Good boy.” Chuckling slightly, he asked me, ”Say, are you mothering me?”

“No, I’m protecting you.”

Evening came and after I had managed to get the prince out of the castle safely so that he could have a nice date, I prepared for my second plan. Humming, I strode through the long, dark hallway. The guards knew me and barely flinched as I brushed past them. I loved it when the castle was shrouded in darkness. Darkness, blackness, silence. That was how I liked it best.

Finally, I saw the door I wanted, but of course there were two guards in front of it. With a slight turn of my head, I realized that there were no others nearby. Smirking, I stepped in front of them. I didn’t have the time or the inclination to memorize what they looked like, because I was pressed for time. I had to get everything done before Florian came back.

“Gentlemen.”

They looked down at me, confused and curious at the same time. They were both taller than me and wrapped in armor. Stupid metallic stuff, I never liked it. It was so loud and clattered with every movement.

“Can we help you?“

One of the knights asked me. His face was almost unrecognizable. The light was dim, as was my interest. But interest was not something that mattered here. My gaze wandered back and forth as I had to make a choice. The knight grew impatient and didn’t take my calmness well.

”Miss, if you have something to...”

A quick twisting hand movement and the loud sound of breaking bones echoed through the dark hallway as the knight crashed to the ground with his head twisted. “I don’t need you,” I said, humming, and turned to the other one, whose mouth hung open. He pulled himself out of his panic when our eyes met. “Don’t move, witch!” he shouted.

I rolled my eyes. Always the same with these humans. With a swift movement, I leaped forward and pushed him against the wall. The clatter of the fallen sword suppressed his pleas as I slowly dozed him off with a gentle hand movement. I then lowered him and looked at my work.

The knight with the broken neck was now useless, so the other had to be taken. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and slipped with ease into the knight’s lifeless body.

When I opened my eyes, I stumbled slightly as I had to get used to the weight of the armor. I shook my body, got to know the muscles by stretching my arms slightly and then smiled contentedly.

I stepped over the body and opened the wooden door.

There he lay, Florian’s personal hell. The king himself. When I saw him sleeping like this, his thick braids circling his wrinkled face, all the memories came back. All the times Florian had cried himself to sleep, all the times he came to me with bleeding calves after a failed sword training session because not even his mother wanted to take care of him.

Getting rid of the mother was a breeze. A little poison, a jealous and impressionable court lady, and the matter was settled.

I was more indulgent with Lady Marianne. I only wanted to warn her after she dared to insult Florian’s skin color. "It would stain the pure green of his eyes" she said. I forced her to eat her dog. Not my best work, as some saw me when I took the dog, but it was worth it. The stupid bitch hardly dared to open her mouth again as she left the court.

Well, I was now standing there planning my revenge when he slowly opened his eyes. Oh, that’s also a way.

I was standing at his feet when he slowly managed to sit up. The moon shone in and illuminated the body of the knight I had borrowed.

“What? How dare you enter your king’s chamber?” he spat at me, irritated. My whole body shuddered just at the thought that I would be allowed to watch as life drained from him once I was done with him.

“Speak,“ he said louder.

Those dark eyes regarded me with suspicion. His thick beard, which adorned his round and wrinkled face, trembled as I drew closer. His fat body could hardly hold him upright as he tried to get out of bed.

”Your Majesty, I have come to deliver an important message.”

He was confused, but I didn’t give him time to think. I swung the sword with all my might. His scream echoed through the entire castle, followed by the impact of his severed arm, which now stained the marble floor with its dirty blood. The king fell to the ground, clutching the stump where his arm had been.

“You used your arm to beat Florian,“ I explained to the sobbing and whimpering wreck. With the strength of my current body, I kicked him in the leg and chuckled at the sound of breaking bones.

”With these legs, you hunted him when you had nothing else to vent your anger.”

He could hardly scream, and I had already turned him on his back. I took the sword, pressed it between his teeth and pushed it down until I could see the tearing of his cheeks.

“And with this mouth, you destroyed his dream of love.”

He gargled as the blood flowed down his throat. The once elegant king now lay beneath me, trying to pull himself away with an arm like the worm he was.

“I’m not done yet, I’ll save the best for last.“ I made myself comfortable on his chest while he whimpered and cried and prayed to some god.

”Stop it, your deity won’t hear you. Your prayers are worth as much as the dirt under my shoes.”

Ah. There it was, that look. The fading hope, the emerging sorrow. I loved it. But as promised, the best was yet to come at the end of the show. My hand stroked over his raging chest. I felt the slow beating of his heart, but unfortunately I wanted it to be pulsating.

I stabbed into it, my hand breaking through skin, muscle and rib. The warm embrace of his flesh made me feel at home. I grabbed the heart and tore it out. The body twitched one last time and then the king was gone. Whatever, everyone has their time and at eighty-nine, he was overdue.

The heart pounded in my hand, which was doused with fresh, warm blood. I stood up and stepped away from the corpse. God, it felt good to do good.

I tilted my head back, opened my mouth wide and swallowed the heart in one bite. I had had better ones, but this was good enough. My eyes closed again and like a breath of wind I slipped out of the knight’s body, which fell to the ground loudly. Now I had to set up the scene.

The knight, tired of suffering under the king’s tyranny, killed his comrade, who would otherwise have gotten in his way, and broke into the ruler’s chamber. There he was seized by so much rage that he fell into a frenzy. Like an animal, he attacked his king and even ate his heart.

Good heavens, what a monster.

I stroked the knight’s mouth with my blood-covered hand to make it more credible. Then I took the sword and cut the knight’s throat.

Horrified by his actions, the poor boy then fell over himself.

What a sad story, I almost cried.

I slipped out, took a few steps away from the body outside the room and cleared my throat slightly. The muscles were slightly relaxed before I pinched my cheeks to make tears roll. Everything was perfect, the only thing missing was a witness. And that’s where I came in.

Take a deep breath.

Then, I started screaming.

The whole kingdom was in turmoil. In one night, two people had passed away. Our king and a poor knight who had only tried to do justice. My poor Florian was devastated. His hatred for his father left him cold about his death, but something in him felt obliged to grieve.

His head on my lap, while my hand gently stroked his shoulder. Not a word had been exchanged since the news had reached him. I could only be a support, a shoulder, an ear.

There was a knock at the door. Florian whispered with a trembling voice: “I don’t want to see anyone.” Slowly I got up to pass on the message. On the other side of the door stood a certain stable boy who shyly asked: “May I...”

I let him in.

He approached Florian, who straightened up to look up at Parsifal. They spoke to each other with their eyes. They understood each other, they felt each other. Without saying a word, Florian wrapped his arms around Parsifal’s hips. He pulled him close and cuddled his face in his stomach.

I stepped out slowly. My heart blossomed with happiness and contentment. My prince had found his love; the kingdom had lost its king, but gained one with a big heart. Florian would become a great ruler and with me and Parsifal at his side, this kingdom would turn a new leaf.

It felt good to do good.

[siren61]

They’re sooo silly I love them

I imagine them as those- goofy ah villain groups and it’s been living in my brain rent-free, and I don’t mind that

I might draw more of them,,, who knows—

Prompt:

(yes ik i spelled Wrayth wrong please don’t come at me)

[crowsgrudge]

fionna's world being represented by a dandelion makes so much sense ... they're weeds. yet people make wishes through them, changing their whole meaning from something meant to be destroyed to something hopeful.

dandelions are also resilient and it makes sense that something associated with them would. you know. perservere despite the destruction caused by the scarab.

but ultimately i think what REALLY made me tear up over this is that dandelions are really boring plants. when you're a kid you blow on them and make your wish but they're not eyecatching or anything but still, fionna's final wish was for her old world to still exist as it was when she left it (> plain and simple. boring even).

like the moment she realized she would lose her friends, and that her friends might forget each other if the world got its magic back, she immediately decided she didn't want it and I think that ties back to the dandelion metaphor so well... like, do you really need magic to be real to find it everywhere? or can you turn something boring into something magical?

[miraneko19]

Realized this while playing Birushana. Tomomori. You know.

[eggy-the-boy]

The funniest thing about the insane amount of Clue boards the boys have is that I feel like Clue would be such a boring game with just two people??

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Clue need like a minimum of three people? These boys have been each other's only friend for 30 years. Like I love imagining them sitting on the floor playing board games made for multiple people.