#but like OH MY GOD the scene with the rose quartz

[deathsweetblossoms]

When scars turn from something abhorred and ugly (mostly in one’s own regard) into something beautiful and interesting just because someone had taken one look at them and decided so.

unconditional as quartz (part of the series sillage) by @thefangirlofhp

[weirdmageddon]

yesterday i wrote a scene where jade wasnt a plot device and was left the hell alone in A6A5 because this being dave and jade’s last proper conversation in years made me sad and i wanted to see them reunite properly. i mixed a bit of narration in too even though it was rare around this point in the comic but its just to paint a better picture. also i wouldnt mind feedback on character voice (it’s important to me that the dialogue sounds believable)

[3 years are over, everyone is in the new session. The prospit ship is on LOMAX, as is everyone who arrived on the meteor, safely warped by Jade onto LOMAX as well. Jade has banished B2 Jack to the Furthest Ring already. She hasn't seen her friends in 3 years, not to mention she never met the trolls in person yet.]

[Jade teleports to LOMAX where John was talking with the meteor crew. Her eyes widen when she sees the trolls, giving everyone a greeting. Jade waves to the trolls.]

You’ll have time to catch up with them later. First you want to reconvene with Rose and Dave.

> ==>

Dave... Oh my god! DAVE!!! That’s right! The last time you saw him, he died in your arms after Jack redirected the bullets from your gun into his body!

JADE: dave!!!! DAVE: hey DAVE: this has been three years coming hasnt it DAVE: cmere

> ==>

[Dave hugs Jade with a slight grin on face. He notices her… sniffing him?? but doesn’t even bother to question it.]

JADE: it is so nice to hold your body when its not a corpse :) DAVE: ok DAVE: weird thing to say DAVE: actually who am i kidding who gives a shit DAVE: i almost forgot how much i missed the enigmatic riddlefuckery that is your phrasing DAVE: fortunately i have context for this so i know what youre saying DAVE: humor me for a sec and imagine that i didnt DAVE: but first DAVE: are those dog ears JADE: yes! i am part dog now JADE: because i prototyped my dreamself with becsprite JADE: jadesprite became part of me! and so did her doggy traits from bec DAVE: got it DAVE: oh yeah john mentioned that on the back of his dumb poster inside that bucket that appeared out of thin air DAVE: right before we had to haul ass out of there before jack caught up to us DAVE: karkat had a complete fucking meltdown over that btw i wish you couldve seen it DAVE: damn it feels like so long ago now JADE: heheheh i remember JADE: john realized it at the last second but it was too late! DAVE: of course it was johns idea only he could do something that gooberish DAVE: you know what this means though JADE: yup!! woof woof DAVE: it means youve done it harley DAVE: youve finally done it god damn it DAVE: the evolution of humankind is finally upon us DAVE: the scientists said it would never happen in our lifetime DAVE: but look what we have here DAVE: before me stands mans first legitimate furry subspecies DAVE: homo canis DAVE: as the name implies theyre gay as fuck btw DAVE: its too bad all those scientists are dead and cant witness this phylogenetic breakthrough DAVE: rip to the science community yall wouldve lost your collective shit DAVE: hey jade lets pour one out for the science community for being real ones

> ==>

You are still nestled into Dave’s shoulder. He’s taken a sort of protective position over you. Your perceptive barkbeast ears can hear his formerly bullet-riddled heart beating a mile a minute with the regularity of quartz beneath his time-branded pajamas, all the while he continues to ramble to you about certifiably dumb shit. You can tell Dave is psyched to see you again, even if he expresses it in his OWN bizarre way, which means extended metaphors and topical tangents. What a hypocrite, calling YOUR phrasing perplexing! You sure missed this guy.

You realize you started tuning him out while thinking about all this.

DAVE: jade JADE: umm homo is the species name JADE: so wouldnt that mean were all gay? :p DAVE: yeah that sounds about right DAVE: anyway enough of this bullshit

> ==>

[Dave motions to retract his arms since he doesn’t want it to get too weird, but Jade squeezes tighter. Dave immediately yields to the movement]

DAVE: jesus wow ok DAVE: really happy to see you too DAVE: like if you had a tail it would be wagging so forcefully youd be knocking over all the fucking furnishings in the room DAVE: just slapping it so hard on the owners thigh that it feels like theyre being flogged DAVE: talk about getting bitch slapped JADE: :D DAVE: so howve you been JADE: really really excited to see you guys all again!!! JADE: and to meet the trolls! DAVE: yeah theyre pretty weird DAVE: and im still not used to it DAVE: but it gets more manageable the longer youre around them DAVE: by the way JADE: ?

> ==>

DAVE: sorry you had to go through that JADE: through what? DAVE: seeing me die and stuff again DAVE: except that time right in front of you JADE: .... DAVE: when we were gathering up all those frogs i knew jack was going to appear DAVE: i was waiting and waiting to play it out DAVE: mentally rehearsing my fucking torso getting turned into swiss cheese and knowing you would have to watch on top of it DAVE: i had to make sure it happened to protect the integrity of the alpha timeline DAVE: but if you knew this was going to happen you wouldve tried to prevent it and created a doomed one DAVE: and so i didnt say anything DAVE: i couldnt DAVE: so DAVE: sorry for putting you through that JADE: oh..... JADE: dave D: JADE: well im here JADE: if you ever want to talk about it DAVE: its cool DAVE: you just deserve to know what happened there DAVE: but thanks DAVE: so am i JADE: yeah i know JADE: i guess i should be glad you did that then... JADE: even though i was freaking out when it happened ._. JADE: otherwise you wouldnt be here will us now dressed in your red god tier time pajamas DAVE: yeah these magical rags really are comfortable arent they DAVE: and they stay like perma clean JADE: they are! i would wear mine over and over for days on end JADE: id take a nice shower and put it right back on JADE: and you know how much i love cycling my outfits through my wardrobifier JADE: by the way dave your cape is sooo cool! :o DAVE: thanks DAVE: yeah i love it its hella soft DAVE: its like ive got a portable snuggle blanket with me in case i ever need to drop to the floor like a tired sack of shit and get my snooze on DAVE: ive got a permanent personal reservation at club bed featuring dj pillow and mc blanky JADE: heheheh JADE: can i touch your cape? DAVE: of course go nuts JADE: yaaaay!!

[b0ng05]

Celina Juarez x Fem Reader

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

Aura Pt. 2

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

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

Word Count: 1003

Prompt:

"God. I missed that."

"Missed what?"

"Your aura. I- it um- it sounds kind of dorky, but your aura lights up the room."

Summary: What happens when John Nolan and Lucy Chen notice some similarities between their rookies? What if they decided to play matchmaker?

Master list/Request list

Part 1.

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

Celina staring didn’t go unnoticed by the training officers, in fact they were hiding in plain sight watching on from afar.

Y/n was sitting at a table not too far from Celina, the distance was merely teasing Celina’s racing heart more. The temptation to approach and-

“Hey, Officer Juarez, right?” A sweet voice snapped Celina out of her trance.

Celina’s eyes widen as she sees that same sweet aura accessorized with an even sweeter smile. It takes Celina a good second to register what was happening.

“Oh! Yes- Yes I am. I’m Celina Juarez, it’s nice to meet you.” Celina rushed out feeling slightly embarrassed at her late response.

“I’m Y/n Y/l/n, can I sit here?” Y/n asks, with a soft smile gracing her lips.

“Y-yeah, of course,” Celina replied.

Her heart thumped in her chest as the aura was now closer than before. The vibrant pinks, purples, and greens painting a wonderful scene before her. It felt like a bright light that filled a dark void. A scene so beautiful that it makes the room feel lighter.

“So, how’s your day going so far?” Y/n asked, with that lovely smile. She raised her hand to take a sip of her coffee as she looked on curiously.

“I- uh, my day is going pretty well. What about you?” Celina says feeling a bit flustered at the attention of this woman.

“Mine is going well. You’re Nolan’s rookie, right?” Y/n smiles, making Celina’s heart race.

“Yeah, and you’re a transfer from SDPD,” Celina states, her eyes lighting up a bit as she talks to the woman.

“You’d be correct. So, gorgeous and attentive? I like that.” Y/n teases, a small smirk tugging the corner of her lips.

Celina blushes deeper, letting out a small nervous giggle. She felt embarrassed at the sound of her laugh, but couldn’t help but smile at the compliment.

From a distance, Nolan, Angela, Nyla, and Lucy all watched the interaction. When they heard the awkward high pitched giggle Celina let out, the women all looked at each other with furrowed brows trying not to let out a laugh. Nolan just looked confused, having never heard Celina laugh like that.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three months have passed and Celina has gotten a lot closer with Y/n. Celina’s crush didn’t fade, but in fact grew stronger. As Celina got to know her, not only was her aura beautiful, but her personality and her heart were just as stunning. Celina would never admit it to her coworkers, but she had been keeping a rose quartz with her in her pocket since she met Y/n. Hoping the crystal would indirectly influence her interactions with the woman.

Cop cars and SUVs surrounded an old warehouse. Its metal walls rusted and weakened to a fault. Its garage-like door opens revealing the secrets hidden within. Around twenty men hid around the building, some behind corners, and others ducking behind crates. In view were crates filled with yet to be identified narcotics and weapons.

The interior looked like a maze. Every turn is unknown. The horde of cops surround the building, slowly inching closer to begin the full bust. The men in the warehouse unknowingly walk around, guarding the building armed with weapons.

Or that’s what Celina had heard. She was told to stay back on desk duty today, she was currently filling out a report of a stolen bike for a 13 year old kid. Normally she wouldn’t entirely mind desk duty, but today marked the 8th or 9th day in a row that Y/n was sick with covid. Not that Celina was counting the days.... She totally was.

So Celina didn’t have any light to brighten the boring existence of desk duty. She didn’t have anything to do after the kid left with a copy of his bike report. She sat down on one of the desk chairs and let out a small sigh. Her deep brown eyes watching the station doors, hoping for something to busy her mind.

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

Celina sighed as she entered the station. She immediately went to the breakroom to get coffee before anything else. Her eyes don’t really look up to meet anyone else’s as she heads for the coffee pot, but she pauses when she sees someone in front of the coffee pot.

She moves to sit at the table while she waits but she stops in her tracks. She sees a familiar light flash. She turns her head back towards whoever was at the coffee pot. Green, pink and purple fill her vision.

“God. I missed that.” Celina muttered as she stared on, a soft smile gracing her lips.

“Missed what?” Y/n asked as she turned around to face her, a smile teasing the corner of her mouth.

“Your aura. I- It- um- it sounds kind of dorky, but your aura lights up the room.” Celina admits, her hand rubbing the back of her neck as she sheepishly blushes.

“So, we can add charming to the list of things I like about you.” Y/n says as she blushes and smiles at Celina.

Celina looks back at her with a flustered smile as she moves closer to Y/n grabbing a paper coffee cup.

“Oh yeah? How long is that list getting?” Celina teases, a small smirk on her lips. She glances at Y/n as she pours herself some coffee.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Y/n says, her tone playful as leans her elbow on the counter, passing Celina the coffee creamer.

Celina’s heart races as their fingers brush together. Her smile getting a bit brighter, the electric touch felt like it gave her more energy than the coffee would. They both look into each other’s eyes, smiling like total dorks.

“Oh I would definitely love to know.” Lucy pipes up from the doorway of the breakroom, a grin plastered on her face.

“I would as well.” Nolan smirks, raising his hand from where he sits in a breakroom chair.

Celina and Y/n blush deeper as they glance at each other.

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

[not-poignant]

I assume from the meme that you really like rereading things because you write things intending readers to read the same story again!

Correct!

I know not everyone will reread, even if they really like a story, because everyone reads differently.

But I write my stories specifically with rereading in mind, so that the second and third rereads actually feel more rich and revealing than the first.

This is a combination of unreliable narrators, reveals, things like... the pleasure and thrill of going back and seeing all the foreshadowing to a truth that gets revealed later, and knowing it's coming, or when you know someone's a traitor and see the signs, etc. This is particularly true of my long stories.

I love rereading a ton. My favourite stories get the rare honour of often being 'comfort rereads' for me, and I particularly enjoy stories then which offer foreshadowing, or little easter eggs, or little treats that are like 'oh my god this whole scene reads differently now that I know this character's motivations' etc. For example, Gary in Underline the Black reads very differently once you have context on his grief and his fears, vs. when he just read as a 'heartless asshole.' My plan is for that to feel more satisfying upon reread, like the reader gets to know a secret that no one else (including first readers) know.

If I can bring future levels of joy to readers, who come back to the same story, it's my favourite thing to do, because it's one of my favourite things to experience.

Same with rewatching movies and anime series etc. Like, rewatching Steven Universe when you know the context around Rose Quartz, Pearl's love for her, Garnet's journey etc. changes everything and makes the story so much richer.

If I can give even a little bit of this to folks who reread, I feel amazing.

~

From the Assumptions meme!

[madphantom]

Ding ding ding, new Sarah snippet

The night I met Sarah we had both stalked the streets alone. It had snowed, but she had worn a blue dress - that was the first thing I saw of her, that pale blue silk fluttering in the breeze like a ghost. Her skin was milky white; she did not leave the house often then. She was a walking dead girl imprisoned in an earthly body.

She wore no jewelry. She did not own any. I was taller than her, wearing my father's stolen grey suit, ill-fitting, and had my long hair in a braid.

Sarah's lips were crimson red; I later found out she had bitten her tongue and the blood on her mouth had made her kisses taste like salt water.

You and I are alike, she had whispered when we stood face to face. Too strange, too beautiful for them to understand. Queer.

I have never thought of myself as beautiful, but that night she began to worship my body. I was tall, thin, spider-fingered, like an odd crane, my nose was beak-like, my teeth bucked. The more of you there is the better, she had whispered. You have to fill out the space in the universe with beautiful things. And I worshiped her too, the dark shadows below her two-coloured eyes, the freckles on her chest, her dimples, the curve of her belly…she was not dainty, but I repeated her words right back at her. The more of you there is the better.

For two weeks we did not have names. Anonymous beauties, we met up in the darkness, worshiped each other's imperfections like young gods and made love in the snow until the ice stung and burned into our flesh. We became our own religion, our own deity and its priests. Afterwards, we rubbed each other's blue-white skin warm and whispered it over and over. I adore you.

I woke up with my arm wrapped around her naked shoulder.

Something pale red glowed in the window. At first I thought it was a distant fire. Then my vision began to clear and I realized it was eyes. An animal was sitting on the windowsill. In the midnight black I saw fur that seemed to glisten like tar. Claws scraped across the wood.

When I sat up the creature bared its teeth, glinting in the moonlight. Then, with a thud, it leaped down from the windowsill onto the front roof.

I rose from my bed and crept downstairs to the front door. Quietly, quietly, I opened it with a creak and peered outside.

The two-headed white deer was standing in the field, almost glowing in the light of the moon. It seemed tense. Its eyes glinted like a predator's.

Face to face with the deer a fox was standing in front of the house, teeth bared, snarling at it. Its muscles twitched beneath the orange fur. It looked truly frightening from this perspective.

I stared at the scene in bewilderment. Eventually, one of the deer's heads sensed my gaze on it and glanced up. Our eyes met and I felt a primal terror creep up my spine.

The fox turned to glance over its shoulder and in that moment, the deer kicked it aside. The fox whined, leaped right back, but the deer had already made its way towards me.

For a moment I thought it would simply impale me on its bone white antlers, but instead it stopped and stared at me. I got lost in those eyes. They seemed to contain galaxies, rose quartzes and sunsets, multitudinous, terrifyingly beautiful, a glimpse into the mind of a god, too much, too much to comprehend…COME AND SEE it seemed to say, delight in everything you see, an ant before a man, oh you poor, puny thing. You are looking at something you will never understand.

The deer flinched when the fox bit its leg. The smaller animal was whining and crying in pain, but persistent. Its teeth glistened pale white in the moonlight. I went down on my knees with tears spraying out of my eyes, my head burning and crackling from the inside, as if it had been struck by lightning.

The deer almost seemed to smile mockingly when it shook the fox off and ran off into the night. I lay curled up on the ground and cried and cried and cried.

[roxyzwritez]

REWATCHING SU:F

this will be a chain of self reblogs as i go through each episode of the.. unfortunate part of steven universe.

------EP 1------

the way peridot goes

steven universe futureee~

gives me serotonin.

2. the connie lofigirl reference made me go OH MY GOD ITS YHE REFRENCE and im here for it

3.s l u u u u u u h r p "i think YOU, should stop trying to fix everybody." hits hard

4. "AND IF I DIDN'T CARE, YOU'D STILL BE A MONSTER TOO." goes SO hard like you fucking GO king

5.okay every line from frustrated steven in that scene gives me adrenaline rushes like now i wanna beat someone up and just gurugjfigig YEAH

6."you are NOT my diamond" funny you say that, jasper. funny you say that, jasper. fragments you say that, jasper. funny you

7.the fight scene fucks so hard

-----EP 2-----

8. steven stop narrating or else fhfgbfbbt this isnt a documentary you god damn goofball i cant be that mad (not yet you gotta talk trash about rose for me to throw hands)

9. tv froze when biggs jasper flung the ferris wheel and that's the highlight of my day

10."comfortable can be good, too." based amy for the win

11. the start of stevens downward spiral: hey lets push everyone out of their comfort zone OH JEEPERS WHY IS EVERYTHING FALLING APART

11.5: DELIVERY. DELIVERY. D E L I V E R Y.

12.you should be sorry steven beach city is now on fire like california.

13. smoky quartz representation 💗💗💗

14. pink smoky quartz could beat every single villain and hero instantly. thanos? avengers? god himself? addicted

15. choose their own future, yk? choose their own future, yk? CHOOSE THEIR OWN FUTURE, YK? CH-

------EP 3------

16. oh god rose buds. ep hasnt even started and the trauma is flooding back AWAAAAYGH my poor boy steven-

17. "after everything that's happened..." I WILL FIGHT YOU AND WIN YOU WILL RESPECT YOUR GOD DAMN MOTHER YOU MOTHERFUC- *ahem* sorry. idc if future was rushed due to unfortunate uncontrollable circumstances but this still makes me furious how fucking dare y

18. greg why couldn't you just stand up for yourself. bruh got his lack of spine from smashing the diamond im sorry that's the only criticism of pink/rose i can make and not uncontrollably punch myself

19. i wanna hang out with the famethysts. forever. i wanna laze like delinquents!! holly blue get ur ass LAZING. get with the times.

20. "i cannot wait to see the look upon your face when you see their faces" the amount of trolling is a lot more than a little

21. "yes, this is the look i wished to see!" im sorry but you will die for the mistreatment of steven cutiepie forgot the rest of your long name universe he did not deserve this

22. quiet rose gave me false hope and i died. still die when i see that one

23. WHY DON'T YOU COME TO DINNER AND FIND OUT :)))))

24. "yo steve- (bass boosted vine boom)"

25. "i haven't had that many exes show up since- (bass boosted vine boom)"

26. pearl somehow having her composure is a mystery to me. i need lessons on how to not explode in that kind of situation

27. "...but thank yOU, RO- (crowdstrike update)"

28. pearl freaking out about this is making me freak out about this and i don't know what that says about me.

29. mmmMmmmMmMMMN SLUMBER PARTTy:)))))

30. "i am dead rose quartz!" thats a crit right there right to my feels

31. the squal of terror when they turn on the tape is so hilarious but also makes me scream in terror

32. yeah bro lion would get maaad.

33. motherfucking bitch ass fuck hiding the painting in the pink realm i hope you turn into a lizard and feel bad about it OH WAIT YOU DO. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR DISRESPECTING THE LORD AND SAVIOR, ROSE QUARTZ UNIVERSE. sorry just another RRRRRAAAUGH THIS IS WHY IM MAKING THE AU I HATE STEVEN UNIVERSE FUTURE FUCKING GDOD DAMN CORPORATES RUSHING WRITERS LEADING TO BAD CONTENT AAAAA

34. funny number not putting anything here

35. oh that's why ppl ship volleypearl. i forgot the SORRY TO INTERRUPT BUT "looks like someone has still got it bad..." I DONT WANNA HEAR IT FROM YOU YOU STILL GRIEVE JUST LIKE THE REST OF anyway i forgot that blushy she had at pink pearl. i understand now

36. "im older than you:3" *restrained death stare*

37. welcome pink dia- (sudden explosion)

38. pearl stop talking down to volleyball why are you so mean GGRGRR RAAAAAAAAAA its so grating. be nice to eachother. outburst imminent

39. what.did.you.say.?

40. the pink outburst. the rage. the release. its so SATISFYING. until the pearls almost get rejuvenated of course. also megapearl is 🥰🥰🥰😳😳😳����💗💗💗💗😚😚😚😚🥰🥰

41. megapearl in that pose just. im going to turn into rose quartz. right now. iaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQQ?&;&5525640$@)@)"78;73(2$;);96&$0)&(72)5@3495$?,'gj

42. oksy. fine. maybe volleypwarl is a valid ship (sniffles)

ok im not making this post any longr ill continue later

[maxbytes]

Feel free to ignore but I'm gonna hit you with another little scene.

Sands plopped herself on the beach, just a handful of yards from the steps to the Crystal Gem base. The not Rose, kind of Rose, what did he say his name was?...Steven, right. Had tried to include her in a "Together Breakfast" ritual and Sands couldn't stomach putting on the charade that morning. All she saw was the smiling face of the thing that...

She took a bite out of the croissant Garnet handed her before she walked out. That was the condition of her being excused, she could leave, but needed to still eat. The texture and flavor of this bizarre human food helped to distract Sands enough from the lump in her throat and she took even breaths. She criss crossed her legs and mindlessly made designs in the sand with her finger.

--

Lapis stood in the middle of their home base, feeling a little out of place. This secure location was indeed her home base as much as it was Jasper's and Sands', but her schedule had meant she'd barely seen these walls of pastel and muted pinks and greys and iron blues ever. Which was fine by her, honestly. If she was buried in her work, in her job, carefully working with other Lapises, then her sense of normalcy could come back, even for just a little while.

Now however, Jasper was the one that had to leave, and Lapis had to stay to care for Sands. It had been a long while since their times had synced up, so it had been a long while since they've fought or sat pissed in the home base together, or possibly even worse attempted a life together. Jasper obviously didn't want to leave Sands, but no one had choices apparently anymore, and so Lapis found herself alone, with her kid.

"Do you want to train?" Sands quietly asked her sire. She tried to keep her interest muted, but she was curious about what Lapis' job even was. She had never had a chance to see her terraforming.

"No," Lapis shut that down and took a seat on a bench, like she'd already worked a full year's job, "I don't know the first thing about Quartz training."

"Ok," Sands quickly made her peace with this, "...what about with what you do?"

Lapis looked at her like she had lobsters coming out of her ears, in a world where they both knew what ears and lobsters were, "I mean. Have you used water at all yet? Jasper would've reported that to me already." She rubbed the bridge of her nose just at the mention of her.

"No..." Sands sounded defeated, "I'm not sure I can..."

Lapis sighed. Well, she thought. Jasper wouldn't know anything about Lazuli powers anyway, how they worked.

"Ok," Lapis began and Sands lit up more than she could hide, "if you even have water manipulation powers, I can show you basic techniques to figure it out. Here, get up," Sands scrambled up on the bench next to Lapis and made sure she wasn't in contact with her.

Lapis conjured water in front of them and showed Sands simple movements. The gemling was captivated. She felt so lucky to have such powerful creators. Lapis trailed a thin stream of water in the air, doing a poor job of explaining her power, more of just explaining her job and the various swaths of cuts to make basic landscapes.

--

Sands trailed her fingers in the air, to make a simple landscape for a barracks on a new Gem colony. She had these movements memorized, even after stopping when she clearly hadn't inherited Lapis' water abilities. Her mother Jasper had been pissed and embarrassed when Sands kept all of a sudden tearing up at night after that.

Sands blinked when the waves in front of her became...dirty? What was in the water?

She dropped her hand and so did the dirt. Sands blinked and looked down. She raised her hand again and a pile of sand raised with it, loose sand falling almost beautifully under it.

SOBBING OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! I'VE WANTED A SCENE LIKE THIS WRITTEN OUT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THAT! THIS IS LOVELY OHHHH!! 💚💚💚 the flashback part is perfect, i love that addition. sands would be so distraught that she apparently didn't have either of her parents' power. ;_;

[sqermygeco]

The accuracy depth and attention to detail of the characters mentality

I can’t fucking make things happen. It’s like my executive dysfunction goes into the world of fiction and I cannot for the life of me get a person from point a to point b. Help

This marvel space fanfiction. It’s really cool I just don’t care enough

TMA but in the world of secret life

Welcome to earth. It is my pride and joy

lol absolutely not. I do it when I feel like it and it’s honestly very good for me

‘"You become you. I’m just a couple of runaways. But I know I’ll always be me. " Garnet smiled idly, looking at her open palms. "Ruby never imagined she could matter. That she could be the one changing history. Sapphire never imagined history could be changed. But then she did, and it was. I know Homeworld doesn’t believe that the decision and conviction of just some gem can get in their way. I know I’m just a manifestation of insolence to them. I don’t care. Look at Rose. She’s just a random quartz soldier, but she made a choice. She made a difference, and she’s no different than any of us. If she can, I can. You can."

Pearl stared pointedly out, to where the ocean met the sky. There was a pit inside her.’

Released the first chapter. Wasn’t at all recent tho

I don’t think I have enough posted to answer that

Neutral. Except nighttime hurts my eyes

Plantser? Idk I’ve planned a lot but then the actual individual scenes tend to be quite random. Depends what I’m writing I tend to go very dialogue heavy

Oh god pass

Sometimes. I’m not opposed

Steven universe probably. Or amethyst. Or Gwen Bouchard

Fucking things happening if only it would stop LILTING

I write em coz I want em to exist so yeah. Also like I think back on old things I wrote and am like Thats So Cringy and then I read it and I popped off

Tales of a revolution/welcome to earth - I need to express how much I love Steven universe and all other ways have failed me

In all aspects, making things happen

A spin-off about Greg’s life

The flowers on the ground near the kindergarten in NWOFA are vastly mountain laurels and I figured this out by cross referencing the art with ‘pink flowers native to Maryland’ the website because Delmarva is a combination of Delaware Maryland and Virginia but based off of beaches and boardwalks that inspired beach city it can be assumed that but OUR us states it would be in specifically Maryland, near the bottom. That part was just general knowledge but mountain laurels apparently smell like specifically grape coolaid which is so specific but that is what the Americans say. This all for a throwaway line describing the air as smelling sweet. Anyway

Precise, meaningful, positively messy

Bisexual Greg, straight rose

All the young dudes. Yk, the comforting one.

Satellite monsters it’s very fuck the government let’s do human experiments. That’s the marvel one. It also requires such research as; what happens when a person gets chucked into space? What is the lowest temperature your body can go before your blood bubbles?

Probably writing on average but when I get sucked in to something I hibernate

What is your favourite thing to write about? Fandom wise, genre wise, and style/scene wise

Fanfic Ask Game (the movie, the sequel)

In celebration of me actually working on a fic, I made y’all an ask game instead of continuing to work on that fic. Pls enjoy.

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

😐 What embarrasses you most about your own writing?

👻 What is one WIP you think you may never pick back up?

👀 Do you have any WIPs that you would never let see the light of day? If yes, what are they about?

📥 What is your fave fic to receive comments/messages on?

✏️ Do you write every day?

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

🌙  What time of day do you prefer to write? Why?

👖 Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

📊 Current number of WIPs

👨‍👧‍👧 Do you tell people in real life that you write fic? 

🌝 Who is one character you haven’t yet written for that you would like to?

📝 What is one growth area you have for your writing?

📚 Do you read your own fic?

🌈 What inspired you to write [insert fic here]?

🤔 What is the hardest part of writing fic?

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

✨ Choose three adjectives to complement your own writing.

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave).

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

⏰ Do you spend more time reading fic, writing fic, or do you do both equally?

💋 [Freeform - what is something you want to know about one of poster’s fics?]

[semimedieval]

the beach part 3: you eat raw oysters?

with the scene that put rimquartz on the map behind us, we're rolling onward, back to silliness. i remember writing jasper with full sincerity here but then being very relieved that i was able to pass off my lack of oyster knowledge as a character trait for obsidian. oh my god i just remembered how yummy oysters were btw. i wanna eat oysters again!!!!

Rim surfaced as well. "Now we can eat oysters!" He yelled hildin up an armful of oysters. Spark grabbed one, slurping it into her mouth. "Yum!" "Spark? You eat raw oysters? Or can you eat them raw, I'm confused." said Obsidian. "You can." She said, surprised. "It's muscles and clams you have to cook." "Oh. I'm an idiot. I've never been to the ocean before. Sorry." "Neither have I, but my mother used to bring them home from the market sometimes." she added. "Ohh, I see. Goatville was far away from the ocean, so we never tasted them."

Onion ring dialogue for DAYS here. Also spark and obsidian did not live very far from each other, most places where oysters were available to eat for much of real life history were COASTAL you silly gay people!! Obsidian's dialogue here betrays such a real and in-character shame about Not Knowing Things, both his and mine. He is so precious to me.

More oyster experiences, first and otherwise.

Rim ate one aswell and grimaced as a bit of grit went down with it. "I think it's trying to kill me" He joked. Obsidian tasted one cautiously. "Interesting..." he said softly. "Don't worry, they don't have legs!" Rim joked. Obsidian laughed. "Are they supposed to?" "No." said Lupus, taking an oyster.

One could make variable jokes about Obsidian, Lupus, and Spark's respective levels of oyster-eating experiences experience,

Meanwhile, Ky finds an underwater cave, and her mind link with Lupus indicates to him that she's up to some plot relevant adventure and it's time for them to get an RP's worth of spotlight again. Ky, of course, is on an Excellent Adventure (doing scary cave diving, which is super scary!!!). And also knows what classrooms are.

There! Almost there. She swam faster, faster until she reached the inside. She burst out of the water, sputtering for air. Ky climbed up into the cave. Cool! She had to tell the others! But how would she reach the surface of the water? Ky cursed under her breath. Ky looked around the cave. She might as well make use of it. She stood up and put on s brave face. She walked around, it was about the size of a small classroom.

In another case of Lupus being the only character I allow to feel real detailed emotions in moments of crisis, he starts to panic (justifiably, I think) about the dangers of diving. Cave diving, even. "Especially in a world where unicorns existed" is so silly, though. Is the implication that a unicorn got her underwater?

Lupus looked around. Where was Ky? "Nope!" Rim agreed (about oysters and legs.) "Where's Ky anyway?" "I've no idea," he replied, glancing around. Rim thought for a second then shot into the water, creating miniature currents in the shape of a circle that expanded. It acted like a radar. He swam around for a little while, about to give, when he noticed something strange. "Did you find her?" Lupus questioned. He looked down into the water as a panic rose within his chest. Ky was a strong swimmer, he told himself. She couldn't drown, nothing could have happened! But accidents could happen, especially in a world where unicorns existed. Spark smile faded as she saw Lupus "Anything wrong?" "Well, besides the fact that my love interest and my best friend is stuck somewhere and the ocean probably..." he started, his voice unusually aggressive, then faltered. "Sorry. Just worrying." Quartz put a hand on his shoulder. "We all do it."

MEIN GOTT, affection between quartz and lupus, that is to say CLEAR AND PRESENT EVIDENCE that the 2014 take that "quartz doesn't like lupus because she's always team obsidian" was a stupid and revisionist one. This is a fairly competently written sequence aside from fucking "love interest." TVTropes-inspired writing behavior is not cute.

Katia, you are not slick, I am dead certain that Moopy is well aware that all of you are IRL friends.

NVM I gtg already...I'm planning to show my Obsidian writing to my friends at school tomorrow (I'm so random XD)

Meanwhile, Ky finds some matches (inexplicably), while Rim finds the cave.

What was this? Some matches? She picked them up. It WAS cold. Rim swam near the cave entrance and so a flash of movement. He glanced at it but didn't see anything he surfaced in the cave. She lit the match and saw a figure in the water. "Who's there?" she asked, her hands trembling. "Oh, it's just you." She extended a hand to lift him out of the water.

The matches are inexplicable, but the atmosphere here is cool. I think the core structural problem underlying this section of the roleplay is that Jack appears to keep deciding that the reveal of the soul pearl – given that it BRINGS BACK THE DEAD – should be something dramatic and adventure-worthy, whereas Augustine already has a clear idea of what it is. So they keep doing this back-and-forth where Jack throws the ball and Augustine doesn't want to play ball if it's not the ball game he was planning for, which results in some cool ideas but an ultimately bloated adventure. It makes me think that I should altogether kick either the pendants or the sea dragon – or combine them. And of course I can't really kick the pendant because all of them, conveniently, loop around into eing relevant to the plot.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Quartz and Lupus worry for their Best Friends And Love Interests/Second-Best Friends And Backup Love Interests.

Quartz peered down into the murky water. "What's down there, do you think?" Quartz asked, voice trembling slightly. "I don't know, but I'm going down." said Lupus decidedly.

Aw, they learned the word 'decidedly.' Also Virginia briefly surfaces and has Clove follow Lupus. To my credit, instead of throwing her off, I have Lupus make the two of them diving helmets out of ice, but then Virginia is never seen again so it's not really a problem either way.

Anyway, the silly Indiana Jones Cave Diving Trap Adventure begins in earnest next post, but THAT warrants a complete post of its own so i'm going to wrap this one up. Overall, pretty strong plotline development here, I hope it leads into something cool and not slightly stupid.

[anonniemousefics]

Can we please get more tfota scenes from cardan's pov? Maybe something from qon this time 🙈

Happy New Year! ♥️🥂

It’s so great you guys are enjoying these Cardan POV pieces! This one sort of follows His Monstrous Bride and this other little continuation -- it’s taken from Chapter 18 of The Queen of Nothing when Jude and Cardan talk about her exile before meeting with the Living Council. 

I don’t have a title for it -- let’s just call it His Monstrous Bride Part II. lol

(Also a shameless plug for my ongoing fic The Nine Terrifying Moons, which will feature a Cardan POV chapter coming soon. Wheeeee!)

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

Cardan is well versed at hiding his emotions, but it doesn’t hurt to look the part. And the day that his High Queen is finally awakening, once again restored to Elfhame, is a day to dress for a very specific kind of battle. Jude has ignored him for months – now he must be unignorable. He has gold along his cheekbones and caps like gold knives at the tips of his ears. Jude likes knives after all.

He’s flanked by his guards at her door. (Their door? He’s unused to sharing.) The Living Council means to interrupt her convalescence, and he’ll have none of it. He’s there to make sure she is fit and ready, and he doesn’t have to do more than that, he tells himself. His envoy is at his sides at all times now, and still, in this moment, some part of him wishes there were more of them. Wishes he could shrink back from what may lie ahead.

“Your Highness?” His guards are waiting for him to do something. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been hesitating.

It’s just… it’s been months of endless rejection, though he knows now she never received his letters, but still…he’s not sure he can take one more. And his heart is still cracked and raw from her most recent brush with death.

He steels himself. And knocks at the door.

It’s Oak who answers with an innocent smile, which is something of a relief. With Oak around, Jude’s less likely to become stabby.

Although, at least if she’s stabbing him, she’s no longer ignoring him. And Cardan really can’t stand one more minute of being ignored by Jude Duarte.

She’s there now, and the sight of her standing catches him right in the chest. The last time he’d clapped eyes on her, she was bleeding all over his spider-silk sheets. He’d cleaned her blood with his own two hands, but now she’s upright and clear-eyed, dressed in a foreboding black number with silver at her collar and cuffs. Her auburn hair has been braided like a crown, and with smoky traces of rose around her eyes, she looks deadly and formidable once more.

It’s such a welcome sight. He has never been so thrilled to see her. And that’s such a treacherous and terrifying notion, since he thinks it’s very likely she’s might smack him in the near future if he can’t navigate the mess of crossed wires between them.

The thrill lasts only a moment, because then his stomach gives a lurch. He’s just realized that all of her sisters are there, too. And they’re all staring at him. And he’s been staring right back.

Suddenly, Cardan’s on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat.

“Walk with me,” he finally tells Jude, eager to get away from so many Duarte eyes.

“Of course.” Jude’s brown eyes in particular seem uncharacteristically wide and confused.

Vivienne catches Jude’s hand before she can join him.

“You’re not well enough,” she objects. As if Cardan can’t take care of her. As if he hadn’t cleaned up her blood himself.

“The Living Council is eager to speak with her,” he says instead. Jude should be proud of how he’s learned to curb his tongue in her absence.

“The only danger anyone has ever been in at a Council meeting is of being bored to death,” Jude is reassuring her family, before stepping away, the guards folding in around them.

Cardan offers her his arm – he wants to keep her close, and he wants Vivienne to take note. It is different now, and he wants them all to see. Jude is cared for here.

He wants to take his time with her at his arm as they swap neutral business about the Roach, about the Bomb, about Madoc, but he can hardly even look at her. His head is full of visions of those nights he wrote to her again and again, outright begging in the end, and then lying awake, alone, certain his agony would be never-ending. Gods above, he’d even written once that his heart was hers, buried with her in the soil of the mortal world -- and she’d sent no reply. And though he knows now it’s because she hadn’t even received it, he’s still completely unsure of how to act.

It’s extremely unsettling how normal Jude seems in this moment. As if no time has passed at all.

And there are still so many eyes on them. Courtiers bobbing their heads as they pass. The guards just an arm’s length away. This is no place to try to sort through what he had written to her, what she needed to know. So maybe he just won’t, he thinks. Maybe it can just be like this for an eternity and he can go back to drinking away his feelings after this Council meeting. Maybe this is the most he should hope for.

But then, Jude says: “I need to talk to you.”

And his heart plummets to his guts. He’s not sure he can keep the dread off his face.

“It won’t take long,” Jude says, which is maybe worse. It means it’s simple: she wants to end their marriage. She wants to return to the mortal world. Of course she does.

But then, she says: “Whatever your scheme is, whatever you are planning to hold over me, you might as well tell me now, before we’re in front of the whole Council. Make your threats. Do your worst.”  

What? What the bleeding skies is she talking about? This is such a mess he’s made. And it is, perhaps, the first mess he’s ever truly cared to clean up.

Cardan turns them away toward a corridor to the outdoors.

“Yes,” he agrees. “We do need to talk.”

He steers them for the royal rose garden, where he knows the guards will stop at the gate and leave them alone. He has only a few steps down a path of shimmering quartz stairs among the roses to decide exactly what parts of his heart he’s willing to reveal today. What exactly won’t hurt so terribly much should she throw it all back in his face.

“I assume you weren’t actually trying to shoot me,” he says, choosing first the obvious and easiest. “Since the note was in your handwriting.”

“Madoc sent the Ghost--” Jude starts, but then stops. Softens. “I thought that there was going to be an attempt on your life.”

This does not mean that she cares for you, he has to remind himself. He still doesn’t want to look at her. The memory of perceived rejection is still too strong, still too bitter.

But he’s not going to live with the regrets he’d drowned in when she’d nearly died. He tries to choose his next words carefully.

“It was terrifying,” he admits, feigning interest in a nearby bush of jet black roses, “watching you fall. I mean, you’re generally terrifying, but I am unused to fearing for you.” He swallows back the memories, threatening the periphery of his mind. “And then I was furious. I am not sure I have ever been that angry before.”  

“Mortals are fragile,” Jude shrugs him off. She doesn’t get it.

“Not you,” he sighs. “You never break.”

There. Can that be enough? He’s made it fairly obvious now, hasn’t he? Surely she gets it now – he doesn’t want her to die, he doesn’t want to see her hurt. Witnessing it was the worst thing he’s ever seen. Because he cares for her.

If he has to spell it out, it might kill him. So, he just waits for what she has to say to that.

Jude’s looking at the roses, too, when he glances at her, her thick lashes lowered.

“When I came here, pretending to be Taryn, you said you’d sent me messages,” she says, and oh, please, gods, not this. “You seemed surprised I hadn’t gotten any. What was in them?”

Cardan wants to vomit. No, he needs to vomit. If his nervous stomach would cooperate and vomit everywhere, he could still get away from this with a shred of dignity.

He clasps his hands behind his back so she can’t see how they shake, his smile telling the lies that the rest of him can’t. That he is cool and unaffected, not at all hopelessly in love with the mortal girl in front of him.

“Pleading, mostly.” He tries to say it like it’s a joke. “Beseeching you to come back. Several indiscreet promises.” Maybe that little bit of tantalizing will flatter her.

It doesn’t. Actually, he’s not sure Jude can be flattered. She closes her eyes shut in no small amount of frustration.

“Stop playing games,” she growls. “You sent me into exile.”

“Yes. That.” Right, of course she doesn’t love that he’s beating around the bush. If only he could help it. He’s so goddamn nervous. “I can’t stop thinking about what you said to me, before Madoc took you. About it being a trick. You meant marrying you, making you queen, sending you to the mortal world, all of it, didn’t you?”

The glare she throws him is so very Jude, though he loves it less when it’s directed at him.

“Of course it was a trick,” she seethes. “Wasn’t that what you said in return?”

Well, this is rich.

“But that’s what you do. You trick people.” Though Cardan’s starting to realize just how wrong he’s been about the things Jude enjoys. “I thought you’d admire me a little for it, that I could trick you. I thought you’d be angry, of course, but not quite like this.”

“What?” Jude looks like she could unhinge her jaw and swallow him whole. He might even deserve it.

He needs to put an end to this nightmare. There’s still a miniscule chance she’ll find some part of it amusing.

“Let me remind you that I didn’t know you’d murdered my brother, the ambassador to the Undersea, until that very morning,” he points out. Surely, the context will help his case. “My plans were made in haste. And perhaps I was a little annoyed. I thought it would pacify Queen Orlagh, at least until all promises were finalized in the treaty. By the time you guessed the answer, the negotiations would be over.”

But Jude’s face is unchanged. He isn’t seriously this good at trickery, is he?

“Think of it,” he presses, hoping she’ll follow along. “I exile Jude Duarte to the mortal world. Until and unless she is pardoned by the crown.” Any minute now. Any minute.

“Pardoned by the crown,” he repeats to her blank stare. Right, so, this game isn’t funny anymore.

“Meaning by the King of Faerie. Or its queen,” he explains, watching her eyes grow wider, wilder. “You could have returned anytime you wanted.”

When he’d first envisioned her figuring out the riddle, he’d expected probably a punch in the arm, maybe she would have even drawn her blade again. That would have been delightful. He’d thought about trembling beneath her again, about that searing look she got in her eye just before devouring his lips. That would have been – gods. He might have considered letting her murder more of his brothers to have that again.

But what is happening now is decidedly the opposite. Jude’s breath is quickening, her face flushing, and in the air between them, Cardan feels a rift cracking wider. He hasn’t played a trick – he’s done something horrible.

When Jude begins to back away from him, he thinks back to what it felt like to find Nicasia with Locke. What Jude’s face is doing now – that is what his heart had done then. She is recoiling from him. Jude Duarte is recoiling from him, because he has hurt her.

He honestly had not thought it was possible. He honestly had not thought himself capable. He honestly had not thought she cared enough.

She whirls then and marches away from him, and he has never hated himself more. Stop her, he thinks, but he’s still stunned. If he’d known she cared…

Stop her!

He runs after her. She has to know he wouldn’t have done it if he’d known. She has to know he will fight to keep her now that he knows. But when he seizes her arm, she hauls around and slaps him, hard enough to turn his face.

It’s not the worst hit he’s taken, not by a long shot, but its sting is entirely different. There’s something fiery in her eyes, and, for the first time, he’s aware that he is not the only one who has been in agony these long months. Oh, he would undo it all now if he could. He would pull her in and kiss her over and over until they both stopped hurting.

Except she still looks murderous. Getting close to her face is probably not a good idea if he doesn’t want to be bitten. (He does kind of want to be bitten, just…in a very different scenario.)

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he says, carefully, and his hand finds hers. To his great surprise, she lets their fingers lace together, and his heart seizes with a wild hope. It does not mean she loves you, he thinks. He fumbles. “No, it’s not that, not exactly. I didn’t think I could hurt you. And I never thought you would be afraid of me.”

“And did you like it?” Jude asks, narrowing her eyes.

His cheek is hot from the slap of her hand, and now with shame. Because how is he supposed to answer that? He didn’t hate being more powerful for once. He didn’t hate being the one with the answer to the riddle.

“Well, I was hurt.” He’s hesitated too long, and now Jude’s pressing on. “And yes, you scare me.”

Cardan finds himself taking in her full face then, the one that has always seemed so defiant and fearless and headstrong.

“You’ve always scared me,” Jude is saying, and this is what almost undoes him. She repeats it, telling him again and again each moment she had been afraid of him, and with each one, his mind bursts a little more. This doesn’t seem real. “And I am scared of you now,” she concludes, that defiant gleam in her eye til the end.

Cardan is speechless. And Cardan’s never speechless.

There was a time when he enjoyed playing a villain in her heroic story line, but she wasn’t supposed to be truly afraid of him. She was supposed to vanquish him and make him beg for her kindness. (And he would now. He really would.)

(Maybe he will.)

“You despised me,” Jude reminds him, because he does need reminding. He’s not sure now if he ever really did. “When you said you wanted me, it felt like the world had turned upside down. But sending me into exile, that made sense. That was an entirely right-side-up Cardan move. And I hated myself for not seeing it coming. And I hate myself for not seeing what you’re going to do to me next.”

At that, Cardan closes his eyes. Hopelessness is threatening to overtake him. Fear has created this monster before him, the one who irrevocably holds his heart. Is it possible to unmake such a curse? He’s certainly been unable to find a cure for his own fear, lifelong coward that he is.

When she’d first returned and his heart was freshly cracked, he’d thought back to a fairy story about a boy cursed with a heart of stone and the monster he took as his bride. It had been patience and fearlessness that had won over the monster in the end – something the boy had managed only because of his stony heart.

So, Cardan thinks of stones then. Of pulling together all his cracked and raw edges. Of being impenetrable and solid and fearless. He thinks of doing what needs to be done. He needs her, for so many things, and she must know that. Perhaps it is folly to wish for anything more than simply averting a crisis.

But he can’t manage it if he’s looking at her. He releases her hand and turns away.

“I can see why you thought what you did,” he says at last. “I suppose I am not an easy person to trust. And maybe I ought not to be trusted, but let me say this: I trust you.”

Patience. Fearlessness. Deep breath.

“You may recall that I did not want to be High King. And that you did not consult me before plopping this crown on my head. You may further recollect that Balekin didn’t want me to keep the title and that the Living Council never took a real shine to me.

“There was a prophecy given when I was born. Usually Baphen is uselessly vague, but in this case, he made it clear that should I rule, I would make a very poor king.” It hurts more than he thought it would to say it out loud. “The destruction of the crown, the ruination of the throne – a lot of dramatic language.”

He has to be cavalier about it; it stings too much otherwise. It’s been the bane of his existence, this prophecy. It is the reason his entire childhood was filled with nothing but dismissal and cruelty. It’s the very, very low standard he’s spent his whole life trying not to meet. The best his family had ever hoped for from him was his complete and utter disappearance – and he’d failed to do even that.

He turns back to Jude. Patience. Fearlessness. He has so much more to say. He has so much more he wants to be than this. Deep breath.

“When you forced me into working for the Court of Shadows, I never thought of the things I could do – frightening people, charming people – as talents, no less ones that might be valuable. But you did. You showed me how to use them to be useful. I never minded being a minor villain, but it’s possible I might have grown into something else, a High King as monstrous as Dain. And if I did – if I fulfilled that prophecy, I ought to be stopped. And I believe that you would stop me.”

Jude sputters at that, blinking hard.

“Stop you?” she echoes. “Sure. If you’re a huge jerk and a threat to Elfhame, I’ll pop your head right off.”

“Good.” And he means it. To die by Jude’s hand would be a dream. “That’s one reason I didn’t want to believe you’d joined up with Madoc. The other is that I want you here by my side,” and just for good measure, just in case she still isn’t getting it: “As my queen.”

But he can’t read the expression on Jude’s face when he says it – if it brings her joy, if it brings her more distress. He’s not sure what else he could have said to make it any more clear. And now her silence is threatening to eat him alive. This reeks of the beginnings of yet another rejection.

He smiles at her, instinctively, a last ditch effort to make this even slightly less awkward.

“But now that you’re High Queen and back in charge, I won’t be doing anything of consequence anyway,” he promises. “If I destroy the crown and ruin the throne, it will only be through neglect.”

He wants her to smile back. To roll her eyes at him and act like she isn’t amused when she so clearly is. He’s missed that, oh, how he’s missed that.

He gets all that and more when she blurts out a laugh.

“So that’s your excuse for not doing any of the work?” She quirks an eyebrow, and it makes his heart swell. They’re smiling together again. He’d needed that, too, more than he’d realized. “You must be draped in decadence at all times because if you aren’t kept busy, you might fulfill some half-baked prophecy.”

“Exactly,” he says. Exactly… It’s more true than he wants it to be. His smile fades. And Jude is looking more tired than he’s comfortable with. He hopes he has not pushed her too hard. He touches her arm, gently, not thinking. Her gaze catches his, soft and warm. He finds himself leaning in…

“Would you like me to inform the Council that you will see them another time?” he asks. “It will be a novelty to have me make your excuses.”

But Jude is stalwart and determined as ever. He expected nothing less.

He pulls back. She does not need him. Not like he needs her.

“No, I’m ready,” she says.

How he wishes he could say the same.

-----------

Tagging: @yellowavocadopit, @dagypsygirl, @ireallyshouldsleeprn, @booklover-sleeplover, @mwejh, @courtofjurdan, @faeriequeenofwest, @sugawsites, @loveyourselfsolid, @owl0y0s, @feelinglikecleopatra, @akaloto, @charrise, @persephxnecoven, @raging-bisexual-alert, @rteme, @nahthanks, @addies-invisible-life, @elorcanislife, @snusbandxknifewife, @poeticbrownmermaid, @duarteegreenbriar, @thefolkofthefic, @alittledribbledrabble, @carmensworld17, @annejulianneh111, @amandlas, @elriel4life, @idk-what-name-to-use, @thewickedkings, @juliazato, @woodsbeyond1, @booksmusicandgoodvibes, 

[gumnut-logic]

Callisto (Part Six - Rescue Site)

Prologue 1. Incident - Bit 1 | Bit 2 2. Fallout - Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 3. Voyage - Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 4. Arrival - Bit 1 | Bit 2 5. Orientation 6. Rescue Site

This fic seems to be taking forever, but I hope it isn’t reading that way. I had so much fun over the weekend and I still have some fun ahead of me writing one of the core scenes I had planned. I hope you are enjoying reading this.

As always, many thanks to the amazing @tsarinatorment​ @scribbles97​ @janetm74​ and @vegetacide​ as well for all the read throughs and support. Wonderful science officer @onereyofstarlight​ this bit has one of the places we talked about extensively and wouldn’t exist without your help :D

Again, thank you to all the wonderful peeps who have been reading along and commenting despite the once a week posting schedule. You help keep my enthusiasm alive and you have no idea how much I appreciate every word of encouragement ::hugs you all::

Have a Tracy boy or two on the job :D

-o-o-o-

Scott rolled his shoulders and tried to stretch out the tension that was slowly giving him a headache.

At least now they were moving. This rescue felt like it was taking forever.

Hell, it was the same with most space recues, if even more with this one. The distances involved just went on and on and no matter how fast the Thunderbird, it was slow.

It rankled Scott just a little. The fact that the environment could not be influenced by his impatience.

And Dad…

He shunted the thought aside. Perhaps that was why he scorned the time needed. It gave him far too much time to think.

The tunnel stretched out before him as it had for some time now. The life signs were nearly seven hundred kilometres away from Callisto Base. Usually, this was not a problem. There wasn’t a Thunderbird that couldn’t cover that distance in a short period of time. Even Four could do it at velocities no other underwater craft had ever managed.

But this location was at least two kilometres underground, and while the molepod was always an option, Virgil had vetoed it with the option of travelling via dragonfly through the tunnels. Scott had to agree. They needed far more information before barrelling into an unknown situation, not to mention the difficulties of deploying the molepod in these conditions.

But by this point he was almost ready to jump out and blast a hole in the damned moon to get where they needed to go.

Time. So much damned time.

Too much to think.

His hands shifted on the Dragonfly’s controls spinning her into a dive as the tunnel dipped suddenly. The brilliance of the pod’s forward lights lit up the never-ending cave as clear as daylight.

It sparkled back at him in sharp, stabbing needle-like reflections off the walls that did nothing to improve his headache. He had already set his helmet to shade to protect himself. It was ridiculous to be needing sunglasses this far underground.

Behind him, Virgil was following him at a short distance in Dragonfly Two, his lights just bright enough to light up the red of Scott’s pod.

For some irrational reason Scott wanted his pod to be blue.

The blue of the sky he was currently missing.

He sighed.

Again, too much time to think.

“Another five hundred metres.” Alan’s voice from behind him was the reassurance it always was. Why he felt comforted when his littlest brother was nearby and within reach was something he did not want to examine too much.

A twist of his wrists as the tunnel backed around on itself in a hairpin of a turn and he had to dodge another nest of those weird deformed ice stalactite formations sticking out into their path. “What are we looking at?”

“Looks like another cavern. A big one.”

They had flown through several of those enormous caverns on the way out here already. They acted like junctions, some having multiple tunnels converging on them, every single one a home for more ice formations and that damned reflective rock. It had taken John to get them out of the last one. This place was a damned maze.

Virgil had fortunately come prepared, as always. He was leaving a trail of comms-support beacons behind them as a clear path to return to Callisto Base.

Scott fought the urge to duck as the tunnel suddenly shrunk by several metres and took another swerving turn. Scott spun the pod over one-eighty degrees on her longitudinal axis as her wings nearly scraped the ceiling.

Righting them finally, he couldn’t help but check his monitor to make sure Virgil took the turn safely.

He almost smiled as the green pod behind them flipped in a manoeuvre that no doubt had Gordon yelping in the back seat. He couldn’t help but be proud for just a self-indulgent moment.

But his attention was torn away as his pod suddenly shot into a large open space and the light reflecting off the walls suddenly blinded him.

Alan’s gasp behind him only echoed his own.

Their forward lights were being shot at them in blinding brilliance off the ceiling of the new cave.

That brightness only increased as Virgil’s pod spun into a hover beside them.

Oh god.

Whatever had been in the walls of the tunnels was obviously concentrated here.

He redirected the lamps away from the ceiling only to have the brilliance follow them all the way down the closest wall until he was able to turn the pod towards the most distant wall.

Crystal.

There was crystal everywhere.

The cave walls were covered in spikes of the stuff as it they were inside a giant geode. He had to acknowledge that it was stunningly amazing when it wasn’t ripping his eyeballs out.

But that wasn’t what took his breath away.

As their lamps lowered, they caught the edges of something else.

He turned the lights down towards the floor only to discover he couldn’t see it.

Because it was covered in water.

Fluid, liquid water, the dragonflies causing the faintest of ripples to dance across its surface.

A lake.

Scott’s jaw dropped as he tipped the pod to peer down into the dark water only to have more crystal attempt to stab him in the eye from the depths.

“What the hell?”

Water wasn’t supposed to be able to exist in this environment. He poked at his scanners. Atmospheric levels were the same, ever so thin, providing little to no air pressure or heat to keep the water in this state.

“John? What am I seeing?”

Thunderbird Five did not answer immediately, but the data transmission rate on comms doubled as his space brother reached his fingers into the cave through the pod’s sensors.

“Impossible.”

“That was my thought. Virgil?”

“It’s beautiful.”

Scott’s lips thinned. “Scientific explanation? Gordon?”

“You got me here, bro. But I’m more concerned about those lifesigns.”

Scott frowned and double checked his readout. The two dots registered, glowing strongly at him.

From under the water.

-o-o-o-

Virgil frowned as Scott spun his dragonfly around and returned to the entrance of the cavern. His forward lights lit up only what could be considered a beach where the original tunnel swooped in and connected with the crystal cave. At the base there was only a few scattered crystal formations and Virgil watched as his brother expertly put down without touching a single one.

“Are we going to take a look at the lake?”

Typical. Nearby water body and his fish brother wanted in it.

But Virgil needed more reconnaissance.

And if he was honest with himself, there was just a dash of sightseeing involved. Not much, because of the urgency of the mission, but enough curiosity to send him off on a scout around the cavern.

Crystals that had to be the length of an arm or a leg stuck out from the walls in haphazard directions. Most reflected back clear, but in streaks, as if seeping up a localised mineral, there were ribbons of colour in places – reds, greys, golds, pinks. His scanners spat back that it was simply quartz, silicon dioxide, but he had never seen a formation like this.

Which was understandable as this was an alien landscape with vastly different environs to those of Earth. The artist in him was literally stunned, while the scientist valiantly fought for a reason.

He swooped around the edges of the cavern, his lamps lighting up brilliance as he went. The cave proved to be roughly circular, approximately four hundred metres in diameter and about a hundred metres high. He came across two more tunnels leading off it, but all were as dry as the one they had used to enter the cave. Towards the centre, but not quite, the ceiling arched down and what appeared to be a stalactite met a stalagmite to form a column of swirling crystal that looked like something straight out of an art glass exhibition. The ribbons of colour were here too, but this time mostly in a rose pink and a startling blue.

Virgil didn’t have words.

The light playing among the crystals just touched every artistic sense he had and froze them solid.

But there was a mission and those two glowing red dots glared at him from beneath the surface of the lake.

He ran scans of the water. For it was water, mostly, though, certainly not any he would want to drink.

For one thing it was salty, a definite brine solution with a number of minerals including silica in concentrations that defied as much logic as the water’s existence did in the first place.

The difficulty was that the lifesigns weren’t clear. They were in the water, but resolution faded at a very shallow depth and there was a lot of deep depth in places.

“John, can you get any more resolution on these scans? I can’t pinpoint the lifesigns.”

There was a muttered curse on comms that had Virgil arching an eyebrow. “No, I’m sorry, Virgil. Interference is particularly strong in that cavern. We’re working on it, but I don’t have any great hopes.”

“What about a probe? Would that improve the signal?” Virgil blinked as his headache suddenly flared. Ow. Damn. The controls in front of him blurred a moment. Shit!

But then everything righted itself, just leaving an echo of the pain in his head as the headache droned on as it had before.

Maybe his painkillers were wearing off. A glance at the time proved that was far from the case.

He dreaded to think what that would have felt like without them.

“Virg?”

“What?!” Okay, so he was abrupt, but he was busy.

“Hey, hey, calm down. You didn’t answer John. Just checking on you.”

“Virgil, you there?” John’s voice dripped concern.

Shit.

“Sorry. Just got a headache. Need some sleep.”

“I feel you, bro. Want me to pilot?”

“No. No. I’m fine.” He swallowed bile and mentally shook himself. “John, you were saying?”

He could feel Gordon’s eyes on the back of his neck.

“Probe deployed. Target is Burr Crater, which you are directly under at the moment.”

Virgil’s display reported the probe entering Callisto’s atmosphere. He hoped it would give them enough information to act.

Time was ticking.

He spun the pod around and tried to ignore the rainbow of light that was his forward lamps. The flicker, while beautiful, was doing nothing good for his headache at all.

“You sure you’re okay, Virg?”

He pressed his lips together and considered ignoring the question from Gordon. But he knew if he did, his brother would only worry more.

It was a Tracy trait.

“Let’s just get this mission done. We have people who need saving.”

Gordon’s grunt wasn’t a happy one and the chances of Scott being called in on his headache were increasing by the moment.

“I’m fine, Gordon.” He cut the conversation off by dropping the pod rapidly towards the beach where Scott had climbed out and was walking to the water’s edge. Another spin mid-air and Virgil lowered into a rather delicate landing, keeping the pod’s feet away from the crystal formations sticking out of the rock.

Virgil swallowed again before climbing out of the pod. His boots hit solid but glittering rock, damp in the darkness.

Scott and Alan were standing at the water’s edge staring out at the spectacle that the pod lights lit up.

Gordon clambered out behind Virgil and together they both walked over to stand beside their brothers.

“This is so cool!” Alan was obviously excited.

He said it on external comms and the sound travelled across the cavern only to bounce back in so many perfect ‘ool’s Virgil’s eyes widened.

On the spur of that, as the ‘ool’s slowly faded away, he activated his own external comm and sung a single pure C note.

It came back at him from so many different directions it was like a chorus.

“Oh, wow.”

‘Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow…’ It went on, the faint atmosphere sporting just enough density to carry the sound waves.

“That is something, isn’t it?” Scott’s voice was quiet. “The dragonflies made one hell of a racket. We’re going to have to be careful. Wouldn’t want to set up a harmonic that could bring the roof down on us.”

Virgil was still processing. The thought of playing his piano in this cave was just mind boggling.

“Dad says the Base scientists are having some kind of scientific fit over this place.” A grunt. “I’m more concerned about those two lifesigns.” He paused. “John, any luck with the probe?”

“Unfortunately, no. The interference is just too thick. I can read the water, but very little in it or below it. I’ll keep trying.”

Scott sighed. “Keep us updated. Looks like this will have to be more hands on.” He turned to Gordon. “We need Thunderbird Four.”

-o-o-o-

Next

[girlboss-molina]

Be Who You Are (No Compromise)

A Julie and the Phantoms Modern Royalty AU

Chapter 2: A Tale of Punches and Pancakes

AO3 Link

Words: 9389

-----

Alex POV

...

The jet ride was nice from a glance, but insufferable for Alex. His wish to leave his anxieties in Tambor? Yeah, he knew that was bullshit. As the miles passed, his stomach bubbled and knotted more and more until he had no room for the small wrapped chocolates in the dish at the back of the plane. The fluffy clouds seemed to taunt him with their serenity, making him feel out of place with his disgust, anxiety, and anger. 

Why, why, did he have to be put in an arranged goddamn marriage when he was nineteen? The gods hated him, for sure. 

He was back to considering options in his fake-your-death-to-get-out-of-it plan when Luke finally broke the silence.

“Dude, you okay?”

“Have a guess.” The sarcasm in his voice was tangible. 

“Yes?”

“Have another guess.” Alex barely smiled at Luke’s laugh. “I just… I hate this. Julie’s awesome, dude, she’s one of my best friends. But I don’t want to marry her.”

“I feel you,” Luke responded. “I really, really want to get you out of it.”

“Thanks.” Alex went back to staring at the clouds.

…

As the plane touched down, the rumbling shook up the nerves in Alex’s stomach, and he had to shut his eyes and focus on his breathing and the feeling of Luke’s hand on his. He did his best not to crease his vest as he leaned over, holding on tight. 

When he felt the motion in his ears stop, he carefully opened his eyes, relieved when he wasn’t nauseous. Of course, he couldn’t get rid of the anxiety. 

They’d landed in the runway behind the Dahlia palace, and thankfully, the small amount of vision he had out his plane window only showed the back of the palace and, on the other side, the tall, forested mountains in which he and Julie had run around in many times when they were younger. The scene was calming, and settled his nerves. 

As the doors opened, sending a crisp blast of cold Dahlian air in his face, the familiar smell of petrichor and honey reminded him of when he and Julie would run for hours, climbing trees as high as they could, despite Ray’s constant warnings and pleas for them to be careful. How simple it would be, really, to run out the plane door and across the runway until he was back, surrounded by the branches. It would be a nightmare, of course; he barely knew how to make a fire, which was definitely a skill he would need if he were to survive on his own in the cool Dahlian climate. Surely he could figure it out, though. It couldn’t be that hard. And the motivation of not having to act straight for the rest of his life would certainly help. He wondered just how fast he could run-

He was jolted back to reality by Luke excitedly hitting his shoulder. 

“Your highness, as your Royal Best Dude™ I am legally required to get you up and moving so that you don’t start spiraling. Plus, I’m hungry.” Alex rolled his eyes and laughed despite himself. 

He wasn’t going through this alone.  

…

He should’ve expected the cameras, really. But the bright flashes startled him as soon as he stepped out of the plane, and he had to quickly struggle to compose himself. He gave small smiles and respectful waves, walking across the long runway to the limousine waiting for him. He would be making a round past the palace gates before formally entering the palace from the front. So he climbed into the lush leather seats, with Erik and Luke right behind him, and sat down, squeezing his hands into fists and then running his fingertips over the indents from his nails. 

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together as he tapped his foot. He wouldn’t admit it, but the feeling of Luke’s and Erik’s hands on his shoulders helped. A lot. Tension melted away from him, and while he was still nervous, he somehow managed to stand and steadily walk out of the limo, a smile breaking out on his face as he saw Julie. 

Alex wasn’t sure why he was surprised at how beautiful Julie was, there really was no paralleling her beauty. And yet, his heart swelled with pride at seeing her elegant violet dress, embroidered with dahlias. 

“Alex, why the hell do you walk so fast?” asked Luke, breathing heavily and trying to keep up. 

“I’m gay. Next question.” 

“That’s fair.” 

As he ran to Julie, Alex was so caught up in the euphoria of seeing his friend in person that, for a moment, he lived in a world where the paparazzi wasn’t a thing. But he didn’t care. Julie saw him and ran through the gardens, a huge grin visible from hundreds of feet away. She ran to him, her gown flowing in the breeze, and as soon as they were within a few feet of each other, Julie jumped and Alex let out an “oof” as he caught her in a hug, spinning around and laughing.

“It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed, and Alex nodded.

“Yeah, you too! Even though we, you know, FaceTimed last night.”

“Eh, details. Besides, the press wants a happy reunion.”

“Fair.”

“How was the plane ride?” 

“Amazing,” Alex said. “Nothing better than being on the edge of a panic attack while you’re thousands of feet in the air.”

“I’ll fight your anxiety,” Julie decided. “Tell it to meet me behind the Denny’s tonight.” Alex snorted. 

“I’d rather you didn’t punch my brain. I kinda need it.”

“Do you?” Alex gasped in mock offense.

“Okay, rudeness aside, I think this is the part where we walk around the garden and pretend we don’t know there are photojournalists hiding behind the bushes.” Julie nodded and took his arm.

As they strolled around the gardens, the aroma of flowers settled some of Alex’s nerves. He never turned around to make sure Luke was there, but he somehow knew. It was the Royal Best Dude™ telepathy, probably. And Erik was probably bringing his suitcase up to wherever he would be staying. So, Alex did his best to relax and hang out with his friend.

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” he noted. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, and Alex soon followed. 

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” Julie said. “It has a nice ring to it.” Alex nodded. 

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.”

A few moments passed, including Julie gently picking a rose from the garden, one with a pale pink coloring, and sticking it behind Alex’s ear. When it wouldn’t stay, she scrunched her nose and carefully tucked it into the breast pocket of his vest. 

“You look absolutely dashing, your highness,” she said with a fake, posh accent. Alex giggled and rolled his eyes. 

“You’re a dork.”

“I know.” 

…

His room was really something. 

After he and Julie had finished their walk around the gardens, they’d given each other cordial bows (of course tied with a friendly wink, because they were just Like That), and Erik had shown him up to his quarters. Luke followed, and Alex noticed his cheeks were considerably red. 

It was chillier in Dahlia than it was in Tambor, though, and Luke had never been Plus, a breeze had flown in during the last ten minutes of their walk, on which Luke was shadowing. He was probably flushed from the cold air. 

He was down the hall from Julie’s room, in one of the guest rooms he’d used when playing hide-and-seek with Julie when they were kids. But it had been completely refurbished, since he would be staying there for a few months.

The soft carpet was a creamy tan, and the large, full-length mirrors let in sunlight that cast gentle shadows from the posters on the giant bed, which was adorned with blue sheets and pillows, with gold and pink accents. The dark, forest green walls gave the room a soothing effect, and the twinkling fairy lights were like fireflies in a meadow. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, glittering with diamonds and gold. A mahogany record player sat on a media table, along with wireless chargers for his phone and laptop, next to the sliding door that led to a huge bathroom. The tiles were light tan and grey, peppered with flecks of quartz that shimmered in the light. A giant tub sat near a tinted window, as well as a vanity with a majestic painted mirror. The shower could’ve fit his entire bed.

Even though he wasn’t keen on marrying Julie, he wouldn’t dislike his stay here. 

“Dude,” Luke whispered. “Your room is awesome.” 

“I know, right? Definitely nicer than my room in Tambor.” 

As Alex went to his giant suitcase full of neatly folded clothes, beginning to tuck them into drawers and onto hangers, Luke helped out. 

“So,” Alex began, breaking the silence. “How are you liking Dahlia so far?”

“It’s great! Kinda cold, but I’ll get used to it. And… Julie seems really nice.”

Alex definitely didn’t miss Luke’s blush when he mentioned the princess, and his lips raised into a smirk.

“Yeah, she is. You should get to know her at dinner tonight.” Luke cleared his throat.

“Uh, yeah. Definitely.”

“You good?”

“Totally,” he insisted, though his voice rose an octave and Alex couldn’t suppress his laugh. 

“Sure.”

…

The dinner was incredible. Platters of roast beef sat next to giant bowls of mashed potatoes, and the bread appetizers were soft and delicious. And, even though he was legally allowed to have alcohol based on Dahlian laws, he thought better of it, instead filling his glass with water. He noticed that Julie did the same. 

“Not a fan of wine?” he asked. 

“Nah, not really. It always gives me a stomachache.” 

“Same.”

Alex went back to his food, before noticing a man around his age eyeing him. He had dark hair and was dressed in a red vest and dark grey shirt. He seemed quite kind, if the small smile on his face had any say.

“That’s your brother, Reggie, right? I think I’ve only met him once.”

Julie followed Alex’s gaze. “Oh yeah! You would get along great, I think.”

“Cool.”

…

Before dessert was brought up, everyone in the grand hall got to mingle for about twenty minutes and let their food settle. Alex let Julie introduce him to Reggie, with whom he immediately hit it off. 

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!”

“That’s awesome, dude.”

Their conversation lasted a bit longer, and Alex felt confident that he and Reggie would be good friends, especially because of his lighthearted demeanor, and their bro-hug before Alex was pulled away to talk to another nobleman. 

He was bounced around like a ping-pong ball, being chatted up by guest after guest. Soon, though, he needed some air, so he searched to room for King Ray.

“Your majesty?” he asked, jogging over. Ray turned to him and gave a warm smile, shaking his hand.

“Hello, Alex. You can call me Ray. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. I was just wondering if I could sneak out the back for a moment? I need some air.” Ray laughed.

“Of course, son. I told them to give you some space,” he noted, guestering to the nobles, “but I doubt they were able to contain their excitement.” Alex nodded, grateful for Ray’s chill vibes. “Try to be back in ten minutes?”

“Of course.”

Ray nodded and patted his shoulder, and Alex stepped through the back door of the grand hall, grateful when he didn’t see anyone. He took a deep breath, fiddling with the hem of his vest. 

A voice caught his ear. 

“-yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa. The mousse is in the refrigerator-” 

Alex whirled around, searching for whoever had spoken, but before he could…

WHAM. 

A cold rush of air blew from behind him as a door opened, and someone ran into him.

Hard.

Alex stumbled forward, trying to catch himself but to no avail. His momentum swung him forward, leaving him on the ground. 

“Whoa!” he started, looking at the person who’d ran him over, and…

Oh fuck, he thought. He’s hot. 

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” the man cut off, his cheeks flushing. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and Alex blushed. 

“No, you’re good, bro.” 

Alex got a good look at him, and felt his cheeks flush. He had long, silky brown hair that fell over his shoulders in waves, and smooth brown skin that had darkened in a blush. His dark eyes were kind and playful, adorned with long eyelashes. 

Alex inhaled slowly, trying to ignore the rising gay panic. 

“Are you okay?” the man asked. 

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” To Alex’s surprise, the man giggled, and holy fuck, if he wasn’t already adorable, that would’ve been the tipping point. Creases folded at the corners of his eyes, and his perfect smile turned lopsided as he laughed. 

“I did pancake you, huh?” Alex tried to laugh, and the man cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Alex reached for his hand. “Alex,” he greeted, still hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt. 

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert. But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie said with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens. Alex nodded, even though he was already gone. 

-----

Julie POV

...

As soon as Alex’s plane touched down, Julie couldn’t hide her excitement. She rushed through her photos, and as soon as she could see him, she took off running, a huge grin on her face. The silky fabric of her dress flapped against her shins, and she sprinted even faster, ignoring the goosebumps on her arms. 

As soon as she reached him, she jumped into the hug, laughing as he spun her around. They might have FaceTimed the day before, but it just wasn’t the same as seeing him in person. He was one of her best friends, and the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in so long was frankly biphobic. 

But as she spun around, finally opening her eyes, Julie caught sight of Alex’s guard. She’d never formally met him, and she’d always thought he was cute, but wow. 

He had deep hazel eyes and pale skin, cheeks flushed from the cold, his wavy brown hair neatly styled, with a touch of personal flair. His chiseled jawline cast a shadow on his neck, and his biceps were visible through his dark jacket. Julie tried to look away and focus on her friend, because now was the literal worst time to develop a crush on someone she barely knew. 

Not that she had a crush on him, or anything. 

Julie forced those thoughts out of her head, and scolded her stupid heart for fluttering when she caught his gaze. She turned back to Alex, laughing when he insinuated that photojournalists would be hiding behind the bushes. 

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” Alex told her. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed, silently agreeing.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, soon followed by Alex.

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” she said, letting the words flow off her tongue. “It has a nice ring to it.” 

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.” There wasn’t a doubt in her voice, either. 

Julie had met Ava when she was eight. Ava had been thirteen, and was the coolest thirteen-year-old ever, in little Julie’s opinion. She vaguely remembered hanging out in her room with her, and thinking she was just the coolest ever. Then again, she was an eight year old. To an eight year old, all thirteen-year-olds are cool (or gross, but we don’t talk about that).

Julie walked with Alex, chatting about random things, including plans to get out of the arranged marriage, each more complicated than the next. Julie couldn’t stop herself from laughing when Alex brought up his temptation to just run into the woods with no supplies or survival skills, and just be a gay forest cryptid. She was quite fond of it, to be honest. 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any plans that didn’t involve either faking their deaths, or something treasonous, neither of which would be good. At least, not in anyone else’s opinions. 

…

After Alex went up to his room, Julie did the same, and immediately flopped on her bed, finally allowing herself to process her thoughts about, well, everything.

God, she wanted out of this marriage. She knew Alex did as well. They’d talked about it endlessly over FaceTime, texting, and just now, in person. But neither of them could come up with an actual plan or a good enough reason to halt it. Because, you know, the people actually getting married never get a say. 

Plus, it did not help that Alex’s guard, who she’d learned was named Luke, was really cute. She furrowed her brow. She’d never even had a real conversation with the guy. Not that it mattered, of course. She remembered when she was fifteen and had already decided that Nick Danforth-Evans was a sweetheart, even though she’d only had one real conversation with him. 

But this felt different somehow. She couldn’t help but feel like Luke was actually really nice. She just got those vibes from him. She cursed her stupid heart for making her feel things. No, Molina. There’s no such thing as liking a cute guard. 

It didn’t work. 

She stared at her ceiling, watching flecks of dust float around the air, and jumped when Flynn and Carrie walked into her room without knocking. It wasn’t like she actually expected them to knock, but she’d zoned out and the sudden sound took her by surprise. 

“I know that look,” Flynn said matter-of-factly. “What’s the crisis about?”

“What isn’t it about?”

“Uh uh, don’t try to deflect by answering my question with another question,” Flynn scolded, and Carrie bit back a laugh. 

“I just…” she searched for an excuse. “I love that Alex is here, but I don’t want to marry him,” she said, remembering that the best lies were based on the truth. “And he’s gay, so I know for a fact he doesn’t want to marry me. Plus, you know. We’ve expressed that multiple times. And I know there’s really nothing I can do about it, because it’s all arranged, and bitching about it does nothing to help, but honestly? I’m just feeling bitchy.” 

“As you should,” Carrie agreed, to Julie’s surprise. “If anyone deserves to be a little bitchy, it’s you. I mean, come on. You’re a teenage girl who never actually got a normal life because you’re frickin’ Princess Julie Molina, heiress to the throne of Dahlia. And you’re stuck in an arranged marriage with one of your best friends, and neither of you want it, but you can’t actually change it. I’d be bitchy too.”

“Thank you for summing that up,” Julie deadpanned. “But… it helps. Thanks.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“She’s right, Jules,” Flynn agreed. “Be the bitchy bisexual you deserve to be.” That elicited a laugh, and Julie couldn’t help but leave the smile resting on her face. 

“Alright,” she decided. “We have self-defense in half an hour, so we should get ready.” Flynn nodded and pulled Julie off of her bed, leading her to the giant walk-in closet, searching the hundreds of options, but steering clear from the gowns. 

Flynn and Carrie must’ve known she needed cheering up, because they sarcastically suggested the biggest, poofiest gowns Julie owned, tied with a tight shawl and the wobbliest heels imaginable. Julie laughed despite herself, especially since she could barely walk in the shoes they’d picked. She was also taller than six feet, which was a plus, but she would pick stability over height any day, especially when she was going to practice kicking people’s asses. 

Eventually, she settled on flexible black leggings with a purple stripe going down the outside of each leg, and a simple white tunic that starkly contrasted her dark skin. It was fitted but she could move easily in it, stretching into a backbend to make sure. 

She sighed and allowed Flynn and Carrie to take either arm and lead her downstairs to the training arena. 

…

The training arena was a huge room, the floors completely covered in mats, aside from the giant gymnastic trampolines at the far corner and the running track that traversed the perimeter. On the far side opposite the trampolines were sets of weights and treadmills, as well as other equipment like bars and benches. Punching bags were hung sporadically around the martial arts area, which was also used for tumbling and floor routines. 

Lady Athena gave a smile as they walked in, soon followed by Reggie and Mira. Lady Athena was a tall, muscular woman with silky black hair that was always in a high ponytail. Her bronze skin glittered with sweat, and her two-piece athleisure outfit left her chiseled abs on display. 

“Alright,” she said, clapping her hands. “Reggie, since you’re bigger, you’re with me. You four, pair up and practice your hand-to-hand skills. Remember the blocks we learned last week.” Julie nodded and paired with Flynn, immediately getting into position.

“Head’s up,” she warned with a smirk, before lunging with a punch that would’ve hit Flynn square in the chest if not for her catlike reflexes. She knocked Julie’s hand out of the way, and Julie had to twist to avoid Flynn’s counterattack, letting herself lean backwards. But when she almost fell, she used it to her advantage, hopping backwards onto one hand and spinning, tripping Flynn by kicking her feet out from under her. Before Flynn could recover, Julie pounced over her, grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her fist back, ready to attack. She didn’t follow through, obviously, but she knew she had good form. 

“Well done, your highness,” praised Lady Athena. Julie blushed.

“Thanks.”

“Whatever,” Flynn grumbled, and Julie laughed. “Rematch?”

“You’re on.”

…

Julie had defeated Flynn four times to two, and was feeling very confident. It must’ve helped, exercising, because her worries about Alex and Luke were far away as she battled Carrie and then Mira. Or, they were until a certain brunette guard walked in the room in a sleeveless shirt and shorts that showed off his muscles. 

She shouldn’t have let herself get distracted, though, because in her haze, Mira managed to throw her off balance and win their round. 

“Hah! That’s two each!” She outstretched her hand, which Julie gratefully accepted, pulling her up. 

“Good job,” she said, still distracted but keeping her eyes far away from Luke. 

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” Luke asked, and Julie could no longer ignore him. 

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin that was so adorable it made Julie flush. By some miracle, nobody noticed. 

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” With that, Lady Athena stalked off, her ponytail swaying behind her. 

Luke walked over to Reggie, and Julie did her best not to stare as Reggie guided Luke, and they began sparring. Luke was surprisingly agile, but he was too enthusiastic, reaching for every possible blow, not realizing where he left himself vulnerable. But his puppy eyes when Reggie defeated him were too cute. 

Julie cleared her throat and turned away. 

“Tiebreaker?” Mira nodded, and they went to sparring. Julie ducked and dodged every hit of Mira’s, even getting in a few herself, but she was thrown off when she heard Luke laugh, a musical, joyful sound, and Mira took advantage of her momentary slip, finally beating her. 

“Yes!” Mira jumped and pumped her fist, then helped Julie up. 

“Nice job!” Julie grinned with the words, high-fiving Mira. 

“Alright, break time.”

Julie walked to the edge of the wall where she’d left her water bottle and towel, almost choking on her water when she heard Luke’s voice behind her. 

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Julie smiled and outstretched her hand, shaking Luke’s. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a smile, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.”

“Oh, that’s Flynn.”

“Cool. But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.” 

Well.

If Julie hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now. At least Luke’s cheeks were only red because of the intense workouts. 

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented. And oh, his smile really was a beautiful thing. 

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Julie’s stomach dropped, and she inhaled, a denial already on her tongue, before she realized that her coach was looking at Flynn and Carrie, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing. 

She practiced a bit more with Carrie, doing her best to ignore the boy next to her. When the class finally ended, she hurriedly thanked Lady Athena before rushing up to shower.

Letting the hot water wash over her, she pondered how the hell Luke had wiggled his way into her heart so quickly within one conversation. 

Was she being brainwashed into liking a guy she barely knew?

Was this some elaborate trick that whatever higher being existed had orchestrated as a ploy to get her out of the arranged marriage?

… And more importantly, would it work? 

The thought made her laugh. Not that she didn’t slightly believe this was all some sort of elaborate trick to get her to commit treason and fall in love with someone she wasn’t supposed to, but it was funny nonetheless.

…

After she’d done her best to set the record for hottest, soapiest shower possible, Julie wrapped herself in a towel, massaging peach lotion into her skin, the scent matching her shampoo. As she rubbed it into her hands, she imagined what it would feel like holding Luke’s hand, before quickly banishing the thought away to the depths of simpy hell.

This was worse than she thought. 

She changed into her evening gown for the dinner, allowing Mira to lace up the back. It was all navy blue, a long strapless dress that reached her ankles, with a see-through tulle layer over top that went up to a sleeveless halter neckline, leaving the rest of the tulle layer to flow down neatly over the rest of the silky dress, which tightened at the waist. Tiny diamonds had been sewn into the tulle at her waist, high in concentration before gently tapering off the lower in the skirt they went.

“Okay,” Carrie said, walking in with Flynn beside her. “I think I speak for everyone when I say, damn. That dress is fine.” Flynn nodded enthusiastically. 

“I know, right?” Mira said excitedly. “I actually helped tailor this one! It was one of my favorites to make.”

“And for a good reason,” Julie agreed. “Mira, you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Not quite,” she said, turning Julie towards the vanity. “I’m thinking we do something simple but elegant for your hair?”

“I vote for that,” Flynn interjected. 

“Sure!”

Mira set to work, combing through Julie’s hair with her fingers. Julie closed her eyes. She’d always loved the feeling of people playing with her hair, and as Mira wove her dark locks into two thick braids that soon joined together, letting the rest of her hair poof at the base of her neck, Julie was transported back to her mother’s room when she was five. She remembered the feeling of her mother braiding her hair like it was yesterday, the gentle tugs and nimble fingers on her scalp. It wasn’t the same with Mira, of course, but it was refreshing and comforting at the same time. 

“Hey, Jules?” Flynn called from her closet.

“Mm?”

“Mind if I steal that asymmetrical dress for tonight? The jade one,” she clarified. 

“Feel free!”

The dress in mind was a slim-fitting jade green dress that reached her knees, but the hem was cut asymmetrically, leaving one side longer than the other. It had golden ribbon-like threads spun around it with no particular rhyme or reason, and a built-in sash made of pale, spring green tulle roses. The thin straps showed off her shoulders, and when Flynn walked out with it on, Julie noticed Carrie blush.

“Dude, you look awesome,” Julie complimented. Flynn twirled, letting the light play off of the shimmery fabric.

“Thanks!”

Mira finished doing Julie’s hair, and held up a mirror for her to see. Julie admired the thick, smooth braids that gently rejoined at the base of her neck, letting the rest of her dark curls loose in an elegant fashion.

“It’s amazing, Mira! Thank you so much.”

“Of course! And thank you for letting me do it,” she said with a giggle. “Your hair is so fun to style.” Julie blushed. 

…

The dinner was rather uneventful, thankfully. Julie wasn’t sure if she would’ve had the energy to constantly be answering questions. Instead, though, she got to introduce people to each other, and relax and eat, and try to keep her eyes away from a certain hazel-eyed guard.

She was grateful for the relatively simple task.

-----

Luke POV

...

Luke had heard about the self-defense classes in the training arena, and he was itching to get moving, so he changed into workout clothes and headed down there. 

The spiral staircase was wide and glittered with colored glass, the silver banisters gleaming in the light. He trailed his hand down it as he made his way down.

When he reached the training arena, he closed the door behind him and went to set down his water bottle and towel- but not before noticing Julie.

At the self-defense class.

Thankfully, she didn’t see him. He hung back for a moment, watching as she sparred with another girl with long braids. The way she moved was incredible, like water flowing in a current, unpredictable and smooth. Of course, if anyone asked, he was most certainly not admiring it. He could silently appreciate her skills, though.

As she dodged hit after hit, throwing her own blocks and blows, it looked like the girl with braids had gotten the better of her, but as Julie leaned backwards, she hopped and - holy fuck - caught herself on one hand, spinning around in the air like some sort of ethereal breakdancer, and knocking the other girl’s feet out from under her, before pouncing, grabbing her shirt collar, and pulling back her fist, before freezing and laughing. 

Whoa. 

So not only was she a wicked beauty, Luke realized, she was a human wrecking ball, too. 

He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from the beautiful badass in front of him, tuning out Lady Athena’s praise in favor of clearing his head before approaching to join. Not that it worked. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Julie. The other three girls (and the guy, if he was being honest) were all stunningly fit and agile, but there was something about Julie that enchanted him. The way she was always smiling even in the middle of a training fight, how, even when she was defeated, she brushed it off with a laugh, how she was light on her feet like a cat as she dodged and spun, how she was needlessly extravagant with her self-defense and yet somehow always made it work. Maybe that’s just what princesses were like; even when defending themselves against possible attackers, they had to be as beautiful as ever. 

Of course, right now, Luke knew she didn’t look how she normally would, in her silky gowns and expertly styled hair. Now, she wore matching athletic clothes and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, with some strands coming out in a sweaty frizz. And yet, that somehow just made her even more breathtaking. Even when she was sweaty and working out, she managed to look like an angel.

An angel who could easily kick his ass, he remembered as she pulled the upside-down-one-handed-breakdancer move again, this time on a redheaded girl he didn’t recognize. 

Before he could stop himself, he approached Lady Athena. 

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” He asked the woman.  

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed, and he nodded.. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin. He would never let go of that title.

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” Luke nodded again as Lady Athena walked away.

He walked over to Reggie, shaking his hand.

“Hey, I’m Luke,” he introduced with a smile. Reggie shot one back.

“Reggie!”

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight? I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed. 

“Yeah, pretty much. You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad,” he admitted. “But I’m no expert.” He couldn’t help looking at Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” Reggie followed his eyes to Julie. 

“Pretty much,” he said with a laugh, and Luke dearly hoped he wasn’t blushing.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” He asked it with a smile and a joking tone, but he was actually a bit nervous. But, you know, just because he now knew that she could kick his ass seven ways to Sunday.

No other reason.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained. Luke nodded, grateful for the reassurance.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.” 

…

By “let’s get cracking,” he was hoping he wouldn’t be cracking his ego, but he was sorely mistaken. Reggie didn’t seem like it, but he was really strong, and really good at fighting. Luke was more agile than him, and strength-wise he could compare, but the Dahlian style of fighting was so different from the Tamborian style. They were similar in many ways, of course; they had the same moves and strategies. But the ways they moved were so different, the ways they executed their moves had an uncanny grace and deadliness.

He did his best, reaching for every blow he could, trying to get the upper hand. And, to his credit, he won a few rounds. But he accidentally left himself vulnerable most of the time, leaving perfect opportunities for his opponent to strike, because Of Course He Did. 

When they called for a break, Luke wiped his forehead with a towel, grabbing a drink of water. Then, he swallowed the lump in his throat and approached Julie.

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Luke tried not to blush when she smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a gorgeous grin, and Luke knew he was a goner. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he mentally kicked himself. Not smooth, Patterson. What if she thought he was creepy? 

Thankfully, though, she smiled.

“Oh, that’s Flynn!”

“Cool,” he said, relieved. Nice and smooth, Patterson. “But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck nervously, and he couldn’t help but feel accomplished when Julie’s cheeks flushed. Of course, his were probably just as red, but hopefully he could blame it on the workout.

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented with a smile. And it wasn’t a lie, either. 

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Luke cleared his throat, getting ready to insist that he wasn’t flirting, before he realized that Lady Athen was looking at Flynn and another redheaded girl, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing. He sighed in relief. 

As he went back to sparring with Reggie, zoned out but fighting just as well as he was before, maybe even better, he pondered Julie’s abilities. How did she manage to be so beautiful, so graceful, and yet so kind and badass? It shouldn’t have been possible for any one human to do that all, much less a teenage girl who was already juggling the responsibilities of being a princess. 

Julie was, Luke realized, even more incredible than he’d ever thought possible.

…

All throughout the dinner, he was trying not to stare at Julie. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous, and the way she flitted around the room like a butterfly was absolutely ethereal. Tie that with the diamonds sewn into her navy blue dress that looked like fading stars and twinkled in the light, and she looked like she was wrapped in starlight. He knew it was appropriate for that star of a woman, but still, he thought it should’ve been illegal for anyone to have that effect on him. 

His cheeks were red, and he stared at his plate, inhaling the scent of roast beef and mashed potatoes, along with the aroma of warm bread from his appetizer. 

Even with the cool air of Dahlia and his thin shirt and suit vest, he was still sweating. He was absolutely gone for a girl he’d only had one conversation with, a girl he’d only known for a maximum of five hours. 

A girl who his best friend was being forced to marry. 

That was the worst part of all of this. His best friend, who would never be in love with Julie no matter how good of friends they were, had to marry her because of goddamn international relations, and there was nothing he could do about it. And, a selfish part of him thought, it means you never had a chance. He shoved the thoughts out of his head, hating the lingering ache they left in his heart. 

Not that he would’ve ever had a chance anyway. She was a beautiful, badass princess, and he was just a guard she didn’t even know. 

-----

Reggie POV

...

As soon as the plane landed on the runway behind the palace, Reggie smiled at Julie, letting go of her hand as she readied herself.

He understood her worry. No matter how close you are with someone, being set to marry them - especially when you didn’t want to - was daunting. Of course, he’d never been through the same thing, but he was always an empathetic person, and he could practically feel his own sister’s worry and ache.

He saw Prince Alexander walking to the gardens, and smiled when Julie broke into a grin, running to him. He twirled rose petals between his fingers, letting out a small laugh when she jumped into Alex’s arms. He didn’t want to seem like a helicopter brother, though, so he went back inside, leaving Jules with Prince Alexander. 

When he stepped inside, he nearly ran into Ray.

“Whoa, sorry!” Ray laughed. 

“You’re perfectly fine, mijo. Everything okay?” Reggie sighed.

“I’m just worried for Julie. I’ve never really gotten to know Prince Alexander, and-”

“I’ll stop you there,” Ray said. “Believe me, I know what you mean, and if I could stop it without huge consequences, I would. But Alex isn’t someone you need to worry about. That boy is one of the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met,” he assured him. “And while I know neither of them want to get married, I know that they’re both mature, and good friends.”

“Thanks,” Reggie sighed. “I just wish I could get her out of it, you know? I mean, that’s my little sister.”

“I understand,” the king agreed. “But unfortunately, there isn’t anything to be done other than let Alex settle in.” Reggie nodded glumly. “Hey, wasn’t there a progression you wanted to show me? On your bass?” Ray clarified. Reggie immediately lit up. 

“Yeah! Julie and I have been working on a song called Icarus, and she’s got a killer piano melody worked out. I went off of some of her chords and found a super cool progression on my bass that adds a really nice line underneath hers, and it sounds-” he did the chef’s kiss thing with his hand- “divine.”

“Alright, well now I’ve gotta see it!” Reggie’s grin lit up even more and he ran to his room, followed by Ray, who was jogging behind him. 

Reggie’s room was huge, the walls painted dark blue. He’d always found the color soothing. He snatched his red and white bass guitar from its stand, spinning on his heel as he ducked under the strap, letting it settle by his waist. 

When Ray met him there, Reggie grinned, plucking the strings animatedly until he remembered the notes. He didn’t bother grabbing his phone to try and find them from wherever he’d written them down in the endless scrolling of his notes app. Soon, though, his chaotic ADHD brain remembered, and he began excitedly plucking specific notes in a rhythmic pattern, his fingers stretching to reach each fret as he hopped from the E string to A, then G back to E and D. He smiled even brighter when he saw Ray grinning and tapping his foot to the beat.

“So, it kinda just goes like that, until we get to the chorus. Then, I come in with a little…” he slid his finger down the string, letting the note slide down before he hopped back into the rhythm, the same notes as before, but ordered differently, giving a new feel to the music. 

He hopped around, spinning as he played his bass, humming the lyrics under his breath.

“That sounds super cool, mijo!” Ray exclaimed, one eyebrow furrowed, as was custom for him whenever he was excited. Reggie hopped up and down happily, fixing the cuff of one of his sleeves. 

“Thanks! Julie and I are gonna try to record it. I’m trying to learn how to play the drums, to add a steady beat, but I can’t seem to figure it out.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon.” Reggie beamed. “I’m so sorry, mijo, I have to go. I’d love to hear more later or tomorrow, though!”

“Okay,” Reggie said. “Bye!” He continued playing marking down cool progressions he found, and just hopping around to get out his wiggles. 

…

At the self-defense class, he sparred with Lady Athena. Sometimes he would spar with Julie or Flynn, but even though she was no doubt better at fighting, he was also bigger, and she was paired with Flynn. 

Lady Athena was amazing at fighting, and Reggie got his ass kicked most of the time, but he was able to win a couple rounds, which he was quite proud of. Lady Athena complimented his form, and he had no doubt that he would be gathering serotonin from that compliment for weeks. Even then, though, he got plenty from seeing his badass little sister master her insane breakdance-style move, with which she completely demolished Flynn in a few seconds. His chest swelled with pride when she won.

Soon, though, a man named Luke entered the studio, and Reggie definitely didn’t miss Julie’s blush when she looked at him. She might’ve been supposed to marry Alex, but it wasn’t like either of them wanted it. Plus, he was always down for a little treason, especially if it was with Julie. 

Lady Athena paired Luke with Reggie, perfect timing for her to go check on some of the other people in the arena. 

“Hey, I’m Luke,” the man introduced with a smile. Reggie gave his trademark grin.

“Reggie!” He outstretched his hand, and Luke shook it. 

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight?” Luke asked. “I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed. He’d never sparred with anyone from Tambor before, so this would be fun.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad, but I’m no expert.” Reggie followed his gaze as it shifted over to Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” He asked, clearly in awe.

“Pretty much,” Reggie replied with a laugh, grinning at Luke’s blush.

Simp.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” Luke was fiddling with the hem of his shirt by that point. 

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.” Reggie grinned and reciprocated, taking the first strike. 

The first thing he learned was that Luke was very opportunistic in his fighting style. He went for nearly every possible blow, even if it meant leaving himself vulnerable. Reggie, of course, took advantage of this. He had to make sure his new friend (and sister’s possible future treasonous boyfriend) knew he could protect people. 

Luke pouted, and Reggie couldn’t help but admit that he had adorable puppy eyes. 

He helped him up, laughing. A few more sparring rounds passed, and Luke turned out to be quite adaptable. He found ways to get past Reggie’s blocks, and even put some up himself. Soon, they were evenly matched, and Reggie was impressed. Although, he soon found that he could get in another blow by telling a horrible joke, then striking when Luke laughed.

He thought it was pretty genius.

…

The dinner was rather uneventful. He did, however, get to meet Prince Alexander, which he was very happy about - even more so now that he was confident in Ray’s assurance that he was a good person. They’d chatted about politics and whatnot, before both admitting that they were bored. Somehow, the conversation strayed to music.

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!” He beamed, making a mental note to ask if he wanted to see, sometime later.

“That’s awesome, dude.”

“Thanks!” 

They talked for a little while longer, before Alex was pulled away to talk to some other Dahlian nobleman whose name Reggie kept forgetting. Plus, Alex seemed tired; unsurprising, given the long day he must’ve had. 

Reggie eventually settled down and ran through his thoughts.

He knew he couldn’t protect Julie, not like he wanted to. Plus, she didn’t need protecting, he’d come to realize after Luke’s “badass” comment at the training arena. Julie Molina wasn’t just a badass in self-defense, she was also a badass in every other sense of the word. She was a teenage girl, the heiress to the Dahlian throne, juggling her academic lessons and royal lessons, along with making time for her friends, free time, and she managed to (usually) get enough sleep. She was a complete badass who didn’t need protecting. 

She needed support, instead. That was something Reggie could do. He could be by her side every step of the way, no matter how hard it got. He was her brother, and he loved her more than life itself, loved every crooked smile, every curl of hair, every eye roll after one of his famously bad jokes. She didn’t deserve any of this, but by God, he’d do his best to make it bearable for her. 

-----

Willie POV

...

After lunch, the burn on Willie’s hand had calmed. Rather than the angry red mark it was earlier, it had shrunk into an annoyed red streak. Still a nuisance, but he didn’t really care.

As Willie whipped the mousse, his mind strayed to Prince Alexander. 

What was he like? Was he as cute in person as he was in photos? Probably, Willie decided. Photos never fully captured someone’s beauty unless they knew what they were looking for, and that was always more of an emotion. Photojournalists aimed for lighting and composition. There were always emotion in the photos, yes, but they never actually got to see the people in the photo. 

He wondered if he would get to meet him. Would it go well? Would he like the bread he’d so carefully baked? Would he enjoy the mousse cake he was whipping up right now? All of these questions whirled around in Willie’s brain as he whipped the mousse, letting it become airy and fluffy. Sprinkles of cocoa powder dusted the counter next to his mixing bowl, but it was fine. It would all get wiped up later. 

He grabbed a tub of fine cinnamon, sprinkling in a pinch for a little bit of kick. It was barely noticeable, but it gave the mousse an extra depth that it normally would’ve lacked. He’d never told anyone his secret, despite prying from Lilian. 

Sprinkling in a tiny bit more to account for the large batch, his thoughts wandered again.

How was Princess Julie dealing with all of this? Willie had never had a real conversation with her, but she seemed to be very well put-together. She managed everything so well, at least from the outside. Though he knew better than anyone that, no matter how organized someone may seem, there’s always a storm underneath. 

Willie finished up, putting plastic wrap over the mousse and sticking it in the giant refrigerator, before taking off his apron, washing his hands, and heading for the door.

“Willie?” Called Alyssa from behind him. He turned around, walking backwards. 

“Yeah? I’m just going on break.”

“Did you finish making the mousse?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa,” he said, walking out the door. The mousse is in the refrigerator-” 

WHAM. 

Willie let out a slight “oof” as he ran into the person in the hallway.

He stumbled, catching himself before he fell, though not as gracefully as he would’ve liked. He’d fared better than the other person, though. 

“Whoa!” The man said.

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” Willie cut himself off, his cheeks flushing as he realized he’d just ran into Prince Alexander.

Well, so much for making a good impression.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and blushed. 

“No, you’re good, bro.” Willie was taken aback by the casual response, but he wasn’t complaining. 

Willie finally got a good look at him, and wasn’t at all surprised when he found that he was even more stunning in person.Of course, it made it a whole lot harder to hide his gay panic.

He had blonde hair that was expertly styled, and a crisp, blue suit vest with minimalistic gold embroidery that brought out flecks of blue in his eyes and highlights in his hair. His muscles were defined and visible through the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and even when he was frazzled after just having been knocked over, he still looked as handsome as ever.

“Are you okay?” Willie asked, concerned. 

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” Willie couldn’t help himself from laughing, and dearly hoped it wasn’t the wrong move. But the prince had a small smile on his face and pink dusting his cheeks, so he had a feeling it was okay.

“I did pancake you, huh?” He tried to laugh, and Willie nervously cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Willie outstretched his hand, delighted when the other man shook it. “Alex,” he greeted, still blushing a little bit, which could be chalked up to the embarrassment of being plowed over. Willie was worried things would get awkward soon, so he searched for an excuse, hating that he had to leave.

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert,” he said. “But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie added with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens, hoping Alex hadn’t noticed his internal gay panic.

…

“Well, that was a quick break,” Alyssa pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Willie agreed, not fully listening. 

He’d fucking pancaked the prince. Prince Alexander Mercer of Tambor. And Willie, despite his constant hoping for a good impression, ran him over because he wasn’t even watching where he was going. 

How the hell was he such a mess? And even more, how would he ever be accepted by literal royalty who was way too cute to even exist? 

Willie shook his head, letting his hair fall over his shoulders, ignoring the feeling of Alyssa’s eyes on him as he walked into the giant refrigerated room, grabbing the huge bowl of chocolate mousse and scooping it into a piping bag, grabbing some of the chilled cakes.

His hands were steady and meticulous as he gently piped the mousse onto the cakes, making a thick layer on top of each, then lifting into a swirl that peaked in the center, adorning each cake with a bit of wafer and chocolate. He set each one on a tray, waiting for Alyssa to pick it up. Plating was her specialty, because according to Lilian, any time Willie did plating, it ended up “chaotic” and “messy” and “unorthodox.” Personally, he thought it was cool. But, not everyone could have taste, he supposed. 

…

Later that night, as he wandered into his small room in the chefs’ quarters, laying down on the soft bed, his mind wandered to Alex. Despite constantly being on the news, he was a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle Willie had the urge to solve. What were his interests? His desires? His hopes, his dreams? 

Of course, he would never be able to act on his feelings about the prince, how adorably awkward he was, how gorgeous he was in any outfit, no matter the style, how even in one simple conversation, Willie had become so enamoured that he wanted to know everything about him. Not in a creepy way, of course, but in the way one wishes to know someone they’ve just met, who intrigues them to no end. 

That night, his dreams were haunted by a familiar face, a shy smile, and a piercing set of bluish eyes.

[mimik-u]

“Rose Buds” Thoughts:

The fact that this episode is kicking off with Steven trying desperately to relocate the portrait of his mom because he “doesn’t know if he wants her hanging over” them makes me think that this episode is going to end up hurting me in new and exciting ways.

THE ZOOMANS?????????????? HELLO?!

“You mean since you didn’t choosen us? Don’t you have some sound discs to listen to on your wheeled conveyance?” OWOWSOSKSJSJJAAN.

AWHWHWH, the Quartzes and humans have gone full vacation mode. And as was the case in “Guidance,” it’s really nice to see gems and humans coexist side by side!!

HOLLY BLUE!!!! This episode is really hitting all the nostalgia notes, isn’t it?

“I’d give anything for an order from the Diamonds, but all they talk about is Steven, Steven, Steven, STEVEN?!” This was funny, but also, 😭😭😭. Thank you, Crewniverse, for giving me this little breadcrumb. I’m going to think about it all day now.

AMETHYST AND THE FAMETHYST!!!

OH, MY GO. D. A ROSE QUARTZ WHO LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE, WHO LOOKS EXACRLT LIKE—

Steven’s face nearly ended me.

“Yes, this is the look I wished to see.” WOEODODOFIDODJDJ.

I’m goin g to cry every time they show a shot of not-Rose Rose in this episode. Cheers.

AND THEN AMETHYST’S FACE. GOD.

(Is the implication that our Rose probably saw this Rose, and was, like, lmao, I’m just gonna shapeshift into her?)

The lines beneath Pearl’s eyes. 😭 Be still, my Pearlrose beating heart.

“I can feel the rest of my hair falling out.” WKSKDJSJ.

“Wait, Dad! Do you wanna join us for dinner?” / “NOPE!” And then Greg yeets out. It’s funny, but it’s also really fucking sad. We don’t talk about it enough, but Greg buries so much of his grief under the surface of his general easygoingness. And he has an especial stressor in seeing likenesses of Rose, I think. I look back to “Maximum Capacity” and his strained expression during the concert scene in the movie. And now here.

“But thank you, R-uh-ooose.” Shout-out to Dee Dee Magno Hall for bringing me to the verge of emotional collapse.

“Excuse me, Pearl, are you feeling okay?” She has such a soft voice. 😭

“I’m going to the bathroom.” WOWOISJSS. But this is also sad, and I am now both in my Gregrose and Pearlrose feels because this show hates me.

“I’m also going to the bathroom.” OWWOOEJDJDIDIEIDJFJEJS. I can’t do this.

“I know it’s wrong, but I’m overwhelmed.” Hhhhhhhhh, there’s a bit of a comical tint in the delivery here, but I think there’s something to be said about the importance of this statement here. Being overwhelmed is an absolutely valid reason to have to step away from a situation which stresses you out.”

“They are like her. She made them.” I think one of my favorite tidbits about gem lore is that gems’ personalities are influenced by the Diamond who made them. It’s just really interesting to think about what trait of the Diamonds certain gems reflect and the different ways individuals begin to diverge from their inheritances.

Not-Rose Rose is really perceptive to other’s emotions. She glances at Steven’s freaked out face and then at the portrait which bears her likeness and realizes that this is not a good situation.

“I am dead Rose Quartz.” / *Steven, chuckling nervously:* “What the fuck?”

OH, MY GOD. THE ROSE VIDEO. CREWNIVERSE, STOP HURTING ME.

“Can’t you guys take a hint? He doesn’t want us to be here?” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I’m effed up, y’all.

Also, r Garnet and Pearl still in the bathroom.

“I’ve been pretending that I’m fine because it’s not your fault... but I’m not fine.” 😭😭 It is so rare that Steven ever voices his emotions like this.

“Your mom created us too... and then got us all bubbled for being Rose Quartzes.” The Rose Quartzes were all literally bubbled for simply being who they are.

Siblings!!!!!!!!

He moves the portrait to Lion’s mane, and that last shot of the shadows of the leaves playing across the canvas is simply stunning... but, man, the symbolism of this movement is incredible, too. For Rose, Lion’s mane was a place to both store the items she cherished most (the video, the Mr. Universe shirt) and a hidden receptacle for the parts of her experience she felt like she had to hide away (Bismuth). And I think it’s probably fair to say that, well, her portrait embodies a mixture of these two emotions to Steven.

This episode was simply incredible.

[the-pink-colony]

Fragments thoughts:

depressed boi

uwu is corruption gonna happen this episode

wait no don't block everyone out

Jasper just always wants to fight damn

oh fuck he's gonna shatter Jasper or something isn't he

no wait they want to help you they don't want you to feel bad :(

Jasper don't piss him off he'll kill you stop

theres some more skull fractures :/

OWO SWOLE STEVEN?

he's just summoning walls instead of his shields or bubbles out of reflex now and I feel like it's a sign of him becoming more pink diamond than rose quartz which probably isn't good....

WAIT JASPER IS RUINING HIS MORALS I THOUGHT HE WAS VEGETARIAN BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT ALL LIFE :(((((((((

owo definitely swole Steven

oh no he's gonna make her into fragments that where the title comes from

oh thank God he still felt bad hurting her that's a good sign

I like the horns on her helmet because of the corruption

fuck he liked hurting her that time

FUCK SHIT DIAMOND EYES OH SHIT OH SHIT

HE SHATTERED

GODDAMNIT OH FUCK OH SHIT OH FUCK

HE CAN HEAL SHATTERED GEMS???????

OH MY GOD WHAT WAS THAT POST EPISODE SCENE

[smallblueandloud]

B, F, H, I, J, M, R, S, T- oh my god that is so many!! sorry!

you’re good!! for this ask meme! under a cut because i like to TALK.

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

answered here!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

i am not gonna put that one conversation between donna and helen santos again but THAT ONE’S STILL MY FAVORITE. another scene though. hmm.

“Right, because you didn’t spend much time with her?” It’s a question, because Miriam is trying to confirm details. Lyra thinks back to her life story. She’s kept it as close to reality as she can, which makes remembering harder - but makes her feel better.

More importantly, it makes Pan feel better. She’s realized that it’s a good idea to compromise with Pan on easy things so that he’ll let her do the difficult things. Not that there’s much of those these days.

“Right,” says Lyra. “Oxford College was taking care of me, mostly. Mrs. Coulter - my mother,” she amends. Pan puts his paw on her bare neck. “My mother couldn’t be too involved, because of- well. The scandal.”

Miriam laughs. “Yes, of course. My friend Lyra, the scandal.”

Lyra grins. “One does one’s best.”

This makes Miriam laugh even harder.

honestly i’m really really proud of bodies fashioned out of dirt and dust in general, but i LOVED talking about lyra and the careful way she lies. when she was a kid, she used to invent stories like nobody’s business, but now that she’s older she has more moral qualms and she’s trying to be more of an adult while also not giving up the vibrant bits that made her lyra? idk how much sense this makes, but this fic was VERY MUCH a reaction to the secret commonwealth.

i loved the way i could imply so much about her feelings about mrs. coulter just by that one hesitation. i loved how easy it was to show her lying, because we KNOW the story and we KNOW lyra lies to people. this was such a fun fic to write and the dialogue was kind of the central way i contrasted her childhood vs early adulthood.

i’m also really proud of that toby/andy scene.

H: How would you describe your style?

uhhhhh i think i try to focus on making things as real as possible? you can feel like you’re the pov character because their emotions are real. vivid is the right word. i’m aiming for vivid.

i also really like describing people’s mannerisms and trying to be as in-character as possible. i haven’t gotten to the point of coming up with NEW mannerisms yet (except with fitz’s stutter in the magnum opus) but i enjoy writing lines that you can hear the characters say.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

angst? definitely MCD angst. i can’t even READ it most of the time because it makes me so SAD but i’m just. yeah. give me the mourning. logan/jean really came for me personally. i’m also a big fan of protectiveness - daisy’s speech to jemma in the magnum opus, about “i will come and get you”, was COMPLETELY self-indulgent and i enjoyed it WAY MORE than it served any character development or plot.

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

uhh i think i wrote a long thing about this for like half my fics a few months ago, but in another world i wrote a lot more for keep on keeping on and it had more about blue pearl’s feelings about the terrifying renegade pearl that was helping rose quartz. also, there’s an alternate ending where the crystal gems arrive on homeworld in less pleasant circumstances - basically “the trial” if pearl was there, let’s be honest - and blue recognized pearl and it was. A Lot. it would’ve been a lot. i still kind of want to write that fic, tbh.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

currently the fic i’m most excited about is for a fandom i’ve barely talked about before, where [name redacted] is stuck in a time loop and keeps trying to save [name redacted] and in the last loop, which takes place right after [title redacted], she takes him and [names redacted] on a desperate road trip where, among other things, we find out that her sister actually dated BOTH [name redacted] and [name redacted] in high school. also both her love interest and [name redacted] are autistic, because i make the rules and the rules are that lesbean says they’re autistic.

i’m also TEMPTED to start a giant project of creating my own xmen canon, in the style of unpretty’s sorrowful and immaculate hearts, because i don’t have enough to do in my life apparently. polyamory would abound. if anyone’s interested in this PLEASE ask me about it because i have THOUGHTS.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

my entire sense of humor stems from douglas adams and in an ideal world i would be able to write comedy and it would just be his style. uhh i’m sure i have other influences but it’s hard to think of any at the moment. i know which writers i ADMIRE but i don’t know if they’ve INFLUENCED me, if you know what i mean? dirgewithoutmusic, i would say, and probably also. uh. this fic right here influenced me when i was YOUNG and IMPRESSIONABLE and it still takes me out at the knees.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

protectiveness! reveals in the middle of action! someone’s found family meeting their friends and realizing they (the found family) is REALLY IMPORTANT to their person actually! cool powers! characters being clever! jokes that are very specific references to canon! worldbuilding! longing!

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

changing people so they’re less scary and more “normal” (this is specifically about fic written about natasha romanoff). people being ooc. a couple’s friends seemingly being entirely dedicated to the couple’s wellbeing and relationship and not having lives of their own. shipping a young (usually female) person with their father figure. buying into canon’s infidelity storyline when it’s ooc and could just as easily be polyamory (this is specific but i’m Right). every fanwork focusing on a white minor character instead of the main character of color.

thank you for the ask!!

[365daysoftododeku]

16th Decemer 2019

Author: Kenyoda

________________________________________________________________

Behind the scenes

Izuku was rushing across the parking lot, cursing his luck. He was going to be late for shooting. He was never late! And on the first day, too! In his rush he nearly bowled over another person entering the building. He tried to stop but his momentum carried him forward anyway and he ended up pinning the poor stranger against the door, glass rattling ominously. 

“I am— so sorry!” he panted as he tried to regain his bearings. He finally pulled back, allowing the person to step away from the door and shuffle away from him a bit. 

“I-it’s fine,” came an equally strained voice. Izuku winced, he had already made a bad first impression. Oh no! Still running late! He sketched out a messy bow before racing through the doors with another apology ringing over his shoulder.  He made it to set with 3 minutes to spare for make up call. 

“Hey! You made it!” greeted a voice, enthusiasm on full blast. He looked up from being hunched over to see blonde hair and wild red eyes. 

“Morning Kacchan!” he gasped as he stood up. 

“You were almost late, ya dingus!” he huffed as he swept him under his arm for a noogie. 

“Ack! Kacchan no! My hair is a rat’s nest on the best of days! Don’t make more work for them!” he groaned. Kacchan just laughed and rubbed harder. 

“That is what they are paid to do anyway!” he chortled as he let Izuku go. 

“That’s rude, Kacchan!” Izuku hissed, mortified slightly as he watched a few of those makeup and hair people glare their way in offense.

“What? It’s the truth,” he stated, confusion evident in his tone. Izuku sighed, he loved his childhood friend, but he had all the social graces of an elephant in a china shop. Bakugou Katsuki was enthusiastic and well meaning but unbearably blunt. Most people blew him off as an airhead and rude. When he was actually quite intelligent and not prone to sugar coating things. Which in Japan, could easily be considered rude. His attention was caught when two deep voices reverberated across the set.

“I am telling you Toshi this is not a good idea!” 

“Calm down, Enji! Most of the show’s main cast are children! He will get to spend time with some of his peers. At least give the boy a chance.” Izuku looked up and about expired on the spot. Yagi Toshinori and Todoroki Enji were making their way onto the set. Between the two actors there were nearly 20 different acting awards from stunt work to acting. They were his and Kacchan’s idols!

“It’s— It’s Yagi-sama and Todoroki-sama!” Izuku couldn’t help but squeal in delight. Katsuki let out a gasp beside him.

“I know that, but you know how Shouto is,” Todoroki continued. 

“Yes, I am well aware of my honorary nephew’s tendencies. This will give him a controlled environment to practice in.” Yagi soothed. Shouto? As in, Todoroki Shouto, one of the few well known student directors in Japan? Son of the man himself?

“Yes, I know I said I wanted to get him out from behind his camera but I was thinking more of a school setting Toshi! Not a mid level production with him in a semi recurring role! This is his first one and you throw him in with sharks! Not to mention you know that Aizawa Shouta is set in his ways! Ways that make little sense to the rest of us mere mortals!” the man complained. Izuku’s curiosity is piqued. Todoroki Shouto will be acting in this production, not directing?

“I tried to find him something smaller but with a similar age range. There was nothing else!” Yagi protested. “Besides he insisted!” Todoroki sighed reluctantly. 

“Where is the boy anyway?” After a moment, another person shuffled onto the set, but Izuku’s attention was drawn by the director. 

“Midoriya! Bakugou! Get to make up. Now’s not the time to gawk we all have busy schedules!” barked Aizawa Shouta. Izuku squeaked in terror and rushed off to the other area.

 After a whirlwind of makeup and hair spray, Izuku finds himself scaling the fire escape of a low income building. He leapt onto the roof with the shadow of the thief ahead of him. 

He was now Valor, a parkour crazy sidekick that was on the heels of a thief with known ties to a cartel that he and his hero mentor were tracking. This was going to be his first capture, he was so close… 

An arch of lightning lit up the night before slamming into the would be thief. Valor slides to a stop as the thief slumps to the rooftop, unconscious. 

“The reward for this one should be good,” a smooth voice purred. Out from behind a duct vent came a lithe figure. They topped Valor by a head. Their streamlined shape and deep timbre suggested that they were male. 

A bounty hunter. 

They were vigilantes that exchanged villains with prices on their heads for money, rather than turning them over to the proper authorities. This was usually bad on the heroes end if they needed information or to retrieve stolen items or people. Because the bountied person usually was never seen again. 

“I can’t let you have him,” Valor called, stoutly. “He is wanted for questioning by the Heroes Alliance!” The hunter looked over at him and Valor could feel the smirk on the man’s face. He bristled at that. Two eyes flashed at him from a window in a hard mask. It was as dark as the rest of his clothing. The end of the staff in his hands arched with electricity. 

It was just his luck that he ran into a bounty hunter with backing! Just as he finished the thought, he had to dodge an arc of electricity. Instead of retreating he rushed forward, using his momentum to knock the weapon away with one hand while punching at the bounty hunter with the other. He fell with a grunt as his weapon clacked onto concrete before rolling away. Valor pinned the hunter’s legs with his own, before slamming the hunter’s arms above their head. 

“Who are you?” Valor barked. The masked figure laughed. 

“You ask me that after you straddle me?” he teased. Valor pushed the blush and embarrassment away. 

“I-I asked you a question first,” he ground out, frustrated at the slight tremor to his voice. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the hunter sneered. Valor snarled in anger before pinning both arms down with one hand and ripping the mask from the stranger’s face. 

He gasped. 

Skin the color of porcelain housed thin pink lips and eyes the color of smokey quartz and turquoise. A bright red birthmark covering the left side. A halo of ruby and crystal hair fell around an angelic face, the strands having slipped free of a ponytail. 

Izuku froze and his heart stuttered violently. He could not recall another one of his lines. His entire brain had decided to devote all of its remaining firepower to committing such a lovely face to memory. The porcelain skin turned into rose gold as his co star flushed under his scrutiny. 

“Who— are you?” he found himself whispering. His co star gasped and began to struggle against him. Izuku pressed his weight down automatically. They stopped moving. 

“I’m— ”

“Valor! Valor, my boy!” Ever Bright’s voice snapped Izuku from his daze. Oh my god, I zoned out in the middle of scene!

“E-ever Bright! There is a— ack!” he cried out as the hunter gave a hard buck and finally unbalanced him. He landed hard on his side. By the time he got his barings, the hunter was on the other end of the roof, preparing to jump. 

“Halt, vigilante!” came Ever Bright’s booming voice. The hunter turned his head back to stare Izuku down. The well timed wind blowing a few strands of ruby hair across the piercing jewel colored orbs, obscuring his face. 

“Valor, huh? How fitting!” he taunted, before leaping off. 

“And cut!” came Aizawa’s voice. “Y’all aren’t useless after all! I might need to do some revisions.” Izuku sunk to his knees at the off handed praise. 

“Well done, young Midoriya! You are carrying your role well for your first day!” Yagi said as he patted his shoulder. Izuku felt light headed. He had been complimented by Yagi Toshinori! Even after monumentally screwing up a scene because his useless bi ass was floored by a pretty boy! “You too, Shouto!” Izuku’s head snapped up. 

The young hunter had come back onto the roof and was gathering the props to hand off to the assistants. He jerked up reflexively before turning crimson. One of the assistants took the items and scurried away. Once there was nothing in his hands, the boy immediately began playing with his fingers and looking anywhere but at them. He mumbled something unintelligible to the air.  

“Shouto, I have heard you be louder than that when you are giving stage direction!” chided Todoroki Enji as he made his way over. “But I agree with Toshi! That was excellent work, son!”  

Shouto shuffled in place, a small pleased smile tugging at his lips. 

“T-thank you, but was it really ok?” he asked softly. Izuku felt the equivalent of mental whiplash. This was the same person that was borderline flirting with him mere moments ago? It was had to believe it! It seemed that not only was Todoroki Shouto a talented director, but also a pretty talented actor, too. Not to mention just plain pretty. Most anyone ever saw of him was half his face hidden by a hoodie.  

“Ah! How rude of me!” Yagi cut in suddenly. “Young Midoriya, this is Todoroki Shouto! He is like one of my nephews! He will be playing the vigilante and bounty hunter, Nexus.” Izuku nodded, unable to speak and wrestle his inner fanboy into submission at the same time. “Shouto, this is Midoriya Izuku a newcomer that is already showing promise!”  

“H-Hi! I love your work, Todoroki-kun! I hope you don’t mind the -kun. Wow, the make up artists must be really good, your hair and eyes are really striking!” he said, babbling slightly out of nerves and butterflies in his stomach. The boy blinked at him, before his eyes went wide. Once again Todoroki Shouto turned bright red. He worked his mouth but no sound escaped. Izuku decided then and there that a strategic retreat was in order. He politely excused himself and bolted for the nearest exit. Just as he passed to the outer edges of the set, he heard Yagi-san’s voice. 

“Just as well he doesn’t know that these looks are natural, eh, nephew?” This was followed a weak whine that Izuku could easily identify as one of embarrassment.

“Toshi!!!” chided Enji. 

Yep, Izuku was going to go find a hole to crawl into. 

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