#dw i think that your a coward back ^^

[jatlokgwo]

humans are a base branch inthe species tree they reached space age and lost contact with some offworld colonies for generations and without a way home or supply drop the colonies either died or lived long enough to evolve to their landscape like our world human planets are human centric of your not 1 of them or your a hybrid it can be hard to find cloths or a public place you wont be stared at like a new painting in an art gallery

a notable branch is "angels": humanlike in apperance they are obligate carnivores with sharklike teeth and "halos" that flash light patterns on them in a type of sign language that traces back to morse code or put on full brightness as a part of screaming they also have winglike limbs for feeling for the walls in low light to use as a second (and third or fourth for some angels) hugely simplified set of arms or to "fly" in stagnated water angels are tall snd there home planets terrain gives most of them good posture by human terms so that they run into things less this and some cultural politness and the residant ambassitors ah passion for security is why anybody that doesnt see them as a sign from the christian god or a sign of impending doom useally thinks that there stiff and objectively kind everyone agrees that their intimating

an unknown property of their home planet causes the "wings" to rub off onto the humans giving them a smaller more colourful set but because the start of wing growth looks rotten and the wings grown in the color of charcoal its seen as extramly bad but the exact reason depends on who you ask and any human that gets it is taken away from the angels by force if necessary useally when the wings first start developing so they fade away as lumps

1 day an otherwise normal human walks into the room with bright wings thst are shades of blue you didnt know the world made open to feel the moving air and energeticly talking to the angel walking next to her

does anbody want to pay me to worldvuild for them i keep getting ideas and i dont have a world to build

[martinmuhl]

⋆✧˚ ༘ i love you, im sorry

pair: caitlin clark x reader

warnings: none!

summary: you’ve been in a secret relationship with caitlin and you’ve finally had enough

hi loves! i don’t know why i wrote this lmao i was feeling angsty but dw there’s a happy ending :) i hope yall enjoy love u!!

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“i wasn’t saying we go public now, cait. i was just asking if you thought we could sometime soon,” you say, tears welling in your eyes.

“god y/n, you know this stresses me out. i don’t know what to tell you, i can’t predict when we’ll go public. i just need time.” she covers her face with her hands, sighing.

you and caitlin had been dating for almost a year now, in private. the two of you had met back at iowa where you’d been a manger for the women’s basketball team and she’d been a player. the plan was to come out together as a couple after she graduated, but once that happened, caitlin was too nervous about the worlds opinion of her. then she said she would include your relationship in her draft speech, but she was too afraid. she was the #1 draft pick of course and more eyes than ever had tuned into her and the wnba. she kept telling you that after her first season, your guys’ secret could be shared. but the more and more you waited, the more and more exhausted you became keeping up with this secret. you started to think you’d have to live this way forever.

“i understand cait, i just hate living this way. i want to show you off and take you out on real dates. you are so important to me and i just hate hiding this part of my life,” you sigh. her face turned red, anger creeping onto it.

“i am the biggest name in the wnba right now, what do you expect me to do? you know i love you, but all eyes are on me and this could ruin my reputation. i’m in the running for rookie of the year, y/n, i need to focus on that.” she exclaims, throwing her arms into a shrug.

you felt a tear fall. this could ruin my reputation, she had said. “oh i’m so sorry that i could ruin your reputation. maybe you should’ve thought of that before asking me to move here and spend my life with you. you say you love me, but you’re a coward. is that how you want to live your life? hiding who you are? you told me we’d go public once we graduated, but that didn’t happen. then draft night and that didn’t happen either. what now? what about what i want? i understand that you’re under the public eye more than ever right now, but i wont sit around and wait forever.” you stand up, making your way toward your shared bedroom.

“where are you going? can we please just talk about this? i promise we’ll go public at the end of the season.” caitlin follows you and sees you packing a bag.

“i’m going to stay with lauren for a bit, i guess i just need some time too.” you say, shoveling clothes into the bag. maybe staying with your sister was best for you right now. you understood caitlin, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t break your heart a little more every time she went back on her word. you knew coming out wasn’t easy and especially when everyone was watching her, but you hated being led on. you loved her so much and couldn’t imagine your life without her, but if she was going to keep you hidden forever then you just couldn’t do it.

“please y/n, don’t go. i love you.” she pleads, grabbing your arm and trying to stop you for walking out the door. you rip your arm away.

“i love you too, but i deserve better than being your secret. i wouldn’t want to ruin your reputation,” you say with a sad smile and walk out the door. you truly loved her more than anything in this world, but when she went back on her word so much it was hard to trust her. you knew how hard this was on her, but it was hard on you too.

a few days after your argument, caitlin had tried to reach out everyday. you told her you needed some space and you’d talk to her when you were ready. caitlin on the other hand was going insane, worrying every second of the day. you were the best thing that had happened to her and she just let you get away like that? no, it wasn’t right. this wasn’t how you ended. caitlin knew that you were beginning to not trust her anymore, she was just so afraid of what everyone else would say. she felt exactly how you felt though. she was exhausted and was suffocating. she hated hiding who she was, and even more than that, she hated hiding you. especially every time she was asked if she was seeing anyone and she had to say no, she was focused on basketball. she hated disappointing you. she knew what she had to do. what she needed to do.

you settled on your sisters couch, laptop in your lap with the fever game on. caitlin was playing lights out, earning her first triple double and the first for a rookie. the fever ended up winning with a huge upset against the new york liberty. you were ecstatic for her, but you still felt a massive pit in your stomach due to your argument. nonetheless, she was still the girl you loved and you had to congratulate her.

you: congrats cait, i’m so proud of you

cait<3: thank you baby, i’m so sorry again. tune in for my post game interview?

you: of course

you turn on her post game interview, her sitting beside her teammate aliyah and her coach. they answered the standard questions, caitlin answering a few more because of her triple double. you can’t help but smile and feel proud of how hard she works. she deserves this. although you’re still upset with her, you can’t help but feel like you may have been a bit selfish. she has worked so hard for this moment and you didn’t want your relationship to become the big headline instead of her talent. sighing, you grab your phone to text her as her interview ends. then you hear her voice.

“wait. uh before we go, i just have something i want to say. i am so grateful for my teammates, coaches, and fans support, but none of this would be possible without the support of my girlfriend. our relationship is the most important thing in my life and i’ve been hiding it because i was scared… but im not scared anymore. i want to show her off and i want everyone to know her like i know her because she is amazing. y/n, if you’re watching this and i really hope you are, i love you and i really hope i see you at home,” she finishes with a smile. then she walks out. the room goes dead silent before the interview ends and the camera shuts off.

you were speechless. you couldn’t believe she just did that. everybody would know about the two of you now. after staring at your screen for what feels like an eternity in shock, you grab your bag and dash out of your sisters apartment. you quickly arrive back at your and caitlin’s apartment, sprinting up the stairs. you rush into the apartment and see caitlin sitting on the couch, hands covering her face. once she hears you open the door, she stands and takes a deep breath.

“cait i… i don’t know what to say. are you okay? im so sorry, i never meant to pressure you! your career is important and we can wait until-“ the words come flying out of your mouth, but she cuts you off. you are undoubtedly happy that you can finally live freely with her, but you still feel some guilt as she walks over to where you’re standing.

“baby just stop. you were right. you didn’t pressure me to do anything. i was a coward and i was miserable keeping us a secret. i love you and im so sorry for saying you would ruin my reputation. you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and i want you and everybody else to know that. the world deserves to know my beautiful girl, just like i do.” she breathes, putting her hands on your shoulders to bring you closer. she engulfs you into her arms and you release a sigh of relief, mumbling an i love you into her neck. as nervous as you were to check social media and see what everyone was saying, the two of you felt the happiest you’d been and you couldn’t wait to share each other with the world.

[vivgst]

Hey this is my first time doing an anonymous post but I just wanted to ask if you could maybe do like a fic where Valeria and reader are like friends with benefits but kinda have a tough and hateful love with eachother and sex too lolll

Heyyyy<3333 Dw, Im kinda new too, yesterday I was gonna answer one and I ended up deleting it.

All of us know how stubborn Valeria is, right? She lies a lot, even to herself.

Tw: Angst, smut, not happy ending.

If you had to talk about what your relationship with Valeria was like, you would say it was horrible, loving her was exhausting and consumed your soul, it hurt so much that you could even feel it physically and it was a hell that you refused to leave precisely because you were exhausted, leaving her was just another move that would leave you with less strength and you felt incapable of doing it.

And you were clinging, clinging to that kiss on the forehead that she gave you one night thinking that you had already fallen asleep, to her jealousy and possessiveness that seemed to be signs of love in a twisted and quite harmful way, you clung to her laugh that sounded like the one of a teenager and all those things that made you weak at the mere idea of ​​leaving her, you couldn't.

But with each passing day it became more present, it got in your thoughts like a virus and ate away your whole body, it made you spend sleepless nights.

What if you left her? It would hurt, yes, but you would be calmer and your peace was priceless, it was non negotiable, however you had given it to her as if it were not something important.

And eventually you got sick of it and in one of your endless arguments you left her mansion swearing never to return, she made fun of you, of course.

“You're going to come back like you always do.” She muttered mockingly as you walked out of the mansion with teary eyes.

But to her surprise, you didn't. Weeks went by and she didn't hear from you, you hid, you had the nerve to think she would be the one looking for you so you left your apartment, that made her even angrier.

Because well, she did look for you, but how dare you think she would? It had to be you, it was always you.

Valeria hated giving in, but she gave you what you wanted, she knew that even if you left your apartment you couldn't miss work so she went there at night.

Your heart almost jumped out of your chest when you were passing through a deserted alley and you felt an arm wrap around your waist and pull you deeper into said place, however you relaxed noticeably when you saw it was her.

“I thought I would crawl back to you.” You said sarcastically and she gave you a glare before rolling her eyes, Valeria hated your sarcasm but she would mess with you before you got through her and you knew that.

“You’re one of my best toys, chula.” She spoke in a low voice and you felt your heart sink and that uncomfortable feeling in your stomach that made you nauseous, something typical every time you imagined her with other women, in other arms, kissing other lips, it made you sick, there was nothing more unbearable than thinking about that.

But you were tired of fighting to show her that you cared, especially because it ended up being a sacrifice in vain that left you bleeding and if there was something that Valeria apparently liked, it was seeing you vulnerable and knowing that she was the cause of that pain.

“Maybe it's time you get someone better, there must be plenty of them out there.” You said and although what you wanted was to run away like a coward, you raised your face to meet her gaze that for the first time looked disconcerted, however she was able to hide it well in that mask of coldness she always had.

“I don't see the need to do that when I have you in front of me.” She spoke and you could tell she was going to say something else but you interrupted her.

“I don't want to see you again, Valeria. I don't want to keep in whatever this is, I don't feel like it.” You said and if you knew her a little better you might have noticed the fear in her eyes.

The idea of ​​losing you had never been something she considered because you had simply chased her so much that she couldn't imagine you leaving her, but it became real and she didn't like seeing herself waking up in an empty bed, wrapped in the same sheets she shared with you.

"You can not-"

“Are you going to force me?” You blurted out and knew that maybe implying that was a mistake.

She could do some crazy shit sometimes but never in her life and under no circumstances would she lay a hand on a woman if she said no, never. And you knew it, but you liked that now she was the one glaring at you, offended by your words.

“Oh, did I hurt your feelings?” Your voice was now echoing in the alley but there was no one and you were really so angry now that you didn't care if someone listened or not, you just wanted to hurt her, frustrate her. “You are like a man, you are always criticizing them but you are the same, you are doing the same shit they do to other women.” Your words hit a nerve and she pushed you against the wall, the sharp thump of your back against the concrete echoing throughout the place.

Valeria approached you, there was fire in her eyes and you grinned cheekily at her, no matter how angry she could be, she wouldn't hit you and you took advantage of that from the first moment you realized it.

“Shut the fuck up, do you have any idea what you're saying?”

“I do, honey. You are the same, you are just another rat, just like them. You're a fucking coward because you hate that I leave yet you still don't give me what I want!” You yelled at her and she clenched her jaw, Valeria was used to violence and her body normally reacted on its own to situations like these, so holding back was difficult for her.

“And what the hell do you want from me?” Valeria said, raising her voice as well and letting out a growl full of frustration, this night was going differently than what she planned. “What the fuck do you want? Speak". She murmured softly, her body pressed against yours and you felt yourself burning in her intense gaze, you hated her.

“You know what I want, I've said it a million times, you know I want to leave these games and be honest.” You tried to break free from the prison that was her body but her hands tightened on your hips, clinging to you as if the thought of letting go hurt. “I want you to admit that you have feelings for me.”

"I do not feel anything for you". She responded almost immediately and her gaze wandered all over the floor that was within reach of her eyes.

That was the problem with her, her love was weak, it wasn't enough. She was such a coward about this situation, you knew what she said wasn't true, but she refused to admit it, to being vulnerable because that would only hurt more in the end.

“Look me in the eyes when you lie to me.” You said in a whisper and when her gaze met yours your legs weakened, you could see the conflict in her tired eyes, the pleading and all the war that was inside her, she was showing it to you, because she never let you see nothing she didn't want. “Val, just-”

"I can't". She said in a thin voice and you had to swallow hard in an attempt to relieve the lump in your throat, her gaze was still fixed on yours and you knew what was going to happen, you hated yourself for it.

You hated yourself because when her lips met yours you didn't pull away, you wrapped your arms around her neck and held on to her. Her hands moved down to your thighs and tightened on them to lift you up and gently press you against the wall, your legs now hugging her hips.

The softness of the kiss went to hell as soon as it started, now her tongue moved inside your mouth with need and you sucked on it, earning a groan from her, your skin burning as you felt her body crushing yours against the wall and when her hand went to your pants you pulled away from her lips.

“You can’t fuck me in an alley.” You mumbled, you were breathless and panting, your chest rising and falling rapidly and you felt the adrenaline rush through your body. Valeria gave you a look full of confusion, her eyes narrowing slightly and you looked at her in disbelief, she was really confused.

"Why not?" She asked and you had to sink your teeth into the inside of your cheek, biting it to hold in your laughter, it was unbelievable.

She didn't let you respond, she just rolled her eyes and crashed her lips on yours again, her fingers massaging the inside of your thighs and you had to hold on to her arms when you felt her move away from the wall, starting to walk and you were embarrassed because... what if someone saw you two? but what was happening felt too good…

You both got into the back seats of her car and you began to undress her, almost tearing off her clothes because the desire you felt to touch her warm skin was killing you. Your hands moved desperately and even then it wasn't the speed with which you expected them to move, plus being in that small space was quite uncomfortable, but you managed and then she helped you undress.

You straddled her thigh, her hands on your hips and yours on her shoulders to balance yourself a little as she began to move you slowly, the feeling stimulating enough to soak her skin and make you shudder, your sensitive nub throbbing every time as your hips rocked and you caught your lip between your teeth to keep from moaning too loudly, who knows, maybe someone outside might hear.

Valeria had her gaze fixed on yours, she loved it, she loved watching you fall apart in front of her and the way your gaze relaxed when you were turned on, how weak you were for her.

The heat was unbearable, the car windows were foggy and you began to ride her thigh faster, chasing your pleasure that swirled in your belly like a wave of fire. Your hand went between her thighs and you began to make circles with your thumb, gently massaging her clit, your other hand made its way to her jaw, raising her face abruptly so that her eyes returned to yours.

What you liked most about having sex with Valeria was that she could never swallow her pleasure, you had her almost drooling just from playing with that nub of sensitivity, she couldn't even moan, she just panted, she felt dizzy and there was no nothing she could think about other than how good you made her feel.

You weren't much different, your body was numb from tensing up so much, trying to hold onto your orgasm but you couldn't take it anymore and you let it wrap you in a warm hug, the movement of your hand between Valeria's thighs becoming erratic and trembly.

Suddenly you felt her hiss and her juices soaked your hand, both of you relaxed after the release and you got off her lap, the heat burning your skin wet with sweat, among other fluids.

You wanted to sleep right there, you were exhausted, but you didn't want to leave and you knew she wouldn't let you. And normally you would argue for her to listen to you and take you home, but you let her take you to the mansion, you let her guide you to her office even though you knew the way more than well, and you let her take off your clothes, much more slower than how you moved in the car. You sat at her desk, now she was the one who was taking off her clothes under the intensity of your gaze and everything began to move in slow motion but fast at the same time, you felt influenced by the same feelings that invaded you every time that you saw her, all the frustration and anger, uncertainty and pain, because you loved her and she insisted that she didn't.

She didn't love you, but her eyes ran over your body softly, she didn't love you but her hands worshiped your body as if it was one of a goddess, and you told yourself that she didn't love you thousands of times, while she kissed you, while her fingers sank inside you delicately.

But how could she not love you if the way she made love to you was a confession? The passion with which your bodies were wrapped was a poem and an oath that the fire could consume everything in its path except what she felt for you.

And it was so overwhelming to feel her so close knowing that her soul refused to connect with yours, your eyes betrayed you, letting the tears run down your cheeks and her eyes fixed on yours, she didn't need to ask anything because she already knew. Valeria knew it. She knew and felt your pain that was also hers, even your pain was hers, there was nothing left of you that you could claim as your own.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry". She murmured and had to take a deep breath to contain the sea of ​​emotions that would soon form a wave to try to drown her.

She pulled you into her arms, in one of those hugs that made you feel comforted, but they were the same arms that hurt you so the comfort also felt wrong, out of place.

You couldn't realize when you fell asleep, but you woke up with one of the pajamas she had bought you, in her bed, in her sheets, but without her.

Like always.

And you decided to blame the burning in your eyes from haven’t had much sleep, you decided you weren't crying because she had run away from you, you weren't crying because this was what always happened, she left you before you woke up because having a conversation with you was overwhelming and her throat felt dry just thinking about it.

You weren't crying, or were you?

You didn't know anymore.

[pygmi-cygni]

T minus 8

Y'all can figure out the title situation by now, right?

content warning: basically the same as the last two chapters, less techy stuff dw, blood, some more anxiety, tension, angst

is it weird that the head doctor's name is Ben? I realized he might get confused with Ben Reilly (tho i don't plan on mentioning him) if it's funky lmk

also - taglist ppl, if you want to be on my general (all fic) tag list, pls specify, I just have you on this specific fic's taglist.

enjoy!

This was ridiculous. Fucking unacceptable. You were not going to let this manchild disrupt your workflow. You had gone through med school, the collapse of your entire universe, and countless crazy patients.

Miguel O'Hara was not going to be your downfall.

After escaping to your room after the brush with death - aka Miguel's fangs - you'd had a good cry before realizing the situation.

You can deal with it, or you can drown in it.

Though your education was in healthcare, a mandatory part of medical training was mental wellbeing and psychology. You had a few coursebooks lying around...

Despite the words bleeding together and the stained coffee mugs littering your floor, you pored over textbooks until early the next morning. Fuck Miguel and his needles. You were going to do your job with the least number of puncture wounds possible.

You strode into his sickroom with a fresh coat of concealer and a thick stack of papers. No syringe in sight.

He was immediately suspicious of your lifted chin and confident stride. You could feel his apprehension tingling, carmine gaze following you around his temporary abode. Let him judge. At the end of the day, you had the needle and he had a sore elbow. Not your fucking problem.

"This is how this is gonna go," you said flatly, rolling next to his bed with a sheet of paper and a pen.

"Twice a day, I am going to come in here and give you a shot. Then, I'm gonna force feed you and take your vitals. Then, I'm gonna do it again the next day and the next until this day," you circled the small calendar at the bottom of the sheet. "And you aren't gonna give me any shit about it, okay?"

The words tumbled out as precise as you'd practiced in front of the mirror twenty times that morning.

Miguel's eyebrow lifted at your direction but his mouth stayed curled in a sneer. You swallowed, willing him to say something. The strong facade you'd put on was slowly succumbing to sleep deprivation.

Too early to give in.

You were stuck in another staring match, so focused on his blistering glare that you didn't realize he was slowly leaning closer. Until his breath brushed your ear and you could see his teeth glimmering.

"No."

One word, and your spine was quaking with shivers. You blinked rapidly, veering away from him. His impassive stare returned and he leaned back into his pillows.

You sat stunned. Then pissed.

"That's not the correct answer," you said coolly. His eyebrows twitched again. Did he think you would cower and scamper off again? What a surprise he was in for.

"Easy way or hard way, Miguel," you taunted, pulling out one of the two doses. "If you let me do this, in five seconds it will be over and I'll be gone."

He didn't look at you, but subtly shifted away from the offensive syringe.

"Or you could drag it out until you're crying and you'll still get a poke."

Another bloodcurdling stare. Aw, the big baby doesn't like it when I call him a coward. Too bad.

You could hear the gentle uptick in his heartrate as you began to prep the area, wiping gently with an alcohol patch. His breaths were louder, whistling above your head. It didn't take this long to clean an injection site, but you wanted to give him time to realize what was going on.

"Wait," he muttered, snatching your wrist before you could grab the medicine. You let him and hoped he couldn't feel your own rapidly beating heartrate. Using your other wrist this time, you took up the syringe and tried to nudge the protective seal off.

"Not yet," Miguel protested, batting you away. You fixed him with a warning glance.

"Easy or hard, big guy, but it's gonna happen."

He tried to swat you again, but you barked out a "Stop."

Flinching, he retreated. Anger simmered in his eyes, but he bit his tongue. You tried to soften your tone. He's a patient, be nice. He's hurt, it's just the adrenaline.

"Don't swat me when I remove the seal, you might accidentally stick yourself," you explained kindly. Replacing the seal, you set the needle on the tiny table next to him. Miguel regarded you warily, unsure if he could trust your sudden surrender.

Talking. He liked the talking last time. Trying to medicate him in this state would be impossible, you had to de-escalate.

"Why...why is this hard for you? I mean, what's the scary bit?" You sat back, keeping your hands empty and in view of him.

He snorted and fidgeted with his hospital bracelet.

"I need to work," he said gruffly, looking at the clock, then wincing. You tilted your head.

"No, I meant about the nee-"

"I need to get back to work," he insisted, "I've been gone too long. The Society won't survive without me."

You leaned forward and peeled back the blankets. He knew better than to stop you, but you could sense his agitation.

"Until that-" you pointed to the sour-smelling bandages crusted with blood, "goes away, you won't be going back."

"That's impossible."

"Cry about it." You dismissed his annoyance as you peered at the dirty gauze. You'd replaced it only a few hours ago, how bad was the infection? It shouldn't have absorbed the ointment and worsened. A crease furrowed your brow. You reached out to feel around the wound. He groaned, twitching under your hands. The pale complexion returned, and sweat had dried around his chest.

How come he didn't ring for help?

"Okay, let's try something else," you said slowly. "I'm gonna replace these and clean you up, got it?" The expected silence rang out, and you took it as a green flag.

It took you a few moments to collect your scissors, gauze and other supplies, all the while Miguel was breathing heavily through his nose. You were calm as morning fog while you worked, barely wrinkling your nose at the foul smell.

What the....The wound was ragged and swollen. Had you been the only person paying attention? The torn was flesh had clearly been neglected, or else it wouldn't be nearly as rancid.

Don't freak out, you reminded yourself, feeling Miguel's scowl directed at your face. He doesn't need to know.

"That's not supposed to be like that," he guessed, reading your obvious distress. you startled and tried to smile, but it wavered.

"No! No, it's..." you trailed off, acutely aware that he saw right through your act.

Deciding to focus on the task at hand, you began carefully snipping away at his bandages. It was soothing, just another routine. he's not dying he's not dying it's just a routine check up, nothing terrible, it's okay

Is the poison contagious after contact?

You froze, realizing Dr Ben had never explained the dangers of exposure. You had your gloves, but they were flimsy, and a paper mask could only do so much. Fuck. You'd already gotten blood and gore on your hands, it wasn't really a good time to fix that.

Here goes nothing.

Miguel did a stellar job of not biting your head off, though his pained grunts and clenched fists didn't help your heart rate. You were efficient and cleaned him up quickly, though his appearance wasn't improving. It was only day two. Not good.

"Okay, scary part," you warned, reaching again for the syringe. He was still riled up from the agony of his new dressings. It wasn't the way you wanted it to go, but he was running out of time.

"I can't bargain with you on this," you said shakily, "because it isn't up to me. i'm just the messenger, and I don't know how else to tell you."

Deep breaths.

"Your tissue is decaying, and if I don't give this to you, you won't be able to work at all. Ever," you added for emphasis when he almost protested. "I know you hate needles, I know you hate being here, I know you hate me, but seriously, please just let me do my job."

your hands were shaking. He looked...impassive, as if he'd turned to stone during your plea. Stick him. Just do it, just poke him right in the arm, he's not moving-

Miguel inclined his chin and released his harsh grip. You were shocked and almost dropped the syringe. That was quick. Maybe it wasn't the needle?

"You gonna stab me or what," he snapped. Scurrying forward, you gently took his hand in yours and probed for a vein.

"Little poke," you whispered, before carefully injecting the vial of clear liquid into his bicep. He let out a strangled groan and grabbed your arm, clutching for dear life. You let him squeeze, though his grip was threatening to cut off your circulation. Breathe breathe breathe he's okay you're okay it's okay breathe

"Not so hard, yeah?" you kept your voice quiet, rubbing his shoulder carefully. Miguel was still in the throes of panic before he suddenly blinked awake. Like a robot, his arms were at his sides and he stared straight ahead.

Confused, you searched his gaze. A haze had gone over his irises, but nothing extreme. All good so far. As quietly as possible, you ran through his vitals and coaxed a cup of water into him.

After a few minutes of waiting by his side, you signed off on his form and backed out of the room.

3 down, too many to go.

And so it went. He never looked at you, never acknowledged your existence each time you peeked into his room. A week went by, for better or worse. His wound was making disappointing progress, but it wasn't getting worse.

However, his approach to the needle wasn't getting better either. He liked the talking, seemed to calm him slightly when you rambled about other patients or your daily routine.

But whenever your hand ducked into your coat pocket, his face would go hard and he'd hunch like a cat, hissing and scratching when you got too close.

"Miguel, please," you begged, eyes pricking with tears. It had been a long day. the longest. four spiders lost, three injured, and one in critical condition. You'd worked your ass off, then slogged to your last patient. you just didn't have the fight in you.

Did he like to torture you?

"I will do anything, please just fucking stay still."

he hesitated.

"Anything?"

"I don't fucking care, please give me your wrist-"

"Let me go back to work." His tone was defiant, but urgent.

You fixed him with a no-nonsense glare. "You know the answer to that."

"I have the multiverse to attend to," he gritted out, "this stupid arrangement is not more important than that."

You couldn't fucking deal with this. "I will rip your fucking teeth out, you animal, I don't care how important you are-"

"I control the fate of-"

"I am acutely aware of that, O'Hara," you shouted finally, throwing the capped needle at him. He swore and ducked.

"I am so fucking aware that everything you do affects my wellbeing. But if you don't sit still and stop acting like a fucking child then you'll die and so will the rest of us." You were crying and your head hurt and the syringe was probably shattered but you just wanted to go home.

"I want to go home," you blubbered, "and I want to go to bed. If you let me do my job, then you can do yours. Please." You whispered, begging.

Miguel's nostrils flared, barely holding back. Maybe if he bit you again, you could take a long nap and this would all be over.

"One condition."

Your head thumped against his mattress. "I don't wanna argue with you-"

"One dose, one favor."

You rolled your face to the side, sighing tiredly. "I'm not having sex with you."

He sputtered, fangs shifting in surprise. "Wh-ay dios-no that's not- I meant a-" Miguel scowled at you for as he understood your delirious laughter was at his gullibility.

"I take the dose, no fuss, you do me a favor," he tried again, "professionally."

Any win was a win in your book. "Fine."

He relented, sticking his arm out and bracing against the handrail. Afraid he would double back on his promise, you stuck him a little more aggressively than you needed to in your rush.

"Okay, big guy, what'll it be?"

"Give me my work laptop."

Bastard. "That's cheating-"

"You said-"

"Fine," you spat, tossing the empty syringe in the bin. "One hour."

"Three."

"One."

"That dose hurt," he protested, and you rolled your eyes.

"Fine. Two."

A moment later, his laptop was under your arm and you were checking off another day on the calendar.

It definitely got easier. A tentative agreement had settled between you: one dose, two hours of work. It did seem to help his mood. Miguel still flinched when you aimed the syringe for his arm. He stayed still when you changed his bandages and kept his fangs to himself.

You were fitting him for the pressure cuff when you noticed. Last week, even the biggest cuff size could barely fit around his massive arm. Today, you could easily wrap it with a few inches to spare.

Frowning, you made sure nothing had come undone in the packaging. Everything was intact. Had he been flexing before?

"Um...do you mind flexing your arm for a second?"

He looked puzzled at the request, but did as asked. You tried again, but even then the cuff was loose.

"Nevermind, that's...that's fine, thanks." You gave a tight smile and jotted something down in your notes.

After his shot, you tried to see if the rest of his body was changing. He was still enormous, but there did seem to be a lackluster quality about him. Miguel's energy was reduced, his anger less potent and he was definitely tamer.

"Miguel, are you feeling okay?" you asked tentatively, gauging his reaction. Usually you knew better than to interrupt his working time, his anger would snap.

But today, he merely grunted and shrugged. Definitely lethargic. Trying to rationalize, you figured it might be his body finally adjusting to the medication.

Making a quiet excuse, you ducked into the adjacent office and discreetly dialed Ben.

"I'm worried it's not working," you whispered, chewing on a hangnail. Dr Ben hummed on the other line.

"His stats are looking a little low. I'll have another doctor check him out. You've done well so far, kiddo, this is a tough case. Take today off, yeah?"

You blinked at the quick change in subject. At least the problem was getting looked at...but Miguel still had his evening dose. I'll just come back for that, you amended. It had been so long since you'd had a day off.

In the few hours between your brief pop-in and Ben's call, you'd gotten groceries, done your hair and even had time to watch a movie.

Feeling refreshed, you threw on your gloves and pulled up Miguel's file.

Nothing had changed, really, except a small yellow notification underneath his recent immunizations. Single (1) dose of R4GE-57 administered at 2100.

What?

The meds Ben prescribed hadn't been titled, and you weren't even in the building at 2100.

Frowning, you pushed into Miguel's room.

"Hey, Mig-"

You stopped. He was sitting on his bed, hands folded limply on his lap. His eyes were open but unfocused. You tiptoed closer.

"Miguel?"

His head twitched, but his eyes had difficulty following your movements.

"You're not s'posed to be here," he slurred gravelly. His tone made you pull up short. You two weren't friends, but you'd definitely passed the growling stage.

"Ookay," you said slowly, "but I need to give you your last dose for today."

"No, that lady did. Maria."

Nothing made sense. Maria hadn't given him his second dose cause it would have been two hours early. And you were holding the second syringe, which was very much full.

"Wh...What do you mean? Maria shouldn't have given you-"

"Are you being slow?" His tone was vicious, lips curled to reveal his incisors. Miguel hadn't snapped like that in a week. You balked, retreating a step. Okay, take a deep breath. He's definitely unstable.

"That other nurse gave me the medicine, you are wasting my time," he snarled. Your heart rate was steadily rising. Breathe.

"Just let me-"

Your hand was halfway to his wrist when he lunged.

no no not again-

A cry ripped from your throat as your head collided with the edge of the table, and a dull ringing overwhelmed your senses. throbbing washed over you in waves, pulsing like a drum in tune with your panicked heart.

Nothing was focusing. Were you crying? Someone was shouting, it was bright and your head hurt and where-?

Somebody was dragging you away, and you uselessly batted at their hands.

He's my patient he didn't mean to no stop wait he needs his meds

Surely it wasn't your wailing, that angry wounded animal howling over the thumping ache in your skull.

He was making progress...

did i just make a simple enemies to lovers into a weird crazy multiplotline clusterfuck? yes. yes I did.

tags:

@neeshsoodrippedout

@ridiculous-hibiscus

let me know if u wanna be added/removed xox

[sweetsugarcakes]

IF you have the time and enegry do you think you could write a one shot with Erza Scarlett x reader where the Reader get hurt and instead on staying in bed and get better Reader is super insistent on not saying in one place cause they don't want to be viewed as "weak"

I’ve always have the time and energy dw tysm for requesting💖

Erza x gn! reader

Erza and you were on a job as you two fought powerful wizard where you guys obviously took them out with ease. Although one of the wizards cheap shot you as they got you with a powerful attack which made you blackout. While you were unconscious though Erza was about to teach them a real lesson on not being fair in a fight especially hitting her soulmate out of all people. They got away before she could do anything as she sighed and carried you to the guild hall.

You opened your eyes to see you were in the infirmary. You sat up and looked around to see Erza next to you as she smiled. “Good you’re awake. How you feel?” She asks as she was concerned for you. You got up and tried to get on your feet. “I’m fine just a little sore…” before you fully came back to your feet Erza stopped you by put her hand on your shoulder. You saw the look on her face it said it all. She didn’t want you to move. “[Name]…” she said in a stern and serious tone. You huffed as you looked away. “They got away. We need to get them. I don’t want people to think I’m some coward or weakling for getting down that easy.” Again you were about to get up but the grip on your shoulder by Erza tightened.

“[Name], you need your rest your clearly not ready to fight yet. Besides, you didn’t let them get away they caught you off guard. It’s nothing to worry about you will get them next time. And let me tell you…” You sat down and listened her continue. “You’re far from weak. You’re strong and so powerful what skills you have. You amaze me everyday.” She pats your shoulder and up to your head. You smile as you leaned forward and kisses her lips. She was super startled as her face became red as she shakily kissed you back. You two pulled back as she was all blushy and nervous. You always brought out a different side of erza. “W-what was that for [Name]?” She stuttered out while touching her lips. You smile, “because you always know how to make me feel better. It’s a thank you.” Erza smiles at seeing you smile and taking it easy. You guys did catch the guys, more than anything Erza gave them a real beaten for hurting you.

[hope-you-brought-kneepads-bitch]

Agatha all along spoilers:

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Okay okay okay? Soooooo heyyy Billy erm don’t trust you, anddd actually I think your brother’s better so yeah fuck you actually also how dare you talk to a prolific witch killer like that, if Rio wasn’t busy taking Alice’s body (fly high! RIP girlie, rest with your mum now!) she would’ve taken your ass all the way to the astral plane, dead or alive

Nicolas scratch voice reveal! Poor baby wanting his mama to stop like is he watching all this happening? Poor sweetheart, Agatha just wants her baby back (should’ve also had the camera pan slightly to Rio because bet she would’ve had a reaction too 👀 notes for next time)

Also fuck evenora harkness okay, listen I support all mothers but “I should’ve killed you the moment you left my body” ??? Bit harsh, I’m from the north of England and even mothers here aren’t that cruel

“I can be good” yes sweet angel baby witch killer you can do no wrong and will always be good and I love you and will stroke your hair when you sad and never leave your side -Rio Vidal probably

“Or we could slit her throat”

“Her mother can’t have her!”

Rio you can’t keep flip flopping in front of the other witches, they don’t know your humour yet and how deeply in love with your ex wife you are, they don’t know the throat slitting thing is fun to you as a joke (dw baby I got you)

Also Lilia being all ‘I hate flying brooms because of the Halloween corporations’ ‘profiting off our inability to travel like everyone else’ to “I haven’t done this in centuries (massive grin) she loves it and definitely will be doing it again. Bless her heart I hope she’s safe and happy for more centuries to come 👀👀👀👀 (marvel I’m at your fucking door)

Agatha and Rio choosing each other for the broom spell because they’ve done it hundreds of times and it’s probably the intimate thing besides the almost kiss in the last episode

Also when they’re handing the brooms to each other and Rio grazes Agatha’s hand, she was like ‘hold my hand you coward!’

Teen’s blue powers are pretty cool I have to admit but I would also like to say, and I’ve seen a few other people say it, I think he was subconsciously controlling the trial, because a few of them were a little ooc, like jen, instantly flipped to punishing Agatha and the others followed (Rio just wanted to play, know full well you can’t control death)

But he didn’t know what he was doing so when Alice (gone but never forgotten) jumped in to save Agatha and she died ☠️💔 he was so distraught, not only because she was so cool but because he made her do it, he just couldn’t comprehend what happened but knew it was him so he struggled with that knowledge (just like Wanda when she found out about the town)

‘You’re just like your mother’ (😰 her voice) but! I think at the end of the last episode when Agatha smiled at Rio after she told her he wasn’t her son, she knew then, she knew he was Wanda’s son but obviously she was still holding out hope, and when Rio confirmed it she knew what had to be done

Also! The Salem seven these freaky, creepy acrobatic bitches they’re fantastic! But if they’re the children of the coven that Agatha killed right? Didn’t they have other people looking after them? Like I don’t know much about the Salem era of course I wasn’t there ( or was I? 👀) I assume these mothers didn’t just leave 7 kids playing in dirt somewhere on their own like ‘mommy will be back I just have to go and kill a witch because her mother doesn’t like her and is very jealous of her’ like did they not return and the kids found friends in the animals that obviously gathered around them and form powers to turn into them and just decide well! Time to kill Agatha in a few hundred centuries or whatever

I’m thinking to much about this I know I am, but isn’t it fun?!

Also finally, Wanda I love you I love you to pieces but! This is Agatha all along maybe a post credit scene for you to come back and be like ‘my son! I’ve missed you, now let’s find your brother’ but this show is about Agatha and her ex wif- search for power!

I’m rambling and it makes no sense but god I can’t wait until next week, hopefully the witches come out of the quick sand mud and kick teens ass and Rio helps of course!

[heartshapedbubble]

I had this headcanon for a real long time, and wanted to write it myself but im too much of a coward to start writing cause idk how tumblr works, anyways Joseph with an S/O who knows french??

OOOO as someone whos learning french myself this one intrigued me... here you go nonnie!! super cute prompt btw :] and dw! tumblr is no rocket science once you get the hang of its functions

ALSO!! im occassionaly gonna put some tunes to listen 2 while reading... so have some gackt era mm 4 today :] this song reminds me lots of dating joseph/joseph in general!! (alsothisiskindashortimsosorrynonnie)(sobs)

joseph with a s/o who knows french hcs📷

while dating joseph, your knowledge of french was kept a secret to him

(to josephs delight, of course)

joseph is and always has been a huge romantic he just can't help it okay?? you have him making up date plans in his head and making you presents and thinking of ways to make you red in the face the next time you two meet

(also if it isn't obvious already this man loves to plan. even if we're talking dating and relationships)

and obviously there are gonna be french pet names in play!! he's literally uncontrollable, he's so in love with you and just can't help it okay

he LOVES the idea of him whispering you sweet nothings in french as he holds you tight and you just pulling him closer to his chest... AND the idea of him writing you french poetry and your fingers slowly tracing over the foreign words and phrases, imagining them being softly cooed into your neck

...and all those plans are sent directly to hell during one cuddling session

as he pulls you closer to his chest, he whispers out:

"je suis folle amoureuse de toi, mon ange"

and you, uncontrollably, reply back:

"je t'aime plus, mon beau"

he suddenly jumps up, flustered and red in the face

like that was NOT according to the script to his head 🤨🤨🤨 but uhm who is he to complain

like he's still a bit >:((( for not telling him before but now he's got a new thing to obsess about

would 100% write you romantic poetry in french and gently put the paper under your pillow as he tucks you to sleep... he's expecting you to write to him back ofc >:o

he'd take pictures of you (you're his personal muse obviously🙏🙏) and make collages of you in his diary and write some MORE poetry and his lovey dovey french ramblings into it

congratulations you have officialy fried this man's brain you're on his mind 24/7 and he can't help giggling like a drunkard whenever he thinks of you

during matches you two often discretly chat or tell each other things in french to avoid attention

would probably quietly sing some french tunes on the hunter's side of the queuing room thinking you can't hear him (you can. and he's got a pretty nice voice🥰)

often holds afternoon tea parties for you two to chat in french (reason #2 of him holding them is to stuff your face with macarons and eclairs (HE REMEMBERS YOUR FAVOURITE FLAVORS)(AND TOPPINGS)(HOLY SHIT))

enjoys dancing ballroom dances with you sm... it's something he secretly misses from his mortal life/life before the manor

[ad0rechuu]

ANNOUNCEMENT TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. — ad0rechuu’s indefinite hiatus TRIGGER WARNING: suicide/suicidal thoughts, self harm, eating disorders, depression and other mental/physical illnesses, just a bunch of bitching and moaning. no detailed descriptions but read with caution if these are your triggers

Hi! hi! everyone it’s been a while, i’ve wrote this post time and time again but i was too scared to post it because i felt like i was a coward or a disappointment, i kept feeling overwhelmed but i got the push i needed. Maybe it’s adrenaline.

This isn’t an excuse, this is an explanation I don’t say this because I want pity, I want to be more open to the people i care about and i care about all of you. I’m sorry i have been so distant and have appeared angry even when though i’m not and haven’t replied to asks and such. I have a little trouble talking about my feelings because i always feel like i’m overreacting so instead of telling anyone directly i thought i’ll just make a post and we’ll see who the three people (hopefully less) who read this are lol

Truthfully i’m not doing well, i’ve been in the hospital for most of this year and things are only getting worse and worse. I know being chronically ill and depressed isn’t fun but it’s been harder on me this year.

My depression and issues with self harm and my eating disorder have been more unforgiving because of that i think. it got to the point where my thighs look like barcodes now and i survived another suicide attempt so now i’m on constant suicide watch. My personal life outside of this has also been lonely and rocky, the only one i feel like i have in real life is my mom but she’s already so busy and worried about me i don’t want to depend on her, i found through the constant arguments i have with my dad how difficult it was to raise an autistic kid and i don’t want to burden her even more especially now I’m an adult.

All in all I am a perfectionist who can’t do anything right and I’m too much to be worth loving and too little to be worth caring about.

I’m not sure what to do with this blog, i don’t want to abandon it and in my heart i want to come back to it with the motivation and passion you all deserve but i feel like that everything would be better without me, however i’m attached to ad0rechuu. idk maybe ill start anew

i wish i could just end it all, everyday i hope i either land in a coma or won’t wake up at all. hopefully one day soon i’ll succeed or acquire enough money to hire a hitman on myself but if i fail once again (which’ll probably happen with my track record) i’ll talk you again!

love you all so much and please take good care of yourself, i’m sorry if this post comes across as messy and corny i took a hell of a mix to calm down (nothing illegal dw) but u tried my best

and please remember that this is no one’s fault but my own

bye! bye!

[thesharkspajamas]

Jealous James

Requested by @im-kikimon - hope this is kind of what you were looking for :)

If anyone has requests or wants more of this AU please lmk I'm begging for feedback

Harriet - James' Pallas cat daemon

Gunnar - Ruby's badger daemon

Setting: the Beaufort twins are staying with the Bells after the mansion drama at the end of season one. (No real spoilers tho dw)

James listened to Kieran Rutherford’s pitch for an Ascot-themed Easter garden party. As outfitters to the King, the Beaufort family attended Ascot every year, and his mother always made every best dressed list.

“And what? We usher in Lexington in a carriage? So many people at Maxton attend Ascot that people would see it for the rip-off it is. You want to ask actual nobility to picnic like the Queen Anne enclosure?” James scoffed.

Rutherford flushed and his shoulders crept up to his ears. “Do… Do you have a better idea?”

The whole room turned to James, who did not, in fact, have a better idea. “I’m saying we can’t imitate something like that. We could keep the dress code and do a standard party - maybe themed with a flower type, hyacinths or something seasonal.” He shrugged, spinning the words out as they came to him.

Silence fell and the tension was thick as James had crushed Rutherford’s hard work a second time. Lin nudged Ruby until she stood up, “Um…” She hugged her notebook to her chest, and suddenly James felt embarrassed; she was clearly uncomfortable because he’d put her in an awkward position, again, without meaning to. He’d just tried to be helpful. “I think you’ve both got good points,” she nodded to herself as an idea formed, “maybe you could work together on this and come back next week with some solid ideas?”

Both boys scowled at her, but she thought it would be good for them to sort out their issues. She smiled and nodded as if they’d just agreed, “Great. Lexington said he’s trying to arrange the keynote speaker so we don’t have the final schedule yet, but they shouldn’t be more than an hour, and if the lunch starts at twelve then we should expect to serve food around one’oh’five.,” she started writing a vague outline on the paper pad, “canapes around six, as it’s a low alcohol event, carriages at nine, latest.”

…

James emailed Rutherford in the car after lacrosse practice:

Hi,

If you send me what you’ve got for the garden party I’ll read it through and email you back with some notes.

James Beaufort

Sent from my iPhone

That should do it. He didn’t particularly want to meet in person.

…

Rutherford sent a link to a Pinterest board later that evening. No message, only the link. James opened it and he realised he hadn’t just been an asshole to Ruby but to Rutherford as well. He could see the guy had put some serious effort into this, and that the Ascot theme was only a template rather than a theme.

He opened his email and started typing out an apology - cc’ing Ruby.

“Coward,” Harriet accused him.

James remembered how Ruby had apologised to him on the lacrosse pitch and deleted the draft.

...

"Hey,” he walked up to Rutherford, “can we talk about the garden party?”

Rutherford looked at the ground, “Yeah.”

‘Go on’ Harriet urged James with a glare.

“I apologise for being rude to you at the meeting. You clearly put a lot of work into the project and it was wrong of me to stomp on it like that.”

“Yannow, it always annoys me in those stories when the nice girl picks the hot guy who treats her like shit over the boring guy who really likes her.”

‘Yikes,’ James thought. He hadn’t been expecting that. “You think I treat her like shit?”

“You have.”

James exhaled, ‘yep, deserved that one. Wait, what does he know?’

“But…” Rutherford spoke up again, “I admit I’m blindsided by your apology. I think we can at least try to work together.” He pushed his glasses further up his nose.

James was stunned. He nodded, “Library? Breaktime?” 

“Yeah, I prefer the desk third from the door by the east window. There’s a squirrel drey in the tree right next to it.”

“Third desk from the door by the east window. Got it.”

James glanced at the empty desks near the windows; Rutherford wasn’t here yet. He pulled out his phone and checked the compass app before walking to the eastern side. He sat down at the third from the door and opened up his tablet. He’d made a folder in his sketchbook app last night of different things to go with the theme; invitations, drinks stands, signage, all sorts.

“Did you see the squirrel? It’s a Eurasian red squirrel, pretty rare for around here.”

James looked up as Rutherford sat down and hoped that his disinterest in all things squirrel wasn’t all over his face. “Couldn’t spot it.”

“That branch fork right there,” Rutherford leaned over the table and pointed to a nondescript cluster of twigs.

James nodded, “ahh” and angled his tablet so Rutherford could see it. “I liked the muted colours idea. That was clever. Lydia told me lupins are in season and they come in all sorts of colours, so I thought we could use those as a theme. I sketched an invitation.” He flicked through the app to his ‘sketch’ which had actually taken him ages.

Rutherford took it all in, “That looks really good. Can you mass-produce the invitation?”

“Not by hand, but we could have them printed or send it as an e-invite.”

Rutherford scrunched his nose and shook his head as if James was an amateur, “Paper. Always paper. We send an email to remind them to RSVP anyway, no use clogging their inbox.”

“If you’re okay with it I’ll send a photo to Ruby for her approval?”

“Uh, better on the group chat, the food people might want to put extra details on there and I was thinking about asking Lexington if we could use the conservatory in case it rains. That way we can have a garden or indoor party easily.”

“Good idea.” James added a new plain slide titled, ‘conservatory party rain’.

“And I wondered about an easter egg hunt. If you find an egg, you put your name on it and then you enter it into a raffle. Winner wins champagne or something.”

“Yeah. I can see that working. Where would we get the prize?”

“If you could design a fancy label, maybe we could re-label some champagne or something. Make it one of a kind.”

James nodded. He’d been forced to endure many events with some of these parents; they love the challenge of something they can’t buy. Rumour had it one of them bought a jar of honey for fifteen thousand pounds at a Tory charity gala. “That’ll do it. I’ll get on that. We have some easter eggs at my house from past Easter parties. I’ll ask the housekeeper if we can borrow those.”

Rutherford glanced at his watch, “I’ve gotta go, but it was good chatting with you, Beaufort.”

James stuck out his hand, “James. Thank you for being so decent about all this...” He made a vague gesture with his other hand.

Rutherford shook his hand, “Kieran.”

A few days later:

(Callum is an OC, and Percy (and an SUV) are assigned to chauffeur the Bells and Beauforts around while the twins stay with them. Mortimer sees it as a way of keeping them supervised, but not underfoot.)

James bit back a cringe as he watched Kieran present his and James’ party ideas to Ruby, (the whole committee was present, but he talked to Ruby as if they weren’t) desperate for a ‘good boy’ and a pat on the head or something. Pathetic.

When Ruby stood up, she thanked him ’so much’ for working with James on this, and how wonderful it was to have such ‘a cohesive committee working forward’ - or something like that. James was focussed on the way Rutherford was looking at her, like she was the only thing that mattered in the whole world.

James knew on some level that Kieran Rutherford was somewhat of a decent bloke. Just one with an insane crush on his girlfriend. And it was starting to irritate him.

He felt Harriet pawing at his ankle, “she verbally eviscerated you at Oxford,” she hissed, “keep it to yourself.”

‘Amazing how much you sound like him, like your father’, James realised Ruby was right; that was probably how his father would have dealt with it.

…

When Percy dropped Ruby and the twins back at the Bells, James got out of the back seat and slid into the front passenger seat. Percy regarded him calmly; he always spoke second.

“Percy. Could you give me some advice?”

Percy undid his seatbelt and shifted to fully face James, “Certainly, Sir.”

”There’s a boy on the events committee who clearly fancies Ruby. And, I’m… struggling to watch them interact.”

“You feel jealous when he talks to Ruby?” Percy clarified.

Jealousy sounded childish to James. Straight out of one of those awful romance books Lydia used to read. But, he realised that was exactly it. Jealousy. He nodded.

“What do you need my advice on?” Percy wasn’t sure if James needed any more advice;  sometimes as a kid he just needed help identifying what he was feeling and then he’d work it out himself.

“Last time, with someone else, I lashed out, and…” He didn’t want to admit it, but if he could admit it to anyone, it was Percy, “Ruby said I sounded like dad.” He looked at the textured dials as he held his head in shame.

“Communication is the foundation of any relationship. You each need to communicate your feelings and be vulnerable with each-other. Tell her how you’re feeling, but be mindful that the committee is an obligation to her, and he might be too.”

James reflected on the interactions he’d seen between Ruby and Rutherford. “I’ve never seen her reciprocate. She’s pretty closed off around him.” The more James thought, he realised Percy was probably right. The logical conclusion was that James didn’t have anything to be jealous about, but… ugh, it’s still there. Just a bit.

“Sir, have you officially asked her to be your girlfriend yet?”

James frowned and looked at Percy as if it was a forgone conclusion that she was.

Percy smiled softly. “Ask her.”

James nodded to himself. He could do that. He’d get her flowers too; he’d seen how happy that one rose made her. Angus had too. “Should I ask her father before?”

“Before you marry her, Sir.” Percy was really doing his best not to laugh, but the way James flushed really tested him.

…

James bought some flowers on his way back from his next run with Callum. Angus gave him a knowing look as he crept into the kitchen with the bouquet. 

“These are for Ruby. Where can I hide them while I shower?”

“There’s a vase in that cabinet,” Angus pointed to a cabinet. When James put it down on the counter Angus had a pair of scissors. “Giving a woman flowers like this,” he tugged at the wrapping paper, “is giving her a task. Giving them flowers in a vase means she just has to enjoy them.”

He proceeded to teach James how to cut and arrange flowers in a vase, making sure to add the plant food sachet to the water. “As for hiding them, you can put them in our bedroom for a while with the door closed.”

“Thank you.” He hadn’t even thought about the ‘giving her a task’ bit. Now he knew Ruby would ‘only have to enjoy them’ he was looking forward to asking her even more.

He ran upstairs and placed the vase just inside the doorframe of Helen and Angus’ bedroom before heading to the bathroom.

…

“Ruby”

Ruby and Gunnar both looked up from her manga to see James in her bedroom doorway, hiding something behind his back, it was cute.

All the practice James had definitely not done in the shower left him. He came to stand right next to the bed, stalling for time.

“I haven’t done this before, so I wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.” He saw Ruby’s brows furrow and quickly held the flowers out for her before she got the wrong idea, “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Ruby’s face was frozen in a delightfully surprised, open-mouthed smile, “Yes!” She set the flowers on the bedside table and hugged him tightly. James hooked his chin over her head and breathed in deeply, glad it had gone well. Would have been a bit awkward if it hadn’t. He saw Harriet and Gunnar curling up together on the bed and sighed as the extra feeling of intimacy washed over him.

…

“Ruby, can I ask you something?”

She gave him a look which screamed ‘you just did.’

“Is there, or has there ever been anything between you and Kieran? I’ve seen the way he talks to you, and while I’ve never seen you reciprocate… I just wondered…”

Ruby shook her head easily, “No. Nothing between us, I know he’s got a crush on me but hasn’t made any moves and I’m not interested in him. He’ll get the message, especially with you around.”

James was surprised that that was good enough for him. ‘Guess Percy was spot on on both accounts.’ He thought to himself. Harriet only moved her head in a way that said ‘told you so’.

[aragarna]

Hello ! First of all, thank you so much for all the DW's Zorro content. You have no idea how much this show means to me and what magic it does to my soul. So being able to see pictures, GIFS, fics and people talking about it is just like christmas every day. ANYWAY ! You may have already answered that question (whether in fics or in answer to asks), but I wanted to ask you again anyway : when do you think Alejandro guessed Zorro's true identity ? If I remember well, we have absolutely no clue about it in the show before he stops Diego from "outing" himself as the fox. I wanted to have your ideas about it and, let's be honest, talk and fangirl about this show and its characters with someone. x) THANK YOU !

Hi Anon, and thank you for your kind words. <3 This is the kind of message that motivates me to keep going, despite the tiny size of the fandom. <3 It's always nice to know one's work is appreciated, and that we're not doing it all for nothing. So I'm glad to hear you enjoy my gifs and my fics.

As for your question: Indeed, there is zero indication in canon that could give us a clue as to when or how Alejandro figured out his son is Zorro. My guess is that there wasn't any real plan, from the writers, to show us that Alejandro figured it out. Probably not even a solid plan to have him figure it out until they started writing that one episode. There was a hint in early S1 (the one with the guitar string) but there was never a follow up, so I think that idea was dropped at the time. So, yeah, in canon, there is nothing.

That said, it won't stop us from making things up, will it?

I might write it all in a fic one day, but in case I never get to it, here is my headcanon about it:

Throughout S1, Alejandro notes little things that seem odd about Diego. Of course, there's all the dodging, avoiding, sudden mood changes, etc... But also, all the times Diego and Alejandro found themselves at odd, only for facts to prove Diego right at the end. Most of the time, they are things that infuriate or disappoint Alejandro at first, but when thinking back, they tend to show that Diego is a lot smarter and wiser than most people (including his father) give him credit for:

Diego tried to dissuade his father and all the dons to go and attack the cuartel. Alejandro got angry that his son was such a coward, but Diego was right. Only because Zorro was there to save the day that it didn't end up in a disaster (And still, Alejandro got hurt).

Diego opposed the commitee of vigilance that his father and other dons created. He had strong words against his father, and Alejandro wasn't happy about it. And yet, in the end, events proved that he was indeed rushing judgment and that it was all very wrong.

During the final battle against the Eagle, when they are arrested, Diego makes what appears to be a coward deal with Varga. It turned out Diego escaped and ran to get the dons' help.

....

So I think there's plenty of events during S1, that could give Alejandro clues as to what's really going on with his son. He probably didn't make much of them at first. He also has plenty of reasons not to think Diego is Zorro. But once the idea germinates in his mind, it would be easy to look back and realize it was all there.

My own take is that it might have happened after the battle against the Eagle. Why would Diego not share his plan - that one of them should go get help - ? Why didn't he even try to defend himself against his father's accusation of cowardice? I'd add to that that when they are first arrested and locked into that basement, Diego unties his hands by himself, before untying his father's. He was very much ready to fight and certainly not "so afraid of dying" like he appeared to be five minutes later.

So yeah, Alejandro might not have put the puzzle all together exactly then, but certainly he was starting to see the pieces.

And I'd say that after all that, words must have reached him that Zorro was spotted in Monterrey, funnily enough, just when Diego has gone to Monterrey... It had to be more than a coincidence. ;-)

So that's my take on it, based on canon. But that's still very much only a headcanon. Anyone with a different one wants to share?

[marrowhyena]

Anonymous Coward asked: I heard you mention Dynasty Warriors a few times but your last Let's Play was of DW9. Do you think you will do another "Warriors" game on the channel, like the upcoming DW Origins?

New Dynasty Warriors after all this time is a jump scare lol. I played a LOT of Dynasty Warriors as a teenager, so I look back fondly on it, but overall what I value in games has changed a lot since back then.

On the channel I covered Hyrule Warriors (my first Zelda game on the channel lol), which seemed gimmicky and short enough to risk playing, and I did a co-op playthrough of Arslan: The Warriors of Legend. Back on our channel "The SaD Games" I played some Samurai Warriors 4 with Andrew, which I figure is probably their best game so far.

The thing is, the way I used to play Dynasty Warriors games was kinda like how people play, idk, Warframe today. It's inherently repetitive, methodical, and meditative. So I'm not really into the idea of doing a playthrough of one of their games again because there's inherently almost nothing to say. You're often literally doing one combo over and over again for hours lol. I got suckered into trying DW9 because it seemed like it might be an interesting re-invention, but in reality it was the same tired gameplay but without the satisfaction of solving a compact level. There's a Dead Rising / Pathologic vibe to DW levels where your precise actions aren't super involved so they become all about your long term decision-making: the route that you're taking as you PowerWash Simulator across the map. SW4 took this concept in the coolest direction by having you control two characters at once and switch between them, giving you the satisfaction of being able to juggle two routes at once. But you need defined levels. Open world ruined Dynasty Warriors 9 the same way that it ruins basically everything, so I quit.

At this point I feel like I'd only really consider covering one of the games as a co-op experience because at least then we're hanging out and talking about stuff with the game as background noise. That's how I experienced a lot of the series: as local split-screen games. But now we have stuff like Satisfactory etc, so who needs it?

I know nothing about Dynasty Warriors Origins really, but it's single-player only, so that's out the window. I guess I'd have to see if the game reinvents the formula in a way that might be interesting on a more moment-to-moment level. But I kind of doubt it? Until I see otherwise I find it safe to assume that it'd be boring to watch and not that great to commentate over, so I'd rather spare myself the commitment.

[Smile or comment on the answer here](https://retrospring.net/@Boring_Keith/a/113239208149199313)

[crimson-kisses]

If you're okay with it, please give poly headcanons for Nyo Poland and Nyo Lithuania with a darling who rejects their confession.

I am down for anything dw babes, more drama in the menu tonight ladies ✨ two traumatized mentally unstable maidens who would kill for you. Warnings: yandere obv, guaranteed throwing of hands and bloody swords. Very harsh language :(

Sworn promises.

Nyotalia Poland — Florentyna Łukasiewicz  Nyotalia Lithuania — Tatjana Lorinaitytė

“You stupid, air-headed arrogant bitch”

Tatjana muttered whatever curses and insults came at the tip of her tongue through gritted teeth, she was injured but had managed to draw blood by drawing a clean cut on the waist of the woman she had grown to loathe. She was always a better swordswoman than her, moves calculated and precise, and even though her opponent was a force to be reckoned with, her skills were just superior.

It’s wasn’t rare for Florentyna to get on her nerves, unlike their male counterparts, they both were rather distant, and although as much as they tried, there was always a barrier between them which stilted any growth in their friendship. Of course, they are nations, relationships and friendships shuffle about. That was reasonable.

What really pissed her off was the Polish woman’s arrogance, her naive risky attitude towards everything sometimes gave her a headache. And after what she had done? Oh she had gone to her lover, which they both agreed to share after a through conversation and a heartfelt discussion (bleh), and apparently screwed any chances of them being together. Or rather, her chances.

Florentyna had been too strong on the poor thing, you were after all an easily flustered, pure soul, soft spoken and easily stressed who had been intimidated by the extravagant flirting followed by borderline harassment. It was a disaster. Tatjana had no issues with confessing herself, but she had grown anxious and despite her warnings, the blonde had took off over to the bar you worked at. Decided to get drunk off her ass and then propose to you in the most inappropriate manner possible.

She had no idea just why exactly didn’t she see the issue, or the importance mostly, of the situation they were dealing with!? Tatjana knew that Florentyna was a smart, cunning woman who could stand up to Anya or Berlinda even, why was she so careless and tactless when it came to you?! It frustrated her to no end to see her playing around with you in this manner, she herself wasn’t the most bold person around, mostly because of her spiraling anxious thoughts concerning you.

"Better than being a spineless coward like you, what had caught your tongue from ever revealing your feelings?",

Florentyna gave a taunting smile towards the brunette, even though her wounds hurt a lot, she endured the pain, after all she had gone through worse things. This was merely a scratch really. The bloodloss only made her more excited, it was wonderful to annoy the shit out of 'miss-stick-up-her-spineless-flat-ass'. Gosh, this woman could be very judgmental, not that she cared anymore.

Tatjana huffed in disbelief and tilted her head in an observing way, eyes narrowed and blinking tiredly from the whole ordeal they were going through. She briefly lowered her sword, damaged braid tossed behind her back with barely constrained rage.

"You do realise, you braindead whore, that this situation screwed any chances for both of us", she barely dodged the high kick from her opponent and crouched down to the ground before headbutting the lady in the gut, causing a satisfied grunt followed by a loud thud.

Florentyna hissed at the sharp pain on her sides, flipping herself on her feet just as quickly as she had been head butted, swaying from the sudden motion and simply gave the Lithuanian an unimpressed look, as if she had heard the most idiotic thing from her mouth.

"You think I don't know that?", she nonchalantly responded while rolling her eyes, although she was still alert and honestly she knew her own limits quite well too. Both of them have been fighting since sunrise, "If anything, we didn't stand a chance either way, you pathetic masochistic slut",

"Don't you bring Nikolai into this!!", the Polish woman gave a crooked smile at the frustrated screeching tone and rolled to the side, barely avoiding getting a wound once more from that damned sword. A teasing glint in her eyes.

"Really?, what made you think I was referring to him Tatji?", Florentyna knew that the man was still a sore topic somewhat, being her ex-lover or whatever, but it was a great fun now and then. To tease her about it and watch her emotionally combust at the mere mention of their so called relationship. She only got a snarl in return and managed to step close enough to the woman, swiftly hitting her square on face with her elbow and managing to slam the brunette on the floor by hitting her behind the knee with her foot.

Tatjana swore she was going to murder the piece of shit but the intense pain stopped her from even seeing straight, damn it, she should have known there was no winning fairly with honor with this menace of a woman. She saw stars until after a while she was met with the face she had grown irate by.

"Just what do you mean???",

Florentyna took a seat on the tummy of the woman seething below her in sweet disdain, with a usual carefree demeanor. A sigh escaped her lips, turning into a beaming smile as she twirled her dagger playfully. Not that it made the situation any better, as she bent closer to her ear and answered in a low whisper,

"It was bound to be a 'no' all along; like, we could simply take such matters and inconveniences, into our own hands".

She got up from her position cautiously, both of the women holding their gazes with no words needing to be exchanged. Until finally, Tatjana picked herself up off the ground, holding her sword with a strong grip, a newfound determination set upon her. A stiff nod towards her companion who simply gave her an aloof expression in return.

"Let's proceed then".

I like to think, Florentyna would consider their odds from the start especially considering the fact that you would be a mortal. She is naturally a very cynical individual, hence she would consider many scenarios about how a poly relationship would go with a human and her fellow nation with whom she has quite a history with.

It would take Tatjana much more convincing to actually go through with the plan, as unlike the other, she is very considerate about your wellbeing above all. She would have to be very concerned about a particular issue to finally follow through with what Florentyna would suggest. Which won't be that difficult.

I like to think about Florentyna not caring much about your defiance regarding their relationship, she has gone through a lot of shit to care anymore. Being a heavily traumatised individual, she has simply stopped caring about a lot of things along the way. More so than Felix. Being much more crazy and unstable.

Tatjana on the other hand, is more level headed than Tolys, is less sensitive and more likely to hold a decent relationship with you. She would be rather protective, and would be more sympathetic to your situation, make no mistake though she won't be going against her word of promise unless something drastic has been done against you. She somewhat trusts the Polish woman and acknowledges her sense of loyalty but is also wary of when things get too tense.

So most likely, yes you will be kidnapped. There will be a heated debate involving the process, and it probably will continue after you have been taken by them.

A slight groan escaped your chapped lips as the dull pain throbbed across your forehead, harsh sunlight blinding your eyesight as the curtains were hasty pulled open.

"Are you stupid Tatja?, close the fucking curtains, you're going to blind the poor babe",

What?, you tried hard not to panic and make sense of what was going on, although it seemed as if your body naturally went on a panic mode, skin burning from the friction of the ropes and you almost vomited because of the gag placed in your mouth.

You remembered the blonde lady, and you swore you somewhat remembered the brunette. But well, no shit, if they were going to kidnap you, they must have been stalking you to know about your vacation whereabouts. The conclusion made you even more distraught and rightfully frustrated at the situation.

"Sorry, but the last thing we need is to cause a panic attack, being able to see is more likely to make them feel secure",

"Are you speaking out of your ass? Because that excuse was full of shit",

Tatjana simply sighed through her nose in annoyance and walked closer to where you were tied up to a chair. Seemingly expressionless, her eyes were filled with concern and almost a hint of fear, for what exactly you didn't know. Gloved hands caressed your face and you flinched in instinct at the movement.

"Don't worry........ ignore that empty headed woman, I shall take good care of you myself. Just let us play pretend for now, alright?"

Your eyes widened at the comment, and although you felt uncomfortable at the prospect of betrayal between the friends, couldn't you take advantage of the mutual distrust between the both of them?

Because you didn't miss the narrowed look of annoyance Florentyna sent towards the brunette nor the way she seemed ready to pull you away from her in any moment.

Yes, both of them would play pretend with each other, sure they could share you but both of them won't get along at first. These feelings will intensify until you escape or get taken away by someone else. You would think you could take advantage of this rivalry between them both, although once they catch on, they would be willing to put aside their differences and claiming you as theirs once again.

In the end, you rejection doesn't matter. Take it with a grain of salt, it was nothing but a simple form of basic courtesy from their side. I mean Tatjana would honestly disagree but Florentyna would make it clear that it was just that and nothing more.

Although they would question you about it, make sure to give a positive answer because Florentyna would tear you apart otherwise if she's in an unstable state and Tatjana is more likely to have an emotional meltdown, so choose your words rightly, she wouldn't dare hurt you of course. But the former would if she loses her mind for a moment.

You have to understand that even though they are friends, they have different mindsets and are intense in different ways. There are several things they will disagree on, causing frustration and mild conflict, and also they would have different opinions on how they should treat you depending on specific circumstances. And this would include the consequences of you rejecting their confession.

[spicyraeman]

Well interacting with you makes my week too! **aggressive friendly fist bump**

I hope your holidays are going well 😁

Wolfheart is ending me. Can I pet that dawg? CAN I PET THAT DAWG? (https://vt.tiktok.com/ZGeN9U7kG/)

I love seeing the hairy SH art! PCOS / trans / wolf girlie, I stan all versions I see. We're not cowards here! The new band drawings are fire, still making my heartrate go jglcbxlw. And seeing the growth? Honestly it's magic to me, I think it's perfect then it becomes even more perfect and I'm just how?? How possible?

Veteran'zel, Baby'zel, Beam'zel, Horny'zel, Rat'zel, all I do is love'zel! The cheetah/dog doodle + wet rat'zel made me hiccup from laughter, we were blessed.

Buddy, Karlach's got her tail docked like the gith children, that's why! See, problem fixed **insert Flex Tape meme**

Also for Lae'zel's accent : yes, she would have such a harsh accent! As a foreign speaker, the pronunciation isn't always intuitive and is sometimes paradoxal. She probably never used some sounds, and it's hard to guess a lot of them. It's so inconsistent. I lack air in the middle of my sentences because of the tonal accentuations differences. Languages are crazy man. Lae'zel would have a stroke, struggling to say "library" with Gale correcting her.

I've been upgraded to bestie? Careful, I feel like the most specialest goblin in town now 😎

I also wanted to share with you my recent victory : I passed my exams with unexpectedly high grades! It's been 10 years since I succeeded in anything school related, I feel strangely proud and hopeful. I attribute this partly to the intense hyperfixation for BG3. I can come back to this fandom and get comfort when I feel burned out and in need of motivation. Thank you for being part of it and sharing your blorbos with us. Good soup for our cold starving souls. So yeah, you and your art matter even if you find it bleh sometimes and you doubt yourself.

I wanted to be brief but I'm incapable of shortening shit even if my life depended on it. Violently dumping my brain in your ask like I'm late on garbage collecting day. Sorry not sorry for the awkward emotional stuff. Take care of yourself, bestie ✌️

🫀🚑

Sry for answering these “backwards”, I just needed to get the conlang stuff out first before all my good braincells shut down lol

hope the holidays are going well on your end as well :]

To pet a werewolf truly is the dream isn’t it, wereshart is prob my fav hc for her it just fits so well. I've been trying really hard lately to figure out how to draw her recently bc despite the art disparity her and lae’zel are neck in neck at being my fav characters. Seeing the growth in the bass drawing really gave me that boost of confidence that I'm at least slightly getting there lol

I truly do love Lae’zel in every form, but wet rat’zel rotates in my mind more than it should, sadly its not a hc I could ever commit to considering I can’t even remember Karlach’s canon tail lmaoo I really should just hc that karlach got her tail docked at this point, that or I need to make a checklist for her so I can go through and make sure ive got all her bits when I draw her

Also Ive already posted my big rambling mess about Gith accents but yeah harsh accent lae'zel best lae'zel, it just makes sense

But yoooo big gratz on the exams! Def something to be proud of!! I can agree this fandom really is a huge motivator, I haven’t had this much drive to do anything I've been doing recently in years. Glad I could help provide a lil comfort spot full of blorbo soup for the soul lol

Dw about shortening shit as you’ve prob seen i’m prone to rambling and also every emotion I experience is awkward so that's just par for the course here.

Hope life treats you well till the next ask, peace ✌️

[swordfright]

Okay, so I didn't really have a "first" impression of you because I just. Didn't realize that you were one person. I'd see some of your fics and I'd sometimes see you on tumblr and it took me WAY too long to realize they all linked back to the same place, and it was like some divine revelation for me, oh so THAT'S why all these fics are so good! It's the same person!

Which is still my impression of you. Amazing writer, amazing artist, very insane. If I dissected your brain I'm scared of what I would find. (It also makes me very happy that you're a c!Quackity enjoyer.)

OH ELM 💕🌳 i think the thinking i was multiple ppl thing was my fault skdfjgjk i used to post all my mcyt fics on anon like a COWARD

Also dw you don’t have to dissect my brain here i’ll do it for you

[coco6420]

AYYY HI, GUESS WHO'S BACK TO INFEST UR ASK BOX [gonna keep it shorter this time, dw][also hi to the moots who have now been initiated by getting one of my asks] [warning: I'm known to be quite annoying]

✰ if you had intro music, what song would you want it to be?

✰ if your life was a book, what would the title be?

✰ and most importantly, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

HELLOO NO ITS OKAY I LOVE THESE HAHA

uh maybe the wii theme so ppl dont judge me to srsly and cuz i literally did a performance to it cuz i didnt wanna expose my playlist's etc :')

My Publishers Will Regret This!

NO.I would either get killed or off myself in fear unless there was like a community I could coward with hahahah.

[shewhowantsmouseears]

darkwing + dragons = drabble

After reading that fae disney fic earlier, I wanted to write something. So I took a pluck of an AU I had. Basically this is just “mel writes simps and their hot queens again”.

Whether this is like original DW or the DT17 is up to your imagination.

It had been roughly fifteen minutes since Drake Mallard, a.k.a Darkwing Duck, a.k.a The Dark Knight, a.k.a. The Violet Avenger, a.k.a about twenty other nicknames he’d given himself, first stood in front of the cavern’s entrance. Not because he was afraid or anything, of course! He feared nothing and no one! Especially not the dragon he had bravely volunteered to slay! His knees knocking? The wind was a little chilly, that’s all. The gulp that echoed into the darkness of the cave? Some food stuck in his gullet. His hesitance to take a single step further in the abyss? That was… You know… just a…

 Okay, so, perhaps, he was the teeniest, tinest, itty-bitty-ist nervous about the job he had taken. Maybe it wouldn’t have killed him to listen to the entire description of said job before he had loudly declared to take it on. At the tavern, his previous displays of heroism had gone under severe scrutiny, and even his own beloved daughter was joining in on a few jokes aimed at his esteem. So when one of the King’s adversaries announced a hefty reward for whoever would stop the rampant thievery of gold and jewelry that had been going on within the dark woods, Drake hadn’t even let the man finish his sentence before brazenly his eventual victory. He had bragged about how he’d taken down villains and ruffians of all shapes and sizes, so whoever was committing these thefts didn’t stand a chance against him.

 Then whe he was told it was a dragon stealing said riches… well. It was a bit too late to back off, especially when his dear daughter began giddily praising dear daddy about his future fight.

 So there now Drake stood, sweating buckets down his feathers, remembering the warnings the king’s adversary had given – how the dragon’s size dwarfed the largest castles, the sharp claws that tore through metal like paper, and the fiery breath it spewed that could OH HE WAS SO DEAD.

 Him and his big mouth! What had been thinking?! Sure, if he turned back now he’d be called a gutless coward, but at least he’d be alive to hear the insults! Better to die in shame than to die in ashes! What did he have? Token armor of any knight, a simple sword, and a few pellets of smoke used to make a flashy entrance – how was that supposed to win against a beast of such legend? At that moment, Drake turned back around, ready to high-tail it out there, hoping maybe he could distract his daughter’s disappointment with a pony –

 When he heard singing.

 “Emeralds and rubies, diamonds and pearls,

I take in their beauty, more lovely than girls,

Give me a coin, I’ll give you a kiss,

But no love can give me this same kind of bliss…”

“One last thing,” the man had said before taking his leave and wishing Drake well on his ill-thought-out quest. “Many of those who have failed this task have heard a woman’s beautiful singing voice from the lair of the dragon. Some say it’s the dragon itself trying to lure in a victim. Others say it belongs to a victim herself, trapped by the dragon for their entertainment. Whatever the truth is… no one has ever seen who the voice belongs to.”

 The man hadn’t been kidding – the singing was indeed beautiful. It stopped Drake in his tracks, blinking a bit at the odd dissonance. The cavern itself was dark, with chilling winds and the stench of rotted meat. Yet the voice was soft and peaceful, as if whoever was singing hadn’t a care in the world. If the circumstances weren’t what they were, he might’ve been content to simply bask in the lyrics and enjoy the sweet caress of her dulcet tones. But it served as a heavy reminder – maybe there was a trapped woman inside. Drake’s conscience simply couldn’t let her stay there.

 With a deep and heavy sigh, damning this conscience, Drake turned back into the cavern and began to walk. Every so often, he was tempted to walk back, but each time he did, that voice would lure him forward. Drake did have an appreciation for the female form, so to speak, but it’d been a very long time since he’d thought of pursing anyone romantically. He’d been devoted to knighthood to begin with, and then when Gosalyn came along, she became his most important person. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want some female companionship – it just wasn’t a priority. There were more important things in life – like trying not to get eaten by a dragon.

 To his surprise, the darkness wasn’t everlasting. The further he went along, he spotted lit torches on the sides, illuminating the fact the cavern split off into dozens of different directions. The rancid smell also lessened – perhaps it had only been a few unlucky animals that came to rest and died, which was a much better thought than it having been previous knights who failed the task. “Come to think of it,” Drake thought to himself as he flipped a coin to decide which path to take, “He never said the dragon killed anybody.” How strange.

 He didn’t know much about dragons – did anyone, really? But why didn’t the gigantic, fearsome beast kill someone – even by accident – as it was taking treasure chests and other pretty things away? With its size and power, it would have been like swatting flies. He mulled about this as he began to kneel down – the path he’d chosen was getting smaller, the walls closing in and the number of torches were fewer. But there was a light at the end of this tunnel, and the singing was at its strongest. Soon he could see that the path would come to a complete stop, and he swallowed hard – somehow, he was high, high, high above a gigantic dragon’s horde! He peered down at the literal mountain of golden coins and sparkling jewelry, all of it illuminated by thousands of torches up and down the walls. Even the king couldn’t possibly be this rich!

 Drake’s eyes wandered over all the various tokens and trophies, wondering if he could get away with a pocketful or two – raising a child as a single parent was expensive! – before realizing, to his great relief, there was no sign of the dragon. He could live for another moment. Maybe the dragon was out hunting for more treasures, and then it’d return here. Surely by then he’d come up with a master plan to defeat it. Maybe there was a clue among the coins! His eyes searched and searched until they found –

 “Sapphires and topaz, amber and jade,

There is no beauty for which I would trade,

Give me a coin, I’ll give you a kiss,

But no love can give me this kind of bliss…”

 The most ravishing woman in all of existence.

 What an opportune time to realize Drake had a type, and this woman that was sitting ever so casually on one mound of coins was checking off every box he didn’t know he wanted. Even from his angle he could tell she was a tall beauty, with shapely legs lazily drifting out from a flowing red rose dress that glittered like scales underneath sunlight. (Which should have been a hint.) As she sung her song of selfish desires, she held up a rather large ruby with long yellow and black claw-like fingernails (Which should have been another hint.) With a tilt of her head, her long dark hair fell over her face, a white streak in the middle proudly standing out, but even then, her rich green eyes shone out, her slitted pupils taking in the treasure. (Which should have been THE biggest hint OF THEM ALL.)

 To say Drake was smitten was an understatement, much as it would be to call a typhoon a few drops of water. He completely forgot why he was there in the first place, his little tail wagging so hard it could have made a hurricane. He leaned forward to both get a better look at this mysterious maiden and to hear her enchanting voice all the better –

 And leaned in too much. While in his hometown he was known for making dramatic entrances, they had less THUMPS, WHACKS, and OWs in them as Drake managed to somehow hit every single jagged rock that was on his way down, along with smacking into several treasure chests that had been previously closed up. The armor likely helped him from breaking any important bones, but it may have also ruptured a few important organs. By the time he wound up rolling right in front of the very startled woman, he noted this was probably the fourth worst concussion he’d ever had.

 The woman, meanwhile, had dropped the ruby and immediately began to stand, eyes narrowed dangerously and hiding one hand began her back – as she spoke, the hidden hand’s nails became even more claw-like. “Who are you?” She snarled, fangs glinting as white as any of the stolen pearls at her feet. “Answer me, if you value your life! Why have you entered my domain?”

 There were valuable hints in her introduction and Drake wasn’t hearing any of them. Granted, his brain was badly battered and bruised, but her beauty also had a deciding factor in his blindness. He shook his in an effort to clear it, before valiantly propping himself up on one knee. “Fear not, fair maiden, for I am here to rescue you!”

 Whatever the woman had been expecting him to say, apparently it hadn’t been that. Her expression changed six different times as the words sunk in, and she even took a glance behind her, as if somehow a fair maiden had wandered in without her notice. After a long moment of confusion and hesitation, she brought out her (untransformed) hand and pointed to herself. “I’m sorry, but…” she asked slowly, anger gone and replaced with befuddlement. “When you say, fair maiden, you don’t mean me, do you?”

 “Of course I do!” Drake replied immediately, hand to his chest. “Yes, this makes perfect sense now! The dragon collects beautiful things to keep for itself, so it’s only natural it would also collect the most beautiful woman on earth!” He stated these things calmly, as if it was natural fact, and that anyone would clearly agree with him.

 The woman – with her dragon-like dress and dragon-like nails and dragon-like eyes – blinked slowly in stupefied disbelief.

 “I am Sir Darkwing Duck,” he continued, oblivious to the woman’s incredulity. “And I am here to slay the evil dragon that has been plaguing our fair kingdom!” With that dramatic flourish out of the way, he began to look here and there before asking, “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know where the dragon is, do you?”

 The woman placed a hand over her mouth, which Drake took a sign of her being in awe of such chivalry, instead of her physical effort to restrain hysterical laughter. After a few seconds of settling down, she weighed her options, and decided she was just bored enough to play. “Ah, yes, the dragon,” she finally replied, choosing her words carefully, fingers pressed together. “Why, I think you just missed them. I haven’t seen them today. But, if I may ask…” She began to walk around him, as Drake nervously popped off his helmet, sweaty now from nervousness instead of fear. “What is your reward for taking down the beast? A loftier title? A proud mark of land? Or, maybe…” At his side, she tucked two of her fingers underneath his large beak and tilted his head upwards. “A kiss from a pretty princess?”

 She even made sure to draw out the “s” sounds, a forked tongue flickering teasingly to see if he’d get the hint.

 He didn’t, though he did make a very entertaining “HRGK” noise in his throat. After a choke and a sputter, he suddenly began backing up, tripping over his elongated cape in the process “NOOOO no no no no no no no no! No princesses! None of that!” A squeaky laugh escaped his mouth as he tried to find his footing. “This is, uh, you know… for justice! For all! It is my noble duty to defeat any forms of evil! Because, miss, ah…?”

 “Morgana,” she answered, now taking her time to lay down on the coins the same way one would normally lay on their beds, “Morgana McCawber.”

 “Morgana.” Drake repeated, first in a lovestruck stupor, before trying to snap back to reality. “A-hem. Miss McCawber-”

 “You can call me Morgana, if you desire.” She began to toss a bejeweled necklace back and forth in her palms.

 Having a voice that sensual say the word desire was not helping Drake’s sweat problem. “M-M-Morgana. I… have a duty to… help those who have been wronged! And a kidnapping is one of the biggest wrongs of all! So before I can get any slaying down, I’ll be more than happy to help you escape from here!”

 “Pass.” Morgana only stopped her game of toss to admire her own reflection in the necklace’s many shines.

 Drake blinked once. Twice. Three more times. “Pass?” Surely, he must have heard wrong. “You can’t pass on being rescued!”

 “I don’t need to be rescued, for I was never kidnapped.” This was the truth, and she continued to spin more ‘truths’. “The dragon and I… have an agreement, you could say. We both enjoy all the lovely things in life, so we share whatever the dragon obtains. Why should I leave a life of luxury? I have everything I could ever want here.”

 “But… but…” Drake grasped the air, trying to find the sense in all this. What kind of fairy tale had the damsel in distress deny being in distress? She didn’t appear to fear the dragon at all! Had being kept there for so long warped her innocent mind? “Okay, look, you can’t just stay here with a gigantic, dangerous, fire-breathing dragon! It’s only a matter of time before it turns on you!” She barely appeared to be listening, flicking a few coins playfully with her fingers. If she wanted to be stubborn, so could he! “I can’t just leave you here! I’m rescuing you, and that’s that!”

 Morgana made an amused “hm” sound, and then stretched a bit like a sleepy cat before freely lifting her left leg and slowly dragged it under Drake’s beak. “You are, are you now?”

 As she expected, this gesture proceeded to melt his brain into pudding. Any chances of a coherent plan to get Morgana out of the cave were gone. Any chances of brain cells surviving were also nil. All he could do was stand there stupidly, his cheeks redder than a farmer’s best grown tomatoes, eyes so wide it’s amazing they didn’t roll out of their sockets. “Uh,” he attempted a sentence, failed, attempted again, failed again. Any time it seemed like he could have been broken out of his lustful trance, Morgana simply moved her leg back and forth, back and forth, and he once again became a helpless puppet.

 Still, Morgana thought, this was more fun than she’d had in some time. Not that she’d ever admit to being lonely or any such weakness. Why not draw it out a little more? She pulled her leg back and began to sit up – Drake fell face forward into the coins and didn’t bother getting up right away. “There is something you can do for me, sir knight.”

 He mumbled something into the coins that could have likely been the words “oh please oh please oh please” several times. What remained of his common sense managed to smack him, and he promptly sat up, spitting out a few silver tokens. “What’s that?”

 “Let’s make a deal.” She smiled as she spoke, tapping her nails together. “It’s been some time I’ve been among people… perhaps things have changed. If you can find me something out in this world more beautiful than any coin or jewel, I’ll leave this cave for good.”

 For the first time in his life, perhaps as a kindness from the gods, Drake was able to come up with something rather smooth. “I don’t suppose a mirror would count?”

 Morgana chuckled – maybe took a look to make sure there were no rings on his fingers – and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Very clever, my knight, but no. Find me something truly beautiful, a once in a lifetime treasure, and I give you my word… I’ll leave with you.”

 As much as Drake’s hormones wanted him to instantly agree, and do anything else she asked of him, and boy did he ever want her to ask more of him, he drew a deep breath. On a moral high ground, this was dubious. She was an ally of the dragon, it appeared, and would only leave on account of greed. Yet there was a lingering light of hope. There was beauty in the world out there, but beauty was subjective. He’d have to be creative and show her that the world was worth living in, and shutting yourself away like some hermit wasn’t healthy. This could be the start of a new quest!

 His idealism and ego mixed rapidly. Once he convinced her of how wonderful the outside world could be, then maybe she’d help him slay the dragon! Now there was a fairy tale laying in wait! The power of love conquering evil! And then they’d live happily ever after, and she’d be an excellent mother to Gosalyn, and they’d get married, give Gosalyn some siblings, and then all those jerks who laughed at him in the tavern would shut their traps when they saw the gorgeous piece of tail he nabbed WHO’S THE DWEEB NOW YA BUNCH OF JERKS –

 “Well? Do we have a deal?” Morgana’s hand was outstretched and waiting for him.

 Boy, he’d been taking a lot of trips to fantasy land lately. Drake cleared his throat, and, praying his palms were no longer sweaty, took Morgana’s hand to give it a firm shake.

 “Deal.”