#everyone else is technically here but you can barely see them so eh

[princess-self-shipping]

'I should have seen it coming' 'Or noticed sooner!' 'I should have known that wishing' 'Was all but fodder!' 'I should have let the weight of savior' 'Fall on my shoulders' 'I should have known that something' 'Wouldn't go as planned'

[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card

To my surprise this had already ended, and over a year ago too. Apparently CCS isn't big enough in my circle for it to have been bigger news.

First things first, the worst sin this manga commits is that there aren't nearly enough magical girl outfits! CCS is known for Tomoyo crafting a new one for every event, but this time most of the Card Catching happens so spontaneously that there's no time for a costume change. Which I suppose technically makes sense in-story, but I still reject this and would instead prefer any kind of excuse to get Sakura into a cute new fantasy outfit every chapter, no matter how nonsensical it might be.

Then for the actual content. In general I can see why CCS is such a beloved classic, but personally I've never been too big on it. Which makes it a little difficult to judge the sequel, like is it actually meh, or am I just being a hater again? I just can't get into these characters, I can like a good wholesome story like Yotsuba& where everyone is super nice, but in CCS the cast is just so saccharine that they barely feel human, so it's hard to get invested. It's like Sakura is rather meant to be someone's ideal daughter instead of her own person, like she's eternally pure, ever so helpful and well behaved, never has a nasty thougth in her mind, and so on.

Another issue I remember from the original manga that still persists here is how almost every character hides important information from Sakura. You can "well actually" most of it, like a lot of the time there is a decent reason, but there's just so much of it that to me it feels kind of patronising, or frustrating when the main character is always several steps behind. Some of the secrecy doesn't even lead to anything interesting story-wise, like eventually the information gets out and Sakura is a little upset for one panel, and then everything is forgiven. I don't know how much of a fair criticism this is, but the "keep secrets from the main character to protect them" trope is one of my pet peeves (unless you lean into the broken trust aspect, then it's good) and I feel it strongly here. Also in general it's a good thing that the side cast has their own thing going on so that the main character is not the only one who gets anything done, but here Sakura sometimes gets lost in everyone else's planning.

The new girl Akiho is at least cute, I got no complaints on her. I'm also always a sucker for any kind of twin/clone/otherwise similar and paired characters, so my favourite thing about the manga was how she kept being compared to Sakura. As for the story otherwise… Eh. Feels a lot like a retread of the original manga, Sakura's Cards disappear and she must get new ones one by one. The character relationships are pretty static and I don't think I really learned anything new about Sakura. There are a lot of Alice in Wonderland references, which for the most part felt superfluous. Towards the end Sakura's class puts up a play that's a pastiche of Alice in Wonderland, and then Sakura gets sucked into the world of the play, and the story gets pretty confusing when the characters are both acting their roles and doing the actual plot.

Also if you're into Tomoyo/Sakura or Toya/Yukito you don't need to bother with this because you'll be scrambling for crumbs, there is little else in terms of shipping besides Sakura/Syaoran. Which is like the most vanilla ship ever, sure it's wholesome but man I just can't get anything out of them.

[moonfurthetemmie]

This part got way out of hand. It ended up sounding like a proper fic, as I had even more thoughts about how shit's going back in the Dreamswap MV as I was writing. Sorry (no im not)

How the Meme Squad got involved (mostly be accident)

So, back in DreamSwap, JR isn’t technically completely gone. There were quite a few people who’d been elsewhere–out on missions, people off work who didn’t live in the castle, that sort of stuff. Ink and Finch survived! Mainly because I feel merciful at present. But it’s a very, very tiny fraction of what they were.

News of JR’s demise gets out some hours after it literally exploded. It hits every news network in the multiverse, and the Meme Squad gets to see a live report from a shell-shocked reporter who’s just barely able to keep their composure. 

What the hell could’ve destroyed the entire castle? Jesus Christ…

Nightmare casually pats himself down and goes “well. I’m alive. So Dream’s alive. So that’s good, I guess?”

The news continues on. There’s a handful of JR people just standing in the background in shock. One of them wonders if “Lord Dream” is under the rubble. 

Over the next few days coverage of the disaster continues, and several teams from across the multiverse–as well as almost every surviving member of JR–start digging through the rubble. For those few days, there’s hope of finding survivors. They still think Lucidity is stuck in there, too.

But by day four even the most delusionally optimistic of them has given up.

No one who’d been in the castle survived. They’d either died from the fall as the whole building collapsed, or they died from the rubble falling on their heads. And by now, anyone who might have survived the disaster and gotten stuck under the rubble was most certainly dead. 

It’s almost impossible to tell how much of the fine gray sand is rubble or the remains of a monster who’d worked there. All they could do is look for clothes and pray their families would be able to identify them. 

But on day five, an investigation team arrives to try and figure out What In The Actual Fuck happened. The team consists of the multiverse’s top experts in magic, ballistics, explosives, various forensic specialties; anything and everything they could think of that might help them. The reporters follow them as closely as they can.

Eventually the explosives and ballistics guys go “Yeah, this was. Definitely a bomb. No clue what kind of bomb could do all of this without making the whole area radioactive as frick, though. In only slightly less surprising news, we found the origin of the explosion.”

The science nerds confer. Everyone names every type of bomb or missile they can think of and the explosives engineer just shakes their head. “No. There’s nothing I know of in the entire multiverse that could do this.”

Then the magic expert goes “...Hey, does anyone know if this place had a lot of ambient magic before this?”

A passing JR employee very calmly informs them that yes, there was some; all positivity, probably because Lord Dream was living here for so long.

The magics expert pulls out a little device. “By any chance, would you know how much? Or know anyone else who’d know?”

“Eh…Not really? As far as I know, no one bothered to like…take readings on it.”

The magics expert turns on the device and it beeps a few times before screeching about dangerous levels of magic in the area.

The device calms down a little as they (very quickly) get away from the epicenter, but it still is heavily encouraging evacuation. 

They make all the teams clear out and the magics expert calls some of their friends who specialize in treating magic overdose.

The next day the magics expert is sitting with the reporter near what look like medical tents, with the rubble that was once JR far in the distance. 

After the reporter reminds their viewers that there was an emergency evacuation of the whole area, and tells them where they are now, the magics guy takes a shaky breath. “There’s toxic levels of positivity in the area around the castle. Further out than the obvious physical effects of the explosion. We only know it’s positivity, because since getting out of there everyone’s become significantly more distressed. Several of the teams have been camping out in the area for the past few days. Those who’d left each night to go home weren’t as affected, but no one was really keen on leaving. Some, who’d seemed in good spirits for the most part, were almost combative when we told them we needed to evacuate. It took a lot of poking and prodding just to get them to agree to a check-up. In a few hours, every single one of them started to have emotional breakdowns. …Including, unfortunately, our reporter friends. They’ve had to stay here so we can keep an eye on them.”

“Most of us are recovering well,” The reporter says. Now that the magics guy has said something, they do look a little shaky. “The team of experts that arrived only yesterday were mostly unaffected. My cameraman and I may not be in top shape, but that’s not going to stop us from making sure everyone knows what’s going on here.” A muffled voice from behind the camera says, “I’ve had to improvise a camera stand, because they won’t let me hold the camera for too long. They’re not sure if there’s any lingering physical effects on our bodies, so we’re playing it safe. The, uh…the stand might not be super steady, though.”

The reporter nods, and turns to the magics guy. “Lord Dream is, as far as we know, the only being in the multiverse who has this kind of magic, correct? What does this mean?”

The magics expert just shakes their head slowly. “I have no idea. I’ve conferred with the rest of my team, and…well, several of us are wondering if Lord Dream really did die in the explosion. I…I guess the only way we can know is to keep digging, but…I’m afraid to find out what would happen if anyone stayed in the area too long. Until we can find a way to protect against the ambient magic, or neutralize it, we have to quarantine the area.”

“Forgive me, but this…this sounds almost like the aftermath of a nuclear weapon.”

“The explosives engineer said the same thing. ‘An emotional nuke’, I think they called it.”

A JR worker, just off screen, asks if they can say something. The reporter gladly gives them the stage.

They take a shaky breath. 

“I don’t think it’s common knowledge outside of the justice division of JR, but…the reason Nightmare has been able to stay at large for one hundred years is because Lord Dream can’t kill him. If he did, he would die, too.” The chatter around the three ceases. 

“I think he called it a ‘destiny bond’. He’s been trying to find a way to break it all these years, but we never had much luck.” They hesitate. “I…I think it would be a reasonable guess to say that if Nightmare dying would kill Lord Dream, then the reverse is true.”

The reporter’s eyes widen. “So if Nightmare is alive, then Lord Dream likely is, too.”

“We’re- we’re not asking him for help, right?” Someone in the background says. “Right?”

“We don’t need him to help,” the worker on camera says. “We just need to know if he’s alive. If he is, it’s only a matter of time before someone spots him.”

“Or Cross and Error can come out and say he ‘randomly’ dropped dead,” someone else mutters.

“I’m…I’m not sure that any of them would come right out to say anything,” the worker on camera says hesitantly. “But it would be the safest way to find out if Lord Dream is alive.”

“What if this ‘destiny bond’ doesn’t affect Nightmare if Lord Dream dies?” The reporter questions.

They shrug. “Then Nightmare can come out and say it. I’d be very surprised if those three weren’t keeping an eye on what’s been happening here.”

They look at the camera.

in their house the Meme Squad choke on their tacos

Nothing else of interest–at least, not to us, or to the Meme Squad–comes up in the report.

The Meme Squad debates whether or not they should say anything.

They decide the funniest thing to do would be to avoid direct contact with anyone, be super sus and totally obscure their identities with masks and sunglasses and hoodies and shit whenever they go out, and just make it really unclear whether or not he’s alive. They “drop hints” but no one has any fucking idea what they mean, especially since some of them seem to contradict each other. They do however confirm that if Lucidity died, Nightmare would too.

This goes on for several weeks. Eventually they realize that the Meme Squad is just fucking with them, but no one can figure out if this means Nightmare’s alive or if he’s dead and Cross and Error are enacting minor vengeance by confusing the hell out of everyone. Both options seem equally likely. It doesn’t help that they’ve started going out only in pairs or individually. If anyone recognizes any of them, it’s only Cross or Error, and they’re only seen with one person. 

They’re laughing hysterically at everyone trying to figure out what the hell is going on. The JR survivors keep saying shit like “i don’t know why we expected anything else” and “of course they’d do this. God damn it”

Right around this time, they decide to just go out together for once. They use slightly different disguises, and Cross and Error do a much better job of disguising themselves; before this, ‘getting caught’ on camera was part of the fun. But now they want to go hang out, which means they gotta put more effort into it if they want to keep up the charade.

They end up in a very strange town. They poke around a little. Nightmare notes that everyone in this place is really anxious and miserable.

They poke their heads into a store that’s showing recent news, and what do they find but Lucidity! 

They go “...the fuck??? Why is he- did he just get isekai’d to another multiverse?? The hell?????”

They assume he’s trying to rebuild JR here, and likely hasn’t come back because he’s stuck. They’ve heard theories of Lucidity orchestrating the whole thing, but they never believed it. They had no idea what happened or why Lucidity was missing, but they knew he’d never. He put too much into that place to just wreck it like that. Everyone from JR would loudly argue with anyone they heard saying that shit. This? This makes sense.

But before they slip out the door, they actually catch some of what the news anchors are saying.

“...estimates that Dream has single-handedly doubled the amount of damage, to both property and life, that Obsidian and the rest of his team had been able to do, even after recruiting Jet. We still have no idea where he came from, nor what he wants, but we strongly urge that, should you notice Dream in the area, everyone follow their universe’ protocol for Obsidian’s presence.”

“,,,,huh”

They gently tap someone on the shoulder and go “um. Hey. this might sound weird, but I think we’re in the wrong multiverse? Can you tell us what the fuck that was.” The person stares at them like they’re insane. “...You’re kidding.”

“No. We’ve never heard of…well. Two of those names. We know someone named Dream, who looks the same, but he isn’t…like that. He’s got this big thing about punishing criminals and making the world ‘better’ and shit. Also a stick up his ass about negativity even though the negative spirit of our multiverse hasn’t really done anything except like. Theft. Never heard of a Jet or Obsidian.”

“...Oh dear. I’m so sorry. Uh…good lord, where do I start?”

The stranger doesn’t really believe them about the multiverse thing, but they can tell that these three believe what they’re saying, so they assume they’ve hit their heads or something.

Also several people have turned to the trio and they are not so eager to be asking questions

They’re informed of how dangerous Obsidian is. And his team. And Jet. And they’re given very thorough descriptions of everyone who wasn’t on the news just now. They seem to be holding something back about Obsidian, though.

“...Three months ago?”

The first person they’d talked to nodded. “Yeah. It’s…it’s scary how much he’s done already.”

“...Our version of Dream disappeared three months ago. His…his organization was wiped off the face of the earth. Everyone thought he was dead, but…”

Nightmare pulls his hood a little tighter over his head. “There’s…there’s someone we know who would die if our Dream did. And he’s still alive.”

“Night, you are not about to go talk to him.”

“What? What’s he gonna do, kill me? Even if he has lost his fucking mind, he knows better.”

“Wait, are you the-”

Cross ignores the confused strangers. “Whether that’s our Dream or not, it sounds like he and those two asswipes have been hanging out a lot. Even if Dream doesn’t kill you, who’s to say Jet or Obsidian won’t try?”

“Or that they’d stop even if Dream asked?” One bystander murmurs. “Obsidian doesn’t take kindly to anyone telling him what to do; including Jet and Dream. And Jet seems to enjoy being contrary just for the fun of it.”

“...Well. Dream’s magic could probably kill them in about sixty seconds if he wanted, and if they try to fuck with me too badly he’ll probably fry their asses to a crisp.”

“Night, you’re going to die.”

“Nah. They won’t catch me.” Error folds her arms. “The last time you said that, we had to bail you out of a federal prison for tagging a courthouse.” “Did we die?” “ightmare.”

Nightmare puts his hood up again. “Look, I’m going to find Mr. Chicken Wings whether you come with me or not. I don’t know what the hell is going on, and I’m not leaving until I get some fricken’ answers.”

“...I’m not sure if you’re brave, or just stupid,” Someone says, laughing in disbelief. “After everything we just told you, you’re still going to go look for them?”

Nightmare shrugs. “I mean, I’ve survived 100 years being hunted down and harrassed for the crime of being born a certain way. And most people didn’t know that Dream would die if I did, and tried to kill me themselves. I think I can handle a couple of evil, self-important bastards. I can definitely handle Dream.” 

“He’s stupid,” Cross informs their acquaintances. “Those two are corrupts. They’re going to sense you, like, immediately.” “Yes, but they’re corrupts, which means I’ll sense them from a mile away. I can’t sneak around them, but they can’t sneak up on me either.”

“...I guess we’re doing this,” Cross sighs.

“You guys don’t have to come,” Nightmare starts, but Error holds up her hand. 

“Yeah, we do. We’re your friends. We’re not going to let you get yourself killed.”

“...Thanks.”

“You owe us both some fucking chocolate though when we get out of this.”

“Naturally.”

And off they go, leaving the citizens of JMV to question what the hell is up with those three.

They do eventually find Lucidity. He is, in fact, out with Nightshade and Shale. They’re terrorizing the populace, shockingly, but they’ve spread out to cover the area. The Meme Squad doesn’t have much trouble with getting to Lucidity before less savory characters find them.

Lucidity turns on them just before Nightmare can call out, and then stops. 

“...Nightmare? What on earth are you doing here?” He sheathes his sword, to their great surprise.

“What the frick are you doing?? Did you lose the last of your marbles?”

The three are looking at the carnage around them. It’s…horrifying. 

Lucidity folds his arms and looks Nightmare right in the eye. “You’ve heard about what I’ve been doing, haven’t you?” It’s not really a question. “Surely you didn’t come just to hear it from my own mouth?”

“...Jesus Christ, he has lost his mind,” Cross whispers. “What the fuck.”

“It’s been, like, three months, and you have done an aggressive moral 180. Are-” Nightmare hesitates. It feels stupid to even ask. But he does anyway.

“Are you okay?”

Lucidity doesn’t answer for a moment.

“Any sudden personality change is concerning, but you now hanging out with a couple of mass murderers is especially concerning,” Error says.

“...I assume you’ve heard about what happened to Justice Reigns.” His voice is quiet. Pained. 

He didn’t do it. Of course he didn’t.

“Y-yeah. It’s…it’s practically radioactive now, with how much radiance is in the air. People–not me–are starting to think you did it, because you’re the only one anyone knows of with that kind of magic and you’re MIA.”

Anger flashes in Lucidity’s eyes, but he takes a deep breath. Okay, so he’s not completely gone. 

“I have been…busy.” He looks at some of the bodies around him in distaste. “I would ask that you three stay out of this.”

They blink. “Wh-”

He looks back at Nightmare, and for a moment, his face softens and Nightmare could swear he sensed affection. “Having realized that I was gravely wrong about radiance, I have decided that I neither need nor want to hunt any of you down. I have no interest in harming you.” 

The last ‘you’ seemed to be pointed directly at Nightmare. Then his face hardens again. “But If you try to interfere, I will make sure you don’t get another chance to.” 

Nightmare studies his face for a moment. “...What happened to JR wasn’t an accident, was it?”

Lucidity’s expression remains unchanged, but the wave of fury and pain that suddenly comes off of him makes Nightmare decide that they need to leave, NOW.

Lucidity is a little surprised. Then he glances around and decides that that’s fair. He would also probably run if he was in their shoes. Well, anyways; back to what he was doing.

Error and Cross ask why Nightmare noped out of there almost immediately after asking that question. Did…did he…? Were they wrong?

And Nightmare shakes his head vigorously. “No! I mean, I don’t think so? He…he was angry. Angrier than I’ve ever seen from him. But…there was more. A lot more.”

They unanimously decide to listen to Lucidity’s advice and stay the hell out of it.

They can still smell the blood. Hear someone laughing maniacally in the distance as people scream. The sight of Lucidity, who’d always presented himself as a paragon of justice, covered in blood and surrounded by the bodies of innocent people he’d cut down. And he didn’t once try to defend it.

Nightmare is especially freaked out. 

They’re not surprised losing JR screwed with him, but…This…?

After a few weeks Nightmare decides he’s gonna stick his nose in after all. He’s worried. Cross and Error try to talk him out of it, but he swears he just wants to look for records on what’s been happening in that multiverse. News articles, videos, photos, anything.

They learn far more than they were initially told. 

They start compiling and sorting through all this information, though they have absolutely no idea what they’re going to do with it. They’re intrigued by the fact that certain offenses by Shale seem to have stopped entirely since Lucidity arrived. By now they’re rather familiar with Shale in terms of him being a prideful, arrogant bastard with a temper and a surprisingly fragile ego, and they’re laughing hysterically imagining Lucidity standing behind him with his sword drawn, because Shale Thought About It, and Shale just sweating buckets. 

They’ll be delighted to know that that kinda did happen a few times. 

Eventually they may try to find the resistance themselves and see if they can help. They likely won’t find out they blew up JR otherwise, unless Lucidity for some reason tells them. If they do go find the resistance, though, they’re going to try to keep it really hush hush about the destiny bond thing. They don’t know how desperate these people are. They really don’t want them to try to kill Nightmare just to get Lucidity out of the way.

And honestly someone probably would try. They are getting desperate. On the bright side, if Dot’s around she’ll probably stop it. If only because she can’t believe that a potential solution, one which would seem to be very easy, just walked right up to them. If she is convinced that it’s true she’ll still probably hesitate. On the one hand, Nightmare, as far as she knows, hasn’t done anything wrong. She can’t in good conscience kill him just to get rid of Lucidity. On the other hand, the longer they delay the more people are getting hurt. Is it worth it to spare Nightmare, over countless others?

Who knows how that’ll go. Not me (yet)

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Agi Says It's Starlight. Right Now.

And here's a little fic under the cut ;)

Estinien Varlineau knew something was off when she received a package at the Mist house, let out a scream of joy, and ran upstairs.

Perhaps “off” is the wrong word. “Deeply concerned” is more accurate. “Unsettling” works too.

“Mummy’s planning something, Es.” He muttered, watching their daughter crawl in circles around him. “She’s got that…look. You know the one.”

Esme continued to babble happily.

“Aye, she’s up no good I agree.” Crossing his scarred arms over his chest, he smiled at their daughter.

“OH MY FUCKING GODS! LOVE, YOU MUST SEE THIS!” Agnes yelled as she bounded down the stairs. Esme stopped crawling and squealed, pointing at her mother.

Estinien froze.

She sauntered to him wearing her very short Starlight dress that shows off her Starlight ham thighs but instead of the usual tights and boots, she had on reindeer hooves, mittens, and antlers. With a bloody red nose, for Fury’s sake. “It’s that time of year again, my grumpy dragon.” She practically sang and did a twirl for him. “Doesn’t Mummy look so pretty, Esme? And don’t worry, my little love, I have a dress and accessories for you too!” She picked up the baby (is she still a baby if she’s over a summer old?) and cooed at her. “You’re going to look so fucking cute in your Starlight outfit. Even more than last year!” Turning to her husband, she giggled. “Oh dear, I think your father needs a moment.”

Varlineau, this isn’t all bad. On the positive side you’ve got Agi in a hot dress showing off her legs and thighs. Her tits look amazing in everything she wears. She is, as always, undeniably adorable and pretty.

On the other hand, Starlight is her favorite holiday, and she lets literally everyone, man and creature alike, know it. She bakes a billion things, but few of them are ours. And fuck…she’s going to make me dress up.

“I can see the wheels creaking along in your head, love.” Agnes teased and gave Esme’s tummy a tickle.

His face was in his hands as she laughed. “Agi, you know I love you so much…but it’s not even the month of Starlight!! We barely just got over All Saints’ Wake!”

Agnes smiled ruefully. “Well, I did promise myself that this year would be more relaxed than last year. Starlight Eve and the day itself it’ll just be the three of us.” She frowned and kissed Esme’s head. “I know so much of last year was overwhelming for you. I-I���you should enjoy it in your own way, and I shouldn’t accept every invitation I receive.”

I truly am the luckiest man on the star. Estinien lifted his head and for a second, admired his wife. There are none more blessed than I. Because of her. All because of her.

“Love?”

He blinked, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Sorry. Was just thinking,” he smirked as he walked and circled her. With his lips against an ear, he whispered, “Thinking about how beautiful you are, my angel.” And give her a nice ass tap. As a treat!

Giggling, she rolled her eyes. “Gods, you are something else, Estinien. So grateful to be free during Starlight and so turned on by your wife in a Starlight reindeer ensemble. What a combination!” Agnes gave him a quick peck before handing him Esme. “Though I should say technically it won’t be the three of us.” Her eyes are twinkling. What’s she planned? “It’ll be the five of us.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Five? Your mother and…?”

Aymeric?

Y’shtola?

Waters? No, he wouldn’t come without Urianger.

G’raha?

Not Little Lord Alphinaud and Alisaie.

TATARU??!?!

Her hands rested on her soft belly. “Five. We’re having twins, love. Y’shtola saw two little balls of aether this time.” She smiled at him just like she did when I proposed. Fury, how radiant she was then and continues to be. “Our little family isn’t going to be not so little anymore.”

Glancing at Esme, who was staring back up at him with the cutest fucking smile in the world, he grinned. “You hear that, Es? You’re going to be a big sister twice! How about that, eh?” I MADE TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wrinkling her nose, she removed the reindeer headband and put her glasses back on. “I think she’s very excited…but what about you?”

He grunted. “Woman, as if you have to ask. I’m very happy, my sweet.” I. MADE. TWINS. They shared a brief kiss and then Estinien laughed heartily as Esme giggled. “Es, Mummy’s having twins! Could she tell what they are?”

She shook her head. “Not yet, love. In another moon or so I think. Why, do you have any preferences?”

“Nay, only that they’re healthy. We could have a dozen sons or daughters, it matters not. The only thing that matters is you. You’re the one having them after all.” He looked at Esme. “Mummy has them, so Mummy decides when she’s done having them. Got it, little one?”

His wife chuckled. “Oh good gods, it’s never too early to teach that I suppose. Hey,” she offered him a warm smile. “I love you.”

“As I ever love you.” Always and forever, Agi.

[drawingpad-studios]

Super Paper Roblox: Hundred Year Symphony

Act 1, Chapter 5: Hell's Wyrm (Part 1)

“...no… I’m sorry, all sinners must stay behind the gates. Now please we have to go back to work, go back to your mortal realm.”  turning around the sewn together royals turned back into their original form and left, the door slamming shut before anyone could say anything else. “Well darn.” Wiscara breathed before looking at Scriptliss and Base Cleph. “Well, I didn’t want this to come to this.” Base Cleph started to alluded to, “you two able to put away morals for a bit for a jail break?” “... Base Cleph, I expected better from you.” confuted Scriptliss. “Think about it, we need a dark magic user, we’re miles away from Sforzando Spire where most Crevons live from what we know of, and the two balance guardians here won’t help because of what's happening here. And I guarantee that the Amps and Fallen Harmonians here won’t help either. I know this is probably insane and dangerous, but I once used a nuke to avoid another nuke so this is technically tamer than that.” the harmonian argued in a slight annoyed tone. Wiscara considered it, “I hate to admit it, this might just be our only option.”

“I-... eh…. Mmh… I don’t like this, but fine.” with everyone on board, they patch up the stab wounds the two boys got from landing on the broken crystals that have hence disappeared and head out the castle. Taking a short cut by carefully sliding down the side of the hill the castle lays on, they were soon at the steep hill. Multiple blood-stained hove prints trampled the grass and made a good dirt path on the hill. A big boulder makes all three of them back up a bit as it zooms past, hitting a wall a good 2 miles away from the hill with a loud “BAM!!”. “AUTHOR DAMN IT!” came from halfway up the hill with a heckle of laughter of amps, followed by a frustrated hoof stomp, painful snap, and a frustrated closed mouth scream of pain. Wiscara whispered as the group hid behind a rock, “Hey, what’s the actual plan, Base Cleph.” “Uh… IIIIIIII… Don’t exactly know…” Base Cleph peaked out to see Tretone’s limping giant goat disheveled form along with the small peanut gallery of amps clawing at him and throwing stones at his cracked and bloody hooves. Base Cleph though for a bit before getting an idea when the boulder was being pushed again. “You can still cut open portals, right, Wiscara?” she nodded getting out a blue pair of magic scissors. Base Cleph got back down to the other two behind the rock, “alright, here’s the plan.”

Fresh prints were placed on old prints by Tretone, as he neared the start of the hill. The small amps hop around and on him like weasels doing their war dance, as they do what they love best. He stops suddenly when a blue crystal arrow just barely misses his highest eye and hits one of the antagonizing amps. “What the-” he started to say when he turned towards the shot amp before two more knocked out the other two amps before they could send out their distress call. The sounds of someone running up from the other side could be heard before a swoosh of passing through him and opening a portal, to the entrance gates, in front of his view. Before he could let out another reaction, what sounds like two people run up and bodyslams Tretone with what feels like a wall of smooth stone. Getting pushed through the portal and landing on the side he was clawed most, letting out a weak squeak of pain as his limbs locked up straight. “Ight, get him up, hurry!” “I’m trying! I never has crystals on my hands” Tretone heard familiar voices before instinctively letting out a short goat baa as he is lifted onto his damaged hooves. Looking around, he sees the three of them. “Wh- How- Why?!” “we can explain later, we need you and we got to go now!” Wiscara said before getting behind Tretone and start pushing him towards the gates. “Ow- ow- stop! I’m going, I’m going.” The group head through the gates out of hell, Tretone being turned back to his familiar form, now with a light hue of yellow on his body. As they walked down the cave way from the gate back to the lava lake, they decided to talk. 

T: “Now, Why in the textblock of life would it be me you all break out? You know this is gonna condemn all three of you” 

W: “We need your Dark Magic mastery for a spell. There's a big titan we got temporarily sealed.”

T: “... that is somehow less confusion yet more confusing at the same time. What?”

S: “Yeah, that’s just the current mood around here for some reason.”

B: “Anyways, now that we got you, we just need to meet back with Antag and find the-”

A loud distress animal call, akin to an elongated version of the cry of an alligator, interrupts the conversation. The sound makes the concerned panic grow the most in Tretone’s eyes. “Sineleiss?” he spoke before speeding up his movement. Making everyone else have to run as fast as they can to keep up with the running behemoth. Skidding to a stop at the edge of the lava lake moat that separates Hell from the rest of Paper Robloxia. Looking up, the lake’s sound wyrm is flying around, having been forced out of the lake and corralled a space surrounded by orbiting red crystals that let out a sound when the poor animal gets near it from running from the last one that rang. Looking back to eye level, to the right Otempus and Boxdria are frozen up onto the cave wall and to the cave entrance Reverend is frozen in a separate crystal next to the same brokened halo hooded person that Base Cleph and Wiscara keeps seeing everywhere.

(TBC, because I'm taking too long with this, and I just want to give y'all a new chapter. I'll try to get part 2 out soon)

[nextdoorharry]

imaaaaagine a world like that..can you?

-

in which you and harry are exes, but still remain good friends when you’re always there for each other. both of you can’t help but reminisce…in your head.

a/n: super sorry i haven’t written in FOREVER!! been crazy busy with school (still am) and i will get back to the writing grind when i’m not as busy, with that being said this is just a quick thing i was thinking of. also, no hate to olivia and harry’s relationship at all. pr or not, both deserve respect and anything written in this piece is solely for writing purposes only. no hate will be tolerated toward an individual. we’re all human.

-

it happened when you were on your way home from dinner with your friends. a call from harry. this wasn’t out of the ordinary for harry to call you, being exes and all. you both apologized after the breakup and agreed that you both couldn’t let 5 years of love, being close with each other’s families, and a pet cat all go to waste. you agreed upon being friends with him. still hang out here and there after the breakup, acting all platonic. you can’t help but have a glimmer of hope its a call wanting to start a relationship again.

“hello?” you said, one hand on the wheel, other holding your phone.

“hi love, sorry s’a bit late, was wondering if i can come over. it’s about olivia.” harry says. still sending you butterflies when he said the simple yet warming term of endearment. but once he said olivia, your heart dropped.

she’s beautiful, confident, and makes your harry happy from what the tabloids portray. the last time you and harry spoke was before he went off to LA, filming for don’t worry darling, a movie his new lover produced. still a few texts since then like “happy birthday!” “congrats on the grammy,” or “how’s the cat?” you two always saved catching up for in person. it was just your thing you kept during the 5 year relationship and after. it keeps things more meaningful at the time, rather than texting or quick phone calls.

“ah, olivia. isn’t she my replacement?” you teased while laughing. you hear a burst of giggles from the other end of the line. god you missed hearing that everyday.

harry on the other end of the line, heart aches a bit hearing you say that. no one could ever replace you. ever. you are so special to him. if only it wasn’t for his team making it difficult for him to ease down on touring for a bit for you. you asked for one thing from harry, which was to start settling down. you both were only getting older and the talks of marriage and kids were frequently becoming the topic of discussion with family. a year and some after the breakup, which happened to be during quarantine, where he had so much time on his hands without you, he reflected on what could’ve been and how stupid he was for letting you go. you were always so patient with him. going to his shows, god awful dinner parties with industry people, changing your work schedule just to fit into his. you asked for one thing. and instead of fighting for you with his team, he instead sided with them, and let you go.

teasing not dying down, harry goes, “someone keeps up with me in the tabloids, eh?”

it’s the fact that he’s not wrong. you remember that tabloid very well. when the first pictures of harry and olivia came out in an article titled, “harry styles and olivia wilde new romance? is y/n replaced?”

your heart was hurting.

“of course i am. keep having to make sure my name is finally out their mouths.” you joke. “i’ll be home in about 15 minutes if that’s okay?”

-

you pull into the driveway already seeing harry sitting on your porch chair. he waves at you and you get out of the car, walking up to him. he stands up and greets you with a bear hug.

“missed you, y’look nice. where’d ya head out to?” he asked, hoping and praying you weren’t out on a date looking like that. he knows you only wear a red lip when its date night. his mind filled with jealousy at the thought of you with someone else. whereas he has no right being there are pictures of him kissing, cuddling, and whispering to olivia on a yacht in italy. all for the cameras. his stomach turns. that was supposed to be you and him. on a yacht on italy. except leaving the display of affection for the bedroom.

“on a date” you say blatantly.

his heart drops. and lets you go from the hug. lying through his teeth he says, “ah really? happy for ya, you have to tell me about it, hope it was with a good bloke.” he says lightly.

“i’m kiddingg, was out for dinner with friends. mel got engaged by the way! was celebratory dinner for her.” you say, unlocking the door, letting harry in.

harry sighs in relief. “that’s good! m’happy for her, pass on my congratulations.” harry follows you into your kitchen, sitting down on the counter stool, watching you making his favorite “calm down” drink, loving that you remembered how he likes it. he didn’t even have to ask you to make it. you just know its what he needs right now. he can’t help but ponder that it should have been you. it should be your friends out for your celebratory dinner for your engagement with him.

you pass him his tea, knowing he’ll only take a few sips of it yet keep it in his hold for warmth. you were on the other side of the counter across from him, making a mini cheeseboard you two can snack on while talking.

“so..what happened?” you ask, heart not ready if you can handle what he’s about to say about his new lover.

“s’just so complicated. originally it was supposed to be a pr stunt for the movie. but now i don’t know how the pr team messed up so badly but they did. no one is really believing it. everything was executed poorly. it sucks because it’s her team conducting everything which means i barely have a say in it. i look like the bad guy being portrayed as a home wrecker, and she’s not doing anything about it! s’like she’s enjoying it. the kissing, the night outs, etc. she knows that if my team did have a say, it would have been over a while ago.” he breathes out. he’s been wanting to rant to someone for so long about this. he also just wants you to know that he’s not into her. it’s all for show. he’s still all about you. he wants to make that crystal clear.

you nod your head listening to everything he’s saying. body feeling uneasy filled with jealousy when harry says she’s enjoying the intimacy they have to do for show.

“well, did you talk to her about it? or talk to jeff at least? there has to be something he can do..?” you ask.

harry sighs, “i’ve tried so hard. jeff said nothing they can do about it. and he’s telling me not to mess with olivia because her team can do more damage than good with my name. not that s’already ruined.” harry rubs his face with his hands, feeling stressed.

the way he’s acting is familiar to you. early on in your relationship, when you two were a freshly new couple, you guys wanted to be completely private. during that time, with harry and the band’s album coming out, his management made him do pr stunts like these. he was as stressed as he is now. you were so new to dating something in an industry. he didn’t want to scare you away. but you understood. you get it. and you still get it as he’s speaking.

“hmm..if i can recall, back when you had to do a stunt with kendall on the yacht, m’pretty sure it was the same situation. with kendall’s team being difficult, your’s not having much of a say. do what i told you back then, stand your ground, harry. tell olivia like you did with kendall. also kendall’s team at the time played dirty, yet they still were understanding with you and got someone new for a stunt. olivia’s team will probably get someone new as well. and how badly can they ruin your rep? everyone knows you’re the nicest person who wouldn’t kill a fly. and tabloids are tabloids. would you rather have a few bad headlines about you or would you rather deal with a stunt for what? another year now? that you feel uncomfortable with?” you state. smiling a bit because you know harry knows your right, he’s smiling a bit too. he knows you love being right and debating, pulling out facts. that’s what you always did during an argument. which is why you were always right.

man. why couldn’t he stand his ground with his team. why didn’t he take your advice back then? he should’ve sided with you. not his team. why is he always so scared of them?

self-loathing, harry breathes out a laugh, “always have to be right don’t ya? you know what to say every damn time,”

“what can i say? the lady is always right.” you say, smiling proudly while cleaning up the remains of the cheeseboard you and harry snacked on.

“thanks y/n, really, i know i can always come to you with this stuff,” harry states. looking at you with his piercing eyes, meaning every word he said.

you smiled and nodded, cleaning the kitchen a bit. it started to pour early on when you guys were having a chat about his situation, hoping silently it would come down faster so harry has an excuse to stay, you offer nonetheless. “why don’t you stay back for a bit, hm? s’pouring out there, only gonna get worse. we can watch something?”

“love island?” harry suggests.

“thought you’d never ask.”

-

few gasps and scoffs at some of the islanders and their drama later, you slowly were drifted off to sleep. harry, sitting on the other sofa from you, peaks to see if you’re still watching. his face was in awe. he misses this. domestic nights with you, chatting away eating in the kitchen, then watching something afterwards. only difference is that you two are on different sofas. whereas before you’d be coddled under his embrace. he slowly drifts off to sleep as well. rain still going on, technically he can still go home. driving in the rain was never an issue for him. but he’ll always use an excuse just to be with you.

-

iMessage: Olivia Wilde

1:34 AM - I miss you, and our casual hookups. Can’t stop thinking about it.

that was one part harry left out of the story. he hooked up with her.

-

ahhhhh!!!! lmk if you guys want a part 2!!!

[lonely-lost-soul]

Under the Floorboards Pt. V

(Technoblade X Reader): Pt. I, Pt. II, Pt. III, Pt. IIII, Pt. V, Pt. VI

    Alright so maybe you spoke too soon; the four of you were going to do great things, minus Tommy. Technoblade had finally agreed to let you join Tommy and him on an adventure into L’manberg. The plan was to crash their festival, and ultimately attempt to get Tommy’s discs back from Dream and Tubbo. You expected your first adventure into the country to be fun, if anything you’d get to steal some shit, what you didn’t expect was to be thrown in the middle of a public dispute. 

Clearly, you underestimated what ‘getting the discs back’ actually entailed. 

You and Technoblade were back to back swords drawn, surrounded by about thirty people in the ruin of what was once deemed a community house. Technoblade never would’ve agreed to let you come if he thought the confrontation with Dream was going to be this serious, he assumed they’d watch from afar. If things got to dicey Tommy and him would rush in and he’d have you stay behind to watch from afar. If only he could’ve predicted someone blowing up a random building would cause such turmoil. 

Nothing could ever come up Technoblade.

   “Yah know when you first invited me out to partake in a festival for some reason I didn’t expect to be attacked by like thirty people.” You chirped a hesitant smile on your face as Technoblade made a confused sound. 

   “You definitely should’ve expected it,” Technoblade grumbled, barely taking his eyes off of Tommy and Tubbo’s argument. You watched Techno’s back but you couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the boys conversation as well. As much as your heart broke for the two war-torn children, you had your alliance first and foremost with your boyfriend. You also couldn’t help but feel this conversation should be happening privately but here they were airing things out seemingly for the first time in front of everybody. Speaking of your boyfriend, your attention was drawn back to him as he caught Tommy’s attention, “be very careful what your decision is here Tommy.” 

You narrowed your eyes and took a step in front of Technoblade, he made his classic ‘heh’ sound as you did so. You felt his hand grip your forearm and tighten trying to hold you back in case you wanted to do something stupid. 

   “Tommy, come home with us.” You held out your hand to him, the one Technoblade didn’t have a hold of obviously. “Phil’s waiting for us, we’ll get your discs back together as we planned.” The smile on your face could part the cloudiest of days and it broke Tommy’s heart, she had given him something that he hadn’t had since the war with Dream began.

A home. 

   “(Y/N),” That’s the first time he used your name, the first time you weren’t just Ms Blade. It broke your heart and you whimpered a little bit, “thank you for everything you’ve done for me. But I can’t go back with you and Technoblade. I don’t like what I’ve become, this isn’t me. I’m sorry. I hope one day we can be friends again. Tubbo give Dream my disc.” You leaned back into Technoblade in disbelief, Tommy had just betrayed Technoblade right before your very eyes. The man who gave Tommy the clothes on his back and a place to stay when no one else would. Weapons to help him fight against Dream when everyone else abandoned him, even though they all treated Technoblade as a weapon he still went out of his way to help Tommy. Your hands clenched into fists at your side as Dream let out a roaring laugh collecting the disc from Tubbo. He called the two children stupid right to their face and no matter how angry you were with them that was harsh, it’s like everyone in this country forgets that they are children. Children fuck up, it’s how they learn and it’s in their nature why does no one here understand that. You looked up at Techno your eyebrows furrowed and you pressed your lips tight but he didn’t take his eyes off Dream, he had different priorities in mind. 

Protecting you from the Dreamon if anything went south. 

Dream continued to mock and criticize the people of L’manberg before turning to you and Technoblade. The mask he wore may hide his facial expressions, but it couldn’t mask the unadulterated glee in his voice. Technoblade pulled you behind him as Dream stepped closer to the both of you, you felt a growl rumble in Technoblade’s chest, 

   “That’s close enough.” 

   “Down boy.” Dream mused, holding up his hands to show faux innocence. “I have no issues with the both of you. Tomorrow, with your help, Technoblade and woman.”  

   “(Y/N).”

   “Don’t tell him your name.” Technoblade gaped at you and you only could huff in frustration, 

   “Better than just being called woman! Plus Tommy already said it.”  

With an eye-roll Dream continued his speech, “With the help of Technoblade and (Y/N) L’manberg is going to be a crater. We’re blowing it sky-high.” Dream turned over to face Tubbo once again, “I had to pretend to be friends with you, to get the dumb disk back! I don't care about you. I'm not your friend. Okay? I cared about getting the disk back, and I got the disk back. I got it back. And that's-that's- that's the only thing that really matters. You can't even run your nation right. RANBOO IS A TRAITOR. ONE OF YOUR MOST TRUSTED FRIENDS.”

Your eyes widened as you spotted another child looking horrified, it was the half enderman from the butcher gang. You’re adopting him next.

   “NO, IT IS TRUE. READ THIS BOOK. READ THIS BOOK. There's his memory book. He was meeting with Techno and Tommy and told them EVERYTHING. The proof’s all his own memories! He writes it down! You can't even run your own nation correctly Tubbo. Listen. Tubbo, you, I mean you, ... L'Manberg is weaker than it's ever been, and it's because of you! You have- you have destroyed everything. You have ruined your friendships. You have ruined L'Manberg's allies. You have just-you are a horrible president Tubbo.” Dream continued as Tubbo looked sick to his stomach, you felt just as nauseous.

   “YEAH, YOU SUCK TUBBO!”

   “TECHNOBLADE!” 

   “What?” He flinched at your tone, “he’s right!” 

   “They’re children,” You tried to argue but Dream cut you off by stepping in between you and Technoblade. Your pulse skyrocketed as you were separated, and you made sure an ender pearl was at the ready. Tommy looked at the both fo you nervously, but there was a spark of hope in his eyes when you defended Tubbo. Tommy turned over to Tubbo who honestly looked just as shocked that a partner of Technoblade’s would defend him, espeically considering he had tried to kill her a few days prior. Tommy had hope that he wasn’t completely dead to you.

   “Techno. Got any withers?” You watched a sickening smile spread across Techno’s lips he picked at his nails. 

   “I got a few.” 

   “Good. Then I’ll see you all tomorrow when the L’manberg loses its last cannon life,” Dream announced before disappearing into the wind. The citizens turned to face you and Technoblade, he only had to utter a single word:

   “Run,” Before both of you pearled away from the wreckage of the community house. 

Technoblade scooped you up in his arms as he made his way through the Nether portal back to his base. He was much faster than you were and you didn’t fight him on wanting to make a quick getaway. You both were silent on the way back to his base, bottom line was you didn’t know how you felt about what just went down. On one hand, destruction was your middle name and you weren’t going to oppose blowing a government to smithereens with your boyfriend.  

Nothing could be more romantic than that. 

Yet at the same time, unlike Technoblade, you felt the guilt eat away at you. These were people’s homes, and lives you’d be destroying tomorrow. Most of the citizens you had no affiliation with, which you were grateful for, but those you did you almost couldn’t justify blowing the country up. Tommy was by all accounts dead to Technoblade and by that extent you as well. Still, you didn’t want to see him physically dead, it wasn’t his fault he got corrupted by the government and a homeless teletubby.

You were starting to sound like Technoblade now too.  

You made a sound of distress and Techno glanced down at your form, his face flushed as you nuzzled your nose against his neck. 

   “You okay princess?” 

   “No…” You answered with a sigh, you reached out and twirled a strand of his pink hair through your fingers. “Tommy’s gone, we’re going to blow up a country tomorrow. I feel bad for the people we’re gonna leave homeless. So, no I’m not okay bubs.” The socially awkward man winced a little as he battled with what to say to you, he tends to forget you both aren’t the same person. For as much as both of you agree, you were still different from him, you had more empathy than he could ever wish to have. 

   “You don’t have to come.”  

He watched a frown appear on your face as you pulled away from him. You clicked your tongue in distaste, a sure sign that you were about to pick a fight with the blood god. You were one opponent he could never seem to defeat. That did not come out the way he intended. 

Time to backtrack before he got his ass handed to him. 

   “What I mean is, you have no affiliation with L’manberg. You have no prior issues you need to settle with them so technically you can stay home tomorrow, no one would blame you. You’d be safer away from the explosions, I’d feel better with you at home.”

   “That way you’d only have to worry about Phil tomorrow right?” 

   “Well, that’s part of it,” He stated bluntly, never one to be dishonest. “He has only one life and he’s going to want to fight, he has a lot to avenge. The government drove his eldest son mad, enough that Phil had to kill him. He’s one of my oldest friends, I wanna look out for him and protect him.” You couldn’t help but sigh softly at his response, you brushed your thumb across his cheek fondly. 

   “You’re wrong.” 

   “Eh?”

   “I do have something I want to fight for, I want to fight for what I believe is right. Let’s face it Techno the way everyone’s treating those children is sick. Dream manipulated Tommy and used Tubbo to get what he wanted from him. I know you did what you thought was right for Tommy but he’s a product of a war-torn country, they all are. Now, that doesn’t excuse his betrayal but… did he even know what the right thing to do was in this situation, does he even truly know what peace is? I want to fight to protect those kids. They deserve to know peace, true peace away from bloodshed and war. If I can I want to give them that.” You watched Technoblade’s jaw tighten, “I’m going with you tomorrow but I’m not going to kill the children.” 

   “I don’t think I can ever forgive Tommy.” He sighed adjusting his grip on you a sure sign he was nervous, “but I love you.” Techno kissed you once again, it was long and tender you watched as the apples of his cheeks turn red after you both pulled away. He took a breath, “You’re unstoppable and you’ve never stopped me before so I won’t do the same for you. Just stay safe. Please. You need to come home with me tomorrow I won’t settle for anything else.” 

   “I will. I promise.” You pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and he hummed gently in response. “I love you Technoblade, I’ll fight beside you. Till the end of the line.”

   “Till the end of the line,” He repeated as you both approached the snow-covered house to convene with Philza Minecraft himself.

~~~

Hi guys! Officially feeling a bit better, enough to get a small part out before I work on the next chapter. I hope you like it, thanks so much for reading and your amazing feedback. Also, thanks so much for your kind words and well wishes! Also, also, If anyone ever makes fanart of this story (I doubt it would happen) please tag me and let me know. I love to make art myself and always wanna support other artists! Thanks Again!

[thenonbinarydetective]

Give me all your opinions on hardy boys ships

This is so vague. Do you mean in general or the show? Since I have no parameters this will be long, brutally honest, and even mean but only in places where I feel like they deserve it.

Francy: I hate it, honestly, I do. It's one of the ones where the shippers ruin it more than the material does because a large portion of them are not respectful at all if you ship either one of these characters with someone else. Also, they are frequently misogynistic, as mentioned/heavily implied in my post about there being a double standard with how Callie and Ned are treated by fans. Although speaking of the actual source material of this ship, because that does matter, a lot of it is shit. The games, the more they leaned into the more boring and fucking shit they wrote Frank. He became a dull fuckhead whose only personality traits are having a crush on a girl he might never have and being an older brother. That's it. Literally, nothing else it sucks. The show in the 70s, sexist. It's literally all sexist. Pamela Sue Martin said it herself. They purposefully made Nancy weaker and a worse character when the Hardy Boys got involved. She basically became like another Bond Girl type conquest, the only difference was that she was slightly smarter. But still needed to be saved cause she was a woman and therefore weak and defenseless and needs a man to save her. The Super Mysteries I & II, The first one is significantly worse with again how Callie was treated in the name of relationship drama. It's poorly written, they're extremely out of character most of the time and in a way that's actually shouldn't be surprising the ones where they were the most in character. The ship stuff was barely a fucking thing. They would never cheat on their partners, they wouldn't. They also wouldn't do the toxic ass bullshit they fucking did. They are not compatible as romantic partners. They are too much alike. There's nothing that they could get from each other that they don't get with people they are more compatible with. Super Sleuths and How to Be a Detective are much better crossovers because it never does anything with this shit. I literally don't care if people get mad at me for this, because it's fucking time someone actually said something after Francy shippers basically silenced everyone who disagrees with their opinions. Because y'all do that even though you pretend you don't. Just like being kinda sexist. There's a lot of sexism in this fandom if you think about what people say for more than a goddamn second.

Joe/Nancy: No. No thanks. This one just sucks. It's a bad idea

Fred (Frank/Ned): Innovative, Extraordinary, Masterpiece, Overlooked, Genius. The accidental outcome of Frank and Nancy having so much in common is that this also technically works. The only difference is that Frank is more into science than Nancy is.

Fredcy (Frank/Nancy/Ned): Eh maybe.

Joe/Ned: Eh no. It's the age difference. Unlike some people here, I do care that he's a minor. I don't care if the New York age of consent is technically 17. I know that I lived there. Does that make shipping Joe with legal adults while he only gets by on a technicality better? Absolutely the fuck not.

Frallie (Frank and Callie): I do love it. Both for the content I've gotten with it and the content I could have with it. There is so much potential to make it better than it already has been. The way they can so easily reflect Fenton and Laura the same way that with SPY Ned and Nancy reflect Kate and Carson. It's great. I like that he likes everything I love about her and vice versa. She is a great character and the perfect love interest for Frank. She is so supportive of him and I wish the world could see more of that, but again Super Mystery I has done it's damage. Doesn't mean that Hulu can't fix it cause it definitely is. Content-wise, I love that Files did make Frank completely devoted to her and never cheat on her. Although many girls tried, he told them he wasn't interested (glares at files Nedcy). They're just cute and underappreciated

Jola? (Joe/Iola): I think that's the ship name. They are adorable. I don't think they would ever work together long term. I don't even think they're soul mates, sorry Fridged! Iola but you died for nothing. I'm kidding she died for Man!Pain! I think they at least have a very cute and fun high school romance. I love the season where they tease and joke with each other. It's all adorable

Joe/Vanessa: I don't know if they ever had one. I'm gonna be honest. I don't ship them. I never have. She weirdly feels a tad bit like rebranded Iola. Like they killed Iola and then people got tired of Joe's playboy thing so they just remade Iola into Vanessa. I also just think she's a little boring. She was clearly made just to keep both of the brothers with someone. Which I don't think is necessary. Joe remaining single or with a girl of the week is a good juxtaposition with Frank's steady dating status.

Fress? (Frank/Bess): I'm not sure whether or not I just made that ship up. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I don't care either way. This is honestly a bit of an underrated ship. It is. They would be adorable together. I'm not kidding. She's so sweet and caring and he's a total fucking mess. Let her fix him. She could do it. Another that actually could reflect Fenton and Laura, but not in the same way.

Jess? (Bess/Joe): Again this isn't one I ship. I don't see it that much. I think they have literally only been put together because it's convenient with Francy. Because that's the only time it appears. Also completely ingenious writers putting the two characters that basically have been written to want to fuck anyone with a pulse together. It's brilliant /s.

Frank/George: Don't think there is one for this. But it has happened. In the rare crossovers where Francy thankfully doesn't exist, this occasionally happens. It's not the worst. I'm not one of the people that stereotypes George as a butch lesbian, because I like lesbians so I'm smart enough and respectful enough to not do that shit. They wouldn't be that bad together honestly.

Joe/George: A bit like the above. It's not really the worst. They're both impulsive and athletic and would fight anything. I weirdly like it. I would want them to just fight bad guys together and then make out because that would be their main thing.

Frank/Chet: No. not a thing for me

Joe/Chet: Same as above

Joe/Phil: Better off as friends

Chet/Phil or Chet/Tony or Chet/Book!Biff: I think Chet might be their token straight in my mind, so the answer across the board.

TV!Chet/TV!Biff: Fuck no

TV!Biff/TV!Phil: It's cute. Slightly prefer the book version where it's gay and I honestly could see it. For the show, I'll be fine with the straight version lmao

Biff/Frank: Book obviously. Honestly a maybe. He's a complete himbo idiot and Frank's smart. So like a maybe there

Joe/Biff: Yes, meathead jocks. Absolutely

Tony/Biff: Actually into this one the most. I love the height difference. We all know that Tony and Jerry had a bad breakup that resulted in Jerry no longer being a part of the group and he rebounded with Biff but it turned out better than he thought and they stayed together.

Tony/Frank: Nah.

Tony/Joe: No

Callie/Nancy: Honestly maybe this is the dream. This could be the dream.

Trudy/Jesse: FUCKING LOVE IT. I LOVE THEM. THEY'RE PERFECT

Fenton/Laura: I wish they had better names to create a ship name with because I love them so fucking much. I really do ship their parents. They're so cute when they're allowed romantic moments lmao. Love the tragic backstories and height difference trope between them. I love how strongly it is implied that she is was possibly the first person in Fenton's life to support him becoming a private investigator because what's left of his family hates it. They love and support their dumbass kids. Love that he genuinely respects her opinions and her help when she helps him on cases, because that is actually canon. They're just amazing and sexy parents, I love them and I love that they love each other.

Fenton/Laura/Me: The truest dream that anyone (me) could ever dream /hj

Fenton/Laura/Carson: I'm gonna admit that I have thought about this before and the thoughts have never been negative.

Hardy Boys Incest: Fuck no fuck no fuck no. Any disgusting fucks like that shit can literally get the fuck off my page and turn themselves into the police. Y'all are fucking gross

Any other ship I didn't mention: Assume either no or maybe

Any other ships that include a minor being shipped with a legal adult or incest: Assume the answer is "Fuck off you disgusting fucks and stay the fuck away from me."

Does that answer your question? lmao

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

1) If there is another shield like Bella, and that shield shields Bella while Bella is shielding someone else, would it not effect her, or would it stop hers?

2) Let’s just say in a distant world Carlisle decides/wants to have a half breed child. How do you think Esme would react to that? Would she still think of Edward as her best son? How would she act toward the child if he were to go through with it?

Sorry if these seem stupid. Thanks :)

Well, alright then, anon, let's do this.

Question 1

First, this isn't how I imagine Bella's gift actually works or what it actually does. The shield is a manifestation of Bella's gift, but it's not what it actually is. That's the technical babble of Eleazar, a known idiot.

Regardless, to keep things less complicated. Bella comes across an alternate dimension Bella (or else Beauford goes to the dark side). The pair face off: shield against shield, and the battle will come down to which of them can nullify the other Bella.

Flip a coin.

If the mysterious other vampire is not as powerful as Bella (very likely, Bella's power level is OVER 9000!) then Bella will win. I do not think her shield would be taken down. If this other vampire is Bella, then they're probably at a stalemate and it comes down to which of them is more motivated. Who wants it more.

Probably though it just becomes a battle of physical strength and numbers as the respective Bellas nullify all combative gifts on the battlefield.

Whoever wins is whoever brought more people.

Question 2

I mean, the premise of this question, is that Esme has been kidnapped to a human/vampire zoo on Traflamador and never noticed. How did she not notice? She's Esme.

Regardless, Esme lives with a fake, cardboard cut out, family that resembles the Cullens she left behind. They suddenly stop moving around, Esme's given absolutely no explanation of why they suddenly don't have to move. Everyone's relationship is suddenly harmonious and perfect, no one argues, or even has any semblance of a conversation, ever. Esme barely notices and is just pleased everyone's getting along so well. Every day the children leave for school at the same time and come back at the same time, there is no longer a summer. Every day Carlisle leaves for work at the same time and returns at the same time. Every two weeks, like clockwork, they go hunting. Esme, somehow, never notices.

She lives in a Norman Rockwell vampire painting: she never notices.

Then one day, Simulation Carlisle says to her, "Esme, my love, I think it's time you and I have a child. Select for me the breeder." He brings out a book containing photos of all the human women in exhibits on Traflamador (Esme's told it's various high school yearbooks).

This... rings a little bell left in the back of Esme's head somewhere. This... doesn't sound like something Carlisle would usually do. Carlisle insists it is something he'd do, for her, and Esme figures he must be right. And since little Renesmee is all grown up it might be nice to have another child in the house.

(The memory of what Bella went through to have her own child, of what this means for the woman they're selecting, is a distant concept to Esme. Though, because of this, she and Simulation Carlisle have a much healthier marriage than she and Real Carlisle ever did).

They spend days looking over pictures, choosing the woman who will produce the most adorable and wonderful child. They have a great time doing this. Simulation Edward even pitches in to see which woman will produce the best playmate for Renesmee. With Edward's input, they probably land on a very willowy, fragile, beautiful looking woman who is exactly Edward's idea of feminine beauty.

Regardless, one day instead of going to work, Simulation Carlisle says, "Goodbye, honey, I'm off to get us a child!" Esme waves with a handkerchief, "Goodbye, my husband! I believe in you!" Then goes back to cleaning the house.

Esme doesn't see Simulation Carlisle for a month and when he returns it's with a half-bred, beautiful, baby. The mother? Eh, she didn't fare so well. Esme does not blink at this and gladly accepts the new family member. She proclaims the baby looks just like her and Carlisle (it looks nothing like her).

In Esme's Traflamador exhibit, she's able to dote on both Edward and on new baby. Neither is the best child, or at least, Edward is certainly not replaced by this new child. They're all wonderful. Esme is happily able to Esme along.

And then... the child grows up.

At first, everything's wonderful, but the child is a) not a simulation b) is not Esme. This is the kid's world, all they've known, but even so they slowly realize that reality is not what Esme seems to think it is. Something is wrong here.

The child is anything but harmonious and wants out. Why do the rest of the Cullens leave the house every day while Esme and the child just stay here? What is school? What is work? WHAT EVEN IS THIS PLACE?!

The child figures out they're on an alien zoo and conspires to get themselves and Esme, the only real connection they've ever known, out. Unfortunately, Esme has no idea what the child is talking about and refuses to leave.

The child, in despair, has to leave Esme behind as they steal a space ship and try to direct it to "Earth" a place they've never truly been and have so many expectations for.

After that, well, the child is no longer the best child and Edward's clearly number one.

At least, until Simulation Carlisle says, "So that didn't go so well, want to try again?" Esme says yes.

[lord-multifandom-murder]

Silence is golden (Fred Weasley x reader)

A/N: This came to me in a 'poof' moment.....and technically I haven't been writing Fred content so I guess I should make up for it.

Summary: You're quite a quiet person, and almost a wallflower. Little did anyone know, you were extremely mischievous underneath that quiet surface. Fred finds this out after your friends get bullied.

Warnings: I suppose none, per usual.

Requests are OPEN!!

Since you were extremely quiet, no one ever expected you to play pranks. They always suspected it was the twins, Fred and George Weasley.

The perfect cover.

Fred and George always thought it was strange. Weren't they the only troublemakers in Hogwarts? Or was there someone else who did it in the shadows?

To be honest, George was more laid-back on the matter, but Fred was more bothered by it. It could damage their reputation as pranksters. Seeing that it wasn't them, and that these pranks were rather way out of their league.

Interestingly enough, that person always left a mark. It was rather odd, because no one in their right mind would do that, except for this daring maverick. It was always the same thing, a drawing of an 'X' wherever the prank was set up.

They were well-thought of, and almost nothing was left by the person who did them. Well, little did anyone know, it was you. You were quiet, yes, which made it easier to do things since no one bothered you. Since you were silent half the time, no one really bothered to wonder what you were thinking about.

Now, except for Fred.

He had noticed you sitting underneath a tree in the courtyard, deep in thought. It wasn't strange to find you alone even though you had friends, but Fred being Fred, came over to bother you. Mainly because he wanted to ask you on a date, really.

No one ever would have thought he would've fallen for the silent bookworm, Y/N Y/L/N, who was so quiet sometimes if you were standing right behind someone, they wouldn't know until they turned around and jumped in fright.

Fred had witnessed some of those exchanges, really. And he thought they were actually very hilarious.

"Hello there, Y/N," he smiles. You look up to see him standing in front of you, casting a shadow over. "Hello, Fred. What're you doing alone on this fine day?" you ask, quirking your eyebrow.

Fred looked surprised that you knew it was him, because him and George were always easily mistaken for each other; it was sometimes good, and sometimes bad. You could tell it was him because little did he know, you were around him more often than he would notice.

Rather if it was a prank, or just sitting nearby him in the Great Hall, after making a few observations, you could roughly guess who was who most of the time, which got easier after a while. And technically because you had a secret crush on the extroverted redhead.

You smirked amusedly at his face. "Think, Weasley. I wondered why you haven't placed a finger on that 'quiet person' stereotype yet."

Fred chuckled and sat next to you, leaving a slight distance between you to be polite. "I was just wondering if you weren't like the other quiet kids I see around here."

You smile. "It's nice to see that you don't judge a book by it's cover Fred. I admire that about you."

Did I ever mention that you were rather blunt with your words?

Fred blushed slightly but didn't say anything. You smile and mirror his behaviour. "Say, could you help me with some Charms homework? I heard you're very good, considering I always hear Flitwick bragging about you in-between classes."

"Sure, d'you wanna go to the library? It's more quiet there so I can focus," you say, ready to stand up. Fred suddenly grabbed your arm and pulled you down. "Sorry, but uh....I'm actually busy at the moment but maybe we can meet tomorrow in the library? After lunch? I'm not in a hurry to turn this in."

"Okay then, after lunch," you repeat. Fred smiled and got up, brushing his trousers. "Well, it was nice talking to you Y/N, but I have an appointment with my dear twin brother."

"Bye, then. Oh, say hello to George for me!" you say with a playful smile.

"Don't worry, I won't forget!" he calls back, jogging off. You smile quietly even though you were screaming internally, and went back to thinking.

---------

The next day, you were walking to lunch with Neville and Ron. He was helping to tutor the both of you since you weren't doing very well at the subject.

You met with Harry and Hermione and they greeted you as you sat down. Hermione gave you a kind smile and started asking you a bit about what Neville taught you and Ron about. Neville eagerly entered the conversation as you ate and discussed about the proper way to manage a Fanged Geranium.

"What're you doing here, Longbottom? Shouldn't you be in the greenhouses playing with dirt?" a snide voice sounded. Hermione grimaced as Malfoy walked towards the Gryffindor table.

"Shove off, Malfoy. It's none of your business," Ron grumbled, stabbing his Shepherd's Pie rather violently.

"Manners, Weasley. Honestly, Longbottom. Why are you ever here? You can barely do magic. You're worse than that Mudblood Granger."

You stood up abruptly, turning around to glare at Malfoy.

"Oho, Y/L/N! What're you going to say? Share your thoughts! Oh wait, you can't because you barely talk!"

"That's enough, Malfoy!" Hermione snaps angrily. "Shut it, Granger. Go on, Y/L/N. Do you even know words?"

You sigh, and nod. But that's all you do. Malfoy tried to bother you again to say something, mocking your chosen silence. You huff and turn around again, holding a fork at him, surprising everyone. You motion for him to move back to his table.

Surprisingly, he complies and slouches away. Fred watches you with awe as you sit down calmly, as if nothing happened, with people gawking at you. "Silent, but deadly," he thinks to himself, as he watches Hermione scold you for brandishing a fork at Malfoy, while Harry and Ron were chuckling amongst themselves about how funny his face was.

As you made your way to the entrance of the Great Hall, you feel someone tap your shoulder. You look around to see Fred grinning. "That was pretty cool, what you did back there," he remarked. You smile. "Thanks, I've been meaning to do that for awhile."

Fred smiles again. "He's a right git. He deserved that."

"So I assume we're going to the library?" you ask, strolling out with Fred. "I see you remembered our little study date, eh?" he grins.

"I don't remember calling this a study date," you say, looking at him. Fred groaned inwardly. "I-I didn't mean-"

"Nevermind, it's fine. I dont mind if we thought of this as a study date," you say, trying to cover up your blunt mistake, feeling bad for making Fred nervous.

He shrugs. "It's fine," he says. "Let's go on our study date, then." he decides with a playful smile.

Once you reach the library, you bring him to your favourite place, which was a tiny secluded haven. Little did Fred know, you were there half the time when you were formulating a new prank.

You had your secret stash of books there, filled with all sorts of stuff. Strategies, inventions and ideas. But, Fred needn't know that. It's Charms he needs.

So, you sat next to him, Fred happily finding comfort in a squishy armchair he claimed just seconds ago. So, on went the lesson.

And on went your plan for revenge on Malfoy.

After helping him with most of his homework, you excused yourself and went to sit a little further away at a desk while he finished up his essay.

You pulled a book out and started to read. Fred looked up at you as you read and blushed, remembering how cute you were when you focused. "Mind finishing your work before you admire me?" you ask, not taking your eyes of your book.

Fred chuckled. "I'm finished," he says. You close your book and move towards him, taking his parchment and reading it through to check for any mistakes. "Well, it seems that we're finished here," you say, giving the paper back to him and going to your desk to keep your book.

Fred smiled and stood up. "Well, I'm glad that you decided to help me. I wouldn't have been able to even pass this up without your help!" he says, while zipping his bag.

"I'm glad that you came to me for help, actually. Not many people thought that I would want to, since I don't talk much," you say.

"But you've talked plenty before!" Fred exclaims.

"'Course I have. Only when people initiate the conversation first. And only if I want to talk to them."

"Then I consider myself lucky that you wanted to talk to me," Fred jokes, laughing with you. You smile quietly before Fred leaves, when you said that you had work of your own to finish before going back to your Common Room.

Work, that is, for a prank to pull on a certain blonde brat.

Fred walks back in a daze, with a stupid smile on his face. When he went into the boys' dorms and sat on his bed, he shoved his face in to the pillow and hugged it hard. George and Lee who were playing a round of Exploding Snap watched with smirks on their faces.

"I assume your little study date with Y/N went well?" George asked with raised eyebrows.

"Very well," Fred answered happily.

---------

That night, he couldn't sleep. It was silly, the fact that he had fallen so hard for you that he was kept awake just by the mere thought of you. Yet, he wasn't complaining.

He sighed and sat up. "Oh, what's the use?" he grumbles to himself. He stood up and padded quietly to the door. When he opened it and sneaked down the stairs, he decided to go and have a nice cup of hot chocolate.

While he was navigating through the corridors, he heard footsteps. Quick and light, he noticed a shadow darting in the neighbouring corridor. He hurried over, and his eyes widened in surprise to find someone he wasn't expecting to see late at night. That certain someone who kept him up for the same reason.

You.

You had a bag slung over your shoulder, walking as quietly as possible. Fred looked down and noticed you weren't wearing shoes at all. He then saw you hurry down a flight of stairs, and through a secret passage that he never knew existed.

He quickly followed you, wondering what you were up to. He then noticed that you were heading in the direction of the Great Hall. He followed you curiously, watching you sneak through the giant doors towards the Slytherin Table.

He followed after you, but then accidentally stubbed his toe on the bench leg, causing him to hiss out a curse. He saw you lift your head, and then hide under the table. He limped padded towards you and rapped the table.

Underneath, you were hyperventilating. Shit, you thought. I didn't see anyone!

But then you heard Fred's hushed voice. "Y/N, is that you?" he whispers urgently. You peek your head out from underneath the table and looked up to see a bewildered Fred peering down at you.

".....yea?" you ask timidly, not sure of what to say to him. This was a rather awkward exchange.

"What're you doing here? And why do you have a marker-wait....," Fred asked, suddenly realising something. "Were you the one playing all those pranks?" he asks, surprised.

"What if I am?" you defend. Fred looked under the table to see a little contraption sticking out from underneath. He takes note of a little red 'X' beneath the table. "So you are," he notes.

"Please don't tell anyone! I'm sorry!" you blurt out. "Sorry? For what? And why in Merlin's name would I tell anyone?" Fred asks.

"I'm sorry that everytime I play a prank I let the blame fall on you! I just thought it was fun, playing tricks secretly," you mumble.

"Hey, it's fine! So, you ARE that famous secret prankster! Me and George have been dying to find out who it was! Your pranks are ingenious!" Fred exclaims.

You blush. "Thanks," you say. "I guess it helps that you're quiet sometimes, no one bothers you much," you say.

Fred looks at you in awe. "And I thought that you couldn't get anymore amazing," he says. "What?" you ask, confused.

Oh well, it's now or never.

"Well, Y/N, I've liked you for a while now, and I was wondering if you.....wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me on the weekend?" he asks shyly.

You weren't expecting this.

"Sorry-I-you don't have to if you want, I just-," Fred stammered.

Suddenly, you jump on him and hug him tight. "You're serious?" you ask, your voice slightly muffled.

"Yes?" he answered uncertainly, looking down at you. He was then taken by surprise when you kissed him. It was rather quick, but when you broke apart, both of you were blushing.

"I'd love to," you whisper with a shy smile.

"W-wait, really?" Fred asks.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" you ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yea, especially before you kissed me," he says.

"Idiot," you snort, leaning in again, but this time kissing him slowly, his arms slowly winding around you and savouring the moment.

"I'd love to," you repeat. Fred's face breaks into a wide grin and spins you around, causing you to shriek with laughter.

"Shhh! Aren't you supposed to stay quiet?" Fred snickers. "Blame the one who caused me to make the noise!" you shoot back.

Both of you laugh amongst yourselves before sneaking back to your dorms.

---------

"So you're telling me that Y/N is the person who's been pulling all those pranks?!" George exclaims at breakfast, after Fred regaled his night time wander with him.

"Yes! And don't tell anyone! If they ask, just say that we don't know," Fred hisses.

George raised his eyebrows. "Don't you dare, or I'll hex you into next week," Fred threatens, brandishing his wand at his twin.

"I get the message. No one's gonna believe me anyways," George says, before diving into his breakfast. Fred looks around to see you stroll into the hall and he waves you over excitedly. You smile and walk over.

"Morning, beautiful," Fred greets, kissing your cheek and surprising people nearby.

"Hold on......since when were you and Y/N dating?!" Ron asks.

"Since just now," Fred retaliates, sticking his tongue out at his younger brother. "Are your feet cold?" he whispers to you.

"No? Why would my feet be cold?" you question.

"You were walking around barefoot last night! Your pretty feet must've been freezing!"

"I had my reasons for not wearing anything," you say mysteriously. "Oh? Do tell," Fred says.

"Shoes make too much noise. It would attract attention easily, what's to say no one'll hear me clacking around in the middle of the night?"

"Unless you stub your toe on something, the pain's a bitch," Fred grumbles, still salty about stubbing his toe last night since he was just wearing socks.

You snort, but is quickly drowned out by a loud yell coming from the Slytherin Table.

Everyone turns around and roars with laughter when they see Malfoy head-to-toe in some Colour-Changing Ink.

Fred noticed that Malfoy was sitting in the same place where he found the little device. His point was proven when a Slytherin cried out, "Hey! There's an 'X' on the floor!"

He looks at you with a wide grin. "So THAT'S why you snuck out! You're lucky no one caught you!"

Fred watches you in awe as you ask Hermione to pass the marmalade calmly while everyone was howling with laughter at Malfoy.

You smirk, leaning over to say to him quietly, "Told you, Weasley. Silence is golden."

[abraxos-the-phantom]

Scum Disciple Deleted

-scenes. Here you go @vodkassassin. Unformatted and mostly unedited save for some awkward phrasing I fixed as I skimmed through it. I have a habit of merely taking out scenes rather than straight deleting them when I don't think they work out so if you see it on the fic shhh I probably just found a better place for it, but for the most part I think these are unused

TLJ + MF; Flashback/Illusion

[Log: File:Save_??-???.?.????.log]

“You know, for a man so keen on maintaining the preference of a dignified cultivator, you are fairly quick to disband such things as you see fit,” Tianlang-jun mused.

Ming Fan threw a dirty look to the former Overlord of the Demonic Realm over his bowl of beef stir fry lily bulbs. It was a specialty in this region, boasting a sweet lily bulb due to the length of time the farmers around the area spent cultivating the plant. In other words, it was delicious and a welcome change to the guilt trip galore that was eating Lou Binghe’s cooking.

Oh to eat that delicious snow congee without feeling the compulsion to throw it all back up-

Well, no use dwelling on such things.

“Most of anything could be considered vulgar when in close proximity to you,” Ming Fan quipped, taking a generous helping of the stir-fry between his chopsticks. “If you had as much sensibility as you had sensuality, I guarantee that people would be more fond of you. Unfortunately, it is too late for me.”

“Hoh? Is that so?” Tianlang-jun’s lips curled in a smirk in spite of the fact that Ming Fan had no interest looking his way, regardless of the other demon happened to do. Some odd five or so years have taught Ming Fan that there were times when the best move for dealing with the other was simply ignoring him.

Ming Fan maintained his bland tone as he briefly paused to speak, “Yes.”

Tianlang-jun shook his head, “Honestly. Are all disciples of Cang Qiong like you, or are you just the special one.”

Said disciple only gave Tianlang-jun a significant dirty look, “You’d have to actually behave yourself to get to know another disciple of Cang Qiong.”

“Eh,” the Heavenly Demon leaned back against his chair with his hands crossed behind his head. “Too boring.”

Ming Fan made a noncommitting sound as he finally ate the last of his order, letting out a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

“Ming Fan, a question if you are so gracious enough to grant me such a thing.”

Ming Fan only raised a brow, “You may ask, whether I answer is not on the table.”

“Why?” Tianlang-jun paused as he attempted to think about his question. “Why do you maintain this relationship of ours? It’s not as if you’re on any obligation to maintain basic relations for a political reason, and you hardly ask me anything so you aren’t after my wisdom. With Lou Binghe going in and out Cang Qiong Sect, it’s not as if I can threaten your Sect any more than I could try and fight with my son.”

Ming Fan crossed his arms, humming for a moment tilting his head just enough to convey thoughtfulness he turned to look the demon lord in the eye, “If you were to be confronted with a former enemy of a war without meaning, what would you do?”

Tianlang-jun hummed, “I wouldn’t care.”

“Exactly,” Ming Fan pointed out. “Now what would you do if you discovered you were on the wrong side of that war?”

“…I still wouldn’t care.”

“Would you?” Ming Fan hummed, “Well, that’s your choice.”

“So is that all? You pity me?”

“Not quite,” Ming Fan shrugged, idly arranging the finish plate on the table. “More like my recompense of sorts.”

Tianlang-jun’s expression was unreadable as he stared, quietly adding, “You realize that I’ve killed hundreds of cultivators like you. Your age, younger- older. It didn’t matter, they were obstacles in my path and I removed them.”

“Of that I do not doubt, but these days- the line between righteous and mad is thin,” Ming Fan snorted. “I stand at the meager in-between myself. But what else can I do? I am but a mere mortal, attempting to right his wrongs.”

Ming Fan took a final sip at his tea, “Sometimes, that is all one can do without going well and truly mad.”

Tianlang-jun chuckled, “I suppose that’s true.”

The hours seemed endless after that, a moment in time felt like hundreds upon billions as the two simply- existed.

“So,” Tianlang-jun said after an eternity’s moment. “What are you doing here Little Cultivator?”

Ming Fan blinked, “Is this not one amongst our many meetings?”

The world seem to blur around him like ink amongst a pool of water. Fading into implied images as the sky and trees distorted. The sounds of the earth quieted to a hushed whisper. Ming Fan’s eyes casted around in confusion as the lively village dulled into a dead silence.

“It isn’t,” Tianlang-jun leaned back, smirking. “You’ve spent so long with me that I am now here with you- in limbo. I’m flattered Fan-er.”

Ming Fan narrowed his eyes, scowling, before looking away, “Definitely. Tianlang-jun never called me that to my face.”

Ming Fan twisted away from the…demon for some time to think.

TLJ + MF - Actual Flashback

“You look like you went a round and three more with a golem,” Tianlang-jun tsked at him.

“Are you going to lecture me about coming out while I look like I lost against said golem or are you going to sit your ass down and have some tea like we agreed?” Ming Fan snapped, wincing as he sat.

Tianlang-jun whistled wolfishly. “Why, I never took that War God to be the kinky type.”

“Don’t be so obscene,” Ming Fan rolled his eyes. “He landed me flat on my ass almost a dozen times. Of course sitting down would be a pain.”

“You know there’s this flower that-“

“No.”

“But I hurt just looking at you,” Tianlang-jun whined like a particularly annoying brat. “One tiny little adventure to look for a flower that heals bruises instantly, it’s a Lotus of a blue hue, I hear those people from the far West have been using it for some time.”

“And then Liu Qingge will have me spar against him, again, and this hellish circle will repeat itself. I am only saved by the fact that my cultivation is not as advanced as one of a Peak Lords, otherwise I would be healed by the end of the week and my pain begins anew,” Ming Fan shook his head. “I appreciate your concern, I really do, but no.”

“Aww, well since you’re being so polite about it…” Tianlang-jun sighed and sipped from the tea. “Mn- this is good. Where did you get it?”

“Shang-shishu taught me how to prepare lemon tea before the fruits go out of season, apparently there is a sweetened-cold version of this as well, but he has yet to refine the technicalities of the ingredients. I worry for him, he always seems so busy.”

“He looks like a rodent who accidentally ate a pepper, though I suppose in this case it would be a block of ice what with Mobei-jun being his lover and all.”

“I did wonder how that happened, and worried a brief time. An Ding Peak’s disciples had said that their master would occasionally come home bruised and barely able to walk, they were rearing to go to war with the Northern Demons far before everything else happened.” Ming Fan sighed, “Well, it isn’t any of my business. I’m sure they’re dealing with the situation in their own way.”

“True that, those An Ding Peak children…physically they are weak, but it is always the weaker ones that surprise you the most. Especially when angry,” Tianlang-jun smiled as he mused. “Afterall, hornets don’t seem like much at first glance. That Mobei-jun has his work cut out for him, ah, speaking of. What of those two? Surely the boy is tip-toeing these days.”

“He tends to keep to the bamboo house, and we tend to stay far away from the bamboo house, especially at night.” Ming Fan raised his hand to drink. “That is all I will say of the matter.”

Ming Fan sighed, rubbing a hand against his eyes, “I am getting far too old for this.”

“Oh please, you’re not even a century old.”

“Hm, and yet somehow I am still significantly more mature than you. Have you reached the regression stage of life Tianlang-jun? I must say, I’m rather peeved that it’s a mental deterioration rather than a physical one for you demons.”

“Hoh?” Tianlang-jun leaned forward, smirking. “Wish to test how youthful I can be Little Cultivator?”

Ming Fan raised a hand idly pointing at the silks of Tianlang-jun’s clothes, startling the heavenly demon as he wondered just what the other had found on his clothes.

Then Ming Fan flicked up, hitting the former Demon Lord up the lip and under the nose, causing Tianlang-jun to recoil, sputtering from the unjust attack. The audacity.

“I’m sure you’d at least warm the bed,” He deadpanned, sipping at his tea without a care as Tianlang-jun sputtered indignantly.

NMJ/MF - Original Re-meeting for ch 52; added here for my convenience (cus i don't wanna make another post)

“Gather everyone who can fight!” One voice called. “Sect Leader Nie is being surrounded by a pack of hell hounds! They need help.”

Ming Fan was out and running before anyone could even blink- with only Liu Qingge and Tianlang-jun holding enough time to react by following him.

-

“Shit-“ Mingjue cursed, swinging around Bàxià to hurl one attacking hound over to the side. “Meng Yao- you alright?!”

“Could use-” Meng Yao grimaced as he had to back off to avoid the snapping jaws of another hound. “Some help.”

“Reinforcements should be on the way!” Mei Lin cursed venomously under her breath. “Just where the hell did all these damned dogs come from?!”

“We’re being overrun!” Lang Fengyi yelped as he narrowly avoided claws.

“Fuck-“ Mingjue gathered his energy, willing it to fill him once more. “Get ready to run! I should be able to distract them long enough to-“

“Don’t worry about that.”

The disciples of Nie turned to find a man arrogantly walking through the field, the hounds yipping in fear and running from him, as well as another man clad in white and silver who eyed the hounds back.

Tianlang-jun stood before the disciples of Qinghe Nie with a bright smile, “Relax now, everything will be fine.”

Liu Qingge huffed, drawing his sword, “Says you. We have to make sure he’s not overworking himself remember?”

There was a distant rumbling- an ominous presence that washed over them to the point where all the hounds began to shudder and shake in fear as they too yipped around fearfully.

Descend with great speed. Swift and merciless. Run my enemies. Leave none left alive. May death greet you well.

Formation formed.

Ming Fan dropped his sword with militaristic precision, tilting all the swords generated by his power towards the ground in varying angles.

Heavenly Wrath Formation.

Tianlang-jun looked up in the surprise, “Don’t tell me that’s-“

“It is,” Liu Qingge scowled.

“Who-“ Nie Mingjue began- before all hell broke loose.

Liu Qingge’s expression was thunderous as he swept past rows of demonic hounds, tilting on hand and waiting-

Another man dropped from the sky not a second later, catching Liu Qingge’s robes and righting him before swinging his legs on the man’s waist to get around and jab another hound in the back- Tianlang-jun was swift to join the fray, allowing the shorter cultivator to move around him to get at all the lucky hounds who managed to move away from Ming Fan’s deadly aim fast enough.

While Tianlang-jun added to the deadly partnership with his own flare, it was the pair of Ming Fan and Liu Qingge that showed the obvious years of partnership between them- for the two had years of spars and night hunts to guide their blades where they need be.

Heads flew, limbs joining them as the immortals of Cang Qiong Sect and Tianlang-jun of the Heavenly Demon Line slaughtered the feared and the rowdy- leaving those of Qinghe Nie in awe.

“..Wei…” Meng Yao said, knees beginning to grow weak. “Wei Fan?!”

The man abruptly froze, glancing towards their direction before seeming to move on instinct- the War God sensing the sudden change and using his arm to propel him outward, allowing the man to fly across the air and land his sword true through the skull of the hell hound that was just about to take a chunk from Nie Mingjue’s side.

Ming Fan, not upset as he was, barked at them venomously, “Just what do you think you’re doing?! Fucking move! You’re in a battle field! Fight damn you! Are you not of Qinghe Nie?!”

“Teacher Wei!” Mei Lin cried- openly actually, crying.

“Oh for the love of-“ Ming Fan cursed. “I’ll take your crying and yelling and cursing later, lift your sabres and fight!”

“Xiao-Fan!”

Ming Fan turned, grunting as he launched his sword in the Heavenly Demon’s direction and skewering the hound. “What?!”

“Lower your blood pressure!”

Ming Fan felt his blood pressure rise out of sheer spite. “Fuck you!”

“A-Fan,” Liu Qingge growled. “You just performed one of the most powerful formations while silent. Calm down.”

“I can’t!” Ming Fan caught himself with a scowl. “But I’m not upset!”

“For the love of-“ Liu Qingge turned to Tianlang-jun. “Can you handle the rest?”

“Yeah I got it,” Tianlang-jun batted away a hound with his bare fist. “Just take care of our pissed off little horse first.”

Liu Qingge wasted no time, grabbing the now fuming Ming Fan, his nose beginning to trickle with a line of blood and generally causing the already shocked disciples of Qinghe Nie to panic.

“Hey,” Liu Qingge’s voice was soft as it was firm. “Calm down. Calm. That’s not a request.”

“I’m trying,” Ming Fan hissed. “You try doing this in the middle of battle.”

“Alright back up plan,” Liu Qingge turned to the still shocked Nie Mingjue. “You. Make yourself useful. He needs a distraction.”

“Wha-“

Liu Qingge shoved Ming Fan into Nie Mingjue, the taller man abruptly catching the man by the waist to steady him before something else caused him to loose balance.

Forgot one: Deleted Extra feat. Yang Yixuan + MF; written with it's og formatting since notes preserved my italics somehow

Cold wind swept past the ravine.

Shaking trees and rustling branches provided the background noise for the twittering creatures who lived in the back mountains. Within this quiet land was a surrounding of high elevation mountains spanning all around the mountain side.

There, Ming Fan sat quietly. Watching the creatures bellow- there were no humans for miles save for those few people within the Ancient Sect, and they were hardly just human anymore.

“So, you’ve finally decided to get off your ass.”

Ming Fan stiffened.

Yang Yixuan’s arms were cross across his breast, idly looking down from the view of Qing JIng Peak.

The landscape had changed much since Ming Fan had last come here, it was greener. With the trees far taller than when Ming Fan had last seen them, the older trees cut down by the ravages of war and time- but new ones taking their place. The silence too, was new. With no disciples Cang Qiong Mountain was a far quieter place than it had been during the height of its Sect Years. Some ascended, some peacefully settling into their next life, and some sticking around. Going to and fro the place carrying out errands and enacting a firm hand where the average Cultivator could not handle. The war had put a damper on such things, what with their stance of neutrality, bu it was no less somewhat of a sobering surprise that those of Cang Qiong Mountain had seen what was happening and judged it would be better to remain quiet.

He knew why of course, it was more practical in the long run for a mythical Sect, they were not here to force the future into their own hands- merely to counter the monsters of the yester years. Still. He wondered.

“You’re thinking so loud I could practically here it,” the former head disciple of Bai Zhan peak, the former Peak Lord himself, continued with a raised brow. “You’re normally quick to empty your mind and dump it onto others.”

Ming Fan scoffed softly, “Normal is a poor basis to use to pass judgement at the moment, even a Bai Zhan Peak buffoon like you should realize such.”

“…”

Ming Fan pursed his lip, anger simmering.

Settle.

Settle.

Settle.

“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.” He said softly, allowing his fist to slack from their death-like grip.

“You just lost your brohter,” Yang Yixuan said bluntly. “You were a raving asshole when Liu-shifu dragged you here. Pretty much spat at Luo Binghe’s feet and insulted just about everyone.”

Ming Fan restrained the urge to flinch at every word.

“I’d be more than a little troubled if you didn’t act like that after losing your brother.” Yang Yixuan continued with a shake of his head. “It’s good to know that our illustrous Ming Fan is still a human.”

“Have I not proven that time and time again?”

“Dunno,” Ming Fan turned his head, the Bai Zhan Peak’s former sole disciple’s voice turning uncharacteristically soft. “You were doing a pretty good impression of acting like an immortal before.”

[drabbles-of-writing]

Movie Night

This is part of my Beta AU

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There was screaming in Blight Manor again.

Most neighbors didn’t hear it, beyond muffled sounds in the distance. Hard to hear anything in that Manor when the properties were so big for no discernable reason.

But sometimes the neighbors hear. And so long the screams stay laced with curses, snarling, and the occasional shattering glass instead of bloody murder, they let it be. 

Edric stood by the front door, arms crossed as he stared out at the Manor’s gate like there wasn’t screeching coming from his home. He winced every time the noise raised even a notch.

He checked his watch, frowning as he began tapping his foot. After a few more moments he began to turn, reaching for the door handle.

The front door swung open before he could get to it. Emira said something back behind her, much quieter than the fit coming from inside. Amity all but stormed out right after her, the screaming dying as Emira slipped out after her and the door was quickly shut.

Emira looked tired, and Edric mirrored it, with just a bit more worry in his features. They looked to Amity next, quiet as she shoved the unlocked gate open.

“Well?” Amity spat, whirling around. 

Her glare increased when their expressions turned empathetic. Emira was quick to wipe it off and continued down the driveway, pulling out her car keys. Edric hesitated for a moment as he followed his sisters, beginning to open the door as they pulled themselves into the car.

“I’ll steal your keys back.” He said after a moment, earning a slightly surprised look from Amity as she turned to him. “Not, like, today,” He added quickly. “But, er, soon.” He mumbled, ducking into his seat in the back. Amity had already taken a shotgun and nobody was in the mood to argue.

The keys weren’t really the issue, they all knew it wasn’t. Not even close. But the effort was there, and really, he couldn’t think of much better to offer.

Amity knew. She looked back at him over her seat for a moment, and while her ears were still pressed back and fangs still threatening to show at any provocation, she nodded to him. Edric loosened just a little bit, and Emira relaxed a bit herself as she started the car.

“For a price, of course.” Edric added right after. “But I’ll be nice and just ask you to give me my necklace back. And those dangly bracelets as compensation.”

“Eat shit, Ed.” Amity huffed. Emira offered her a half-empty container of hand sanitizer from the junk in her car and Amity was quick to chuck it at Edric’s head.

“Fine, fine!” Edric poorly covered his head from the offending weapon. “Just the choker then, have it your way!”

“Get it back yourself, all you’re getting is a thumb ring if you're lucky.” Amity snarked, more of a sharp, warning bite to it than probably necessary.

“Eh, I can make it work.” Edric shrugged noncommittally, eyeing her warily before going quiet.

Silence fell over the car again, aside from the quick words shared between the twins. 

Amity kept her eyes either through the windshield or her own doors window. The twins shared worried looks that Amity, for her part, pretended not to notice. She picked at her bracelets until Hexside came into view.

“Gimme the straws if you wanna see something really impressive.”

“Gus,” Willow said calmly, looking up from her half-eaten orange. “Don’t give her the straws.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Gus squeaked, holding the two straws he’d managed to get far out of Luz’s reach. 

“It’s just water! Not like I’m gonna be snorting soda.” Luz complained, rolling her eyes. 

“Why would you want to snort water?” Gus exclaimed, aghast. “Why with straws?”

“Because if I just shove it on my face it’ll look less cool.” Luz said it was obvious.

“I don’t think there’s a dignified way to drink water through your nose.” Willow deadpanned. “You’ll choke on it regardless.”

“Will not, I have practice,” Luz insisted. “Ergo, it’s far less idiotic than if I was doing it the first time.”

“It’s still idiotic,”

“I never said I was perfect.” 

“Hey, Amity!” Gus called, breaking the two girls out of their argument. He waved across the cafeteria, where Amity had escaped the line with her tray of food.

She already looked like she was about to hit something, but then again, she always did. Gus waved her down, and Luz was almost impressed by how quickly he stopped being terrified of her, before she realized Willow was also trying to subtly wave her down. Little shits just wanted a way to stop her from her straw trick, the traitors.

Amity hesitated for a brief moment before storming over, nearly slamming her tray on the table as she stiffly sat. She didn’t really need to be waved over, she sat with them most days anyway, making Luz’s glare at her two friends all the more seething.

“Now that you’re here,” Luz said, deciding that now she was taking the petty route. “Wanna see a cool trick?”

“No,” Willow answered before Amity could, giving her a warning look. “You’ll choke on your fragile human lungs or whatever.”

“I punctured a lung once and survived, so jot that down,” Luz said matter-of-factly. “Second, I was not asking you.”

“Do I have a choice?” Amity grumbled, holding her face in her hand with a bored look.

“Not really, no.” Luz shrugged, already reaching for Gus’s straws again.

Gus was quick to take one of the straws and slide it over to Amity. She blinked down at it in surprise for a moment before rolling her eyes.

“I’m not fighting Luz over a straw.” She said, sounding almost offended.

“Really? Would’ve thought you’d fight me over the proper way to walk.” Luz raised a brow, one hand on Gus’s head as she pushed him down and snatched the first straw out of his hand.

“Keep talking and I just might,” Amity growled, shooting her a glare. “You’re making it quite easy to fantasize bashing your face against concrete.”

“I’m flattered,” Luz teased right back with a crooked, cocky grin. “I might just take you up on that offer.”

Amity flashed a large fang for a moment before grabbing whatever the witch equivalent of a yogurt container was and chucked it at Luz’s head. She yelped and ducked, letting it splat against the ground behind her. Barely anyone noticed.

“If you're not gonna eat any of that, at least give it to me.” Willow sighed, gestring to Amity’s tray. “It would make this horrendous experience more tolerable.”

“Piss off,” Amity snapped back with bared teeth, her hair almost mimicking a cat's hackles rising from how it seemed to spike. “You can live with this for ten minutes.”

Luz and Gus glanced at each other in mirrored surprise. Amity was snappy with everyone, but Willow was...uncommon. A bit gruff and sarcastic yes, but not usually as aggressive. That was reserved for pretty much everyone else save for Gus.

And, y’know, she actually tried to be nicer these days to Willow. Making amends and all that.

Willow seemed a bit taken aback by her snapping too, though it was much more dulled compared to the other two, and harder to notice unless you’re looking for it. She didn’t respond and simply shrugged, going back to eating her own food as Amity seethed, glaring at the table.

Luz looked to Gus. She looked at Willow. Both of whom were worried and confused respectively. Amity had a bad day every now and again, but normally she just...fought Luz in the hallway and got it over with.

Luz thought for a moment, the sudden silence at the table interrupted only by the soft tapping of her foot. She glanced between her tray and Amity a few times, who kept glaring at the table like she was trying her damndest to ignore the sudden tension at the table. Or she just hadn’t noticed.

After a moment or two she jerked her head up, leveling her glare with Luz.

“Would you quit it?” Amity snapped.

“Huh?” Luz startled out of her thoughts.

“Your foot sounds like it's having a seizure. You’re not doing yourself any favors here unless you're some masochist actually looking forward to getting beaten to a pulp later.” Amity growled, the nails of one of her hands digging into the table. Or did they count as claws? Luz would have to ask Guys later.

Luz watched Amity for a moment, hands clasped in front of her face. Her foot tapping had stopped. Amity’s glare turned a bit unnerved, looking around like she thought Luz was staring at something else.

“Have you ever seen human media on witches?” Luz finally blurted, ending the few seconds of silence.

“What?” Amity balked.

“Yeah, I was talking about it with Gus the other day,” Luz said, which wasn’t a lie, he had expressed interest in what humans thought of witches. The boy perked up at the mention of their conversation. “And since this geek here hasn’t seen much human media, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess you haven’t either, no?”

“Why in the world would I?” Amity frowned. “We’ve got entirely different kinds of internet compared to them, why would I even care?”

“Because,” Luz said, a mischievous smile on her face as she lowered her hands. “I grew up with that stuff, and lemme just say, from personal experience,” She said, gesturing to the cafeteria filled with witches and demons around them. “You guys would have a field day with it.”

“What, like, witch movies?” Willow mumbled, a hint of recognition lighting in her eyes.

“Movies about witches, movies with witches in them, yadda yadda,” Luz nodded, waving a hand around. “I just so happen to own a few old DVDs, as well as gaining the knowledge on how to pirate everything else,” She said, quickly raising a hand when Gus opened his mouth to speak. “No, not the pirating you’re thinking of.” She added as he slowly shut his mouth again.

“My mami’s gonna be working late today, so we’ve got plenty of time to binge the worst of the best.” Luz continued. 

“And you’re mentioning this why…?” Amity frowned, tilting her head.

“Because I know you’ll get pissed off at it.” Luz said simply, her cocky smile never leaving. Also technically not a lie.

“Of course,” Amity slumped back with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Really?” Gus all but jumped out his seat, eyes shining excitedly. “This is perfect! This could be amazing for my studies on how humans have pictured witches through their current--”

“If you bring anything other than a notepad and pen I’m not letting you in my house.” Luz deadpanned.

Which was a lie, Willow can and would let Gus in no matter what he brought. But it got him to calm slightly and nod seriously.

“Trying to get out of a fight, Noceda?” Amity taunted. “I thought better of you.”

“Could you at least beat the shit out of me after the movie marathon?” Luz rolled her eyes. “I’m always down for a spar or two, but what kind of friends don’t have a movie marathon of questionable tastes on a school night?” Luz said with a raised brow.

“Want us to swing by right after school?” Willow inquired, mercifully saving Amity from her momentary shocked expression being seen by Luz. 

“Nah, give it an hour or so, still gotta set things up.” Luz said. “And,” She gave a pointed glare around the whole table this time. “This time I would actually appreciate it if my neighbors didn’t get worried about someone breaking and entering by going through the window.”

“I got caught once!” Gus complained.

“And this asshole got caught three times!” Luz pointed accusingly at Amity. “We’re lucky they only called the police once before deciding it was normal.”

“Not my fault you argue with me as loud as possible every time,” Amity shot back. “You don’t argue with Gus!”

“Gus made an honest mistake, and it was his first offence.” Luz said, crossing her arms as Willow snickered. “You, on the other hand, are a menace.”

“I thought you’d have figured that out ages ago.” Amity scoffed. “Really, it's your fault for being so oblivious.”

“She’d know all about that, huh?” Willow mumbled, taking a sip of her drink.

Luz contemplated kicking her under the table. She thought better of it. She decided to just relish in Amity’s curt, slightly loosened comebacks. Better than before, at least.

Luz opened her front door only for a moment before darting back to the kitchen. Maybe she had poor host etiquette, but she kind of had some popcorn on the line here.

“Sorry we’re late!” Gus fretted, hurrying in as Willow entered behind him. “I was trying to find the right size of notepad and then Willow took a while to get ready and--”

“Sorry my flytrap got a taste for flesh again,” Willow muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it!” Luz called from her kitchen, withdrawing her popcorn and frowning when she opened it and found that half of it was burnt. Curse her shitty microwave. “Amity hasn’t gotten here yet, either.”

“Ooh, what’s that?” Gus asked, bouncing into the kitchen and around the island in the middle as he stared at the candy and chips set out.

“Human food,” Luz said, tossing the burnt popcorn aside as she got a new packet. “I’m introducing you to the real stuff. You’re gonna hate the peppermint.” She said with a grin.

“If you try to give me anything with the word ‘mint’ in its name, I won’t hesitate to hurt you.” Willow warned.

“I actually happen to value my life, contrary to popular belief.” Luz scoffed like she was an idiot. “Luckily for me,” She gestured to Gus staring at all her food, clearly not having heard anything they were saying. “I can trick that one and Amity into eating them.”

“Amity won’t make good on her promise of not fighting you until the marathon is over if you try that,” Willow warned her, wandering around the kitchen for a bit before resting beside the sink and leaning against the counter.

“Which means I can hold it over her head when she tries to make me promise I won’t do anything.” Luz said this was an ingenious plan. “It’s foolproof. I win either way.”

“I’m not so sure a black eye counts as winning,” Willow mumbled, but didn’t comment further as Luz shoved the new batch of popcorn in the microwave.

Gus reached for the candy on the island counter before Luz batted his hand away. He gave her a pitiful look and she leveled it with a harsh one of her own they both knew she didn’t mean. He got the chocolate bar anyway.

“Why does it smell like something burned alive in here?”

The three turned, looking towards the front door, that nobody had closed, thanks guys, where Amity stood. Her face was scrunched up at the smell, looking a bit frazzled but no worse for wear.

“Popcorn,” Luz said simply. “And you, Blight, are late.”

“Had to steal Em’s car,” Amity said, wandering in and eyeing the snacks on the counter. “Didn’t feel like explaining to her where I was going to need her car.”

“Don’t you have your own?” Luz said, furrows pinched together as she looked back.

Amity paused for a moment before shrugging mutely and leaning against the counter not too far away from Willow. Luz decided not to push.

“If it burns again, I’m just gonna eat it, ash and all.” Luz sighed, tapping at the glass of the microwave before sitting on the counter beside it, feet dangling off.

“It’s not supposed to look like that, then?” Willow said, picking up the discarded bag Luz hadn’t thrown away yet and peering inside. “I could eat this.”

“You’re witches, you could eat a nuclear power plant if you wanted.” Luz muttered. “I’ll just save the ashy ones for the endless maw over here.” She said, jerking her head in Amity’s direction.

“I’m touched,” Amity said dryly. “What weird human movie are you gonna be subjecting us to today?” She sighed.

“I’m so glad you asked!” Luz perked up. “We’ve got a bunch of horror movies and regular movies, but I figured we could save the horror movies for when it's really dark, so I am blessing the three of you with The Wizard of Oz as an introduction.” Luz said, practically glowing as she spoke a mile a minute.

“Wizards aren’t--”

“I know wizards aren’t witches, I learned my lesson, blame Harry Potter.” Luz said, raising a hand to Gus’s protest. “Which, no, we are not going to be watching. Anyway, there are two witches in the movie! We can save the purely witch-centered movies for later, this is just an introduction.” She said, 

Gus nodded enthusiastically, listening intently as Willow snorted. Luz was quick to go off on a tangent about the different movies she’d sifted through, relishing in Willow’s tired look at the cheesy names from over half of them. She waved her hands about animatedly as she discussed movies she’d known for years and how now she got to properly bully them and--

Amity was very obviously not processing a damn thing she was saying.

She was watching Luz, same as the other two, and she was interested, but certainly not in whatever she was saying. Her ears were drooped back and she seemed just a tad more relaxed, less tense than she was earlier.

Willow, of course, being closest to the witch, noticed first.

She glanced back to the sink for a moment before grabbing the faucet, which she could pull out and appeared to have a spray option on it.

She looked to Amity for a moment, who still hadn’t stopped staring, aimed it, and turned it on.

Amity yelped and spat, jerking back, as the spray got her. Luz and Gus jerked around for just a moment before Luz burst out laughing, hunched over on the counter as Gus poorly hid giggles.

Amity whirled on Willow with a glare and a growl, the witch turning off and lowering the faucet slightly. She gave her a smug look, and, in a tone barely heard above the other twos laughing, said;

“Sorry, thought you looked thirsty.” In a dry, emotionless tone. Her gleeful grin said otherwise.

Amity spat, flushed to the tips of her ears, and took a clawed swing in Willow’s direction. The witch was unperturbed and stepped to the side to avoid a gash to the face.

“Amity, Amity no,” Luz wheezed out, dropping off the counter and quickly wrapping an arm around Amity’s midsection to stop another lunge. “You can’t fight Willow, she will kill you.”

“It’ll be worth it!” Amity snarled, pulling against Luz’s grasp with angry swipes that couldn’t quite reach Willow’s smug face, causing Luz to haul her back with both arms.

“It really won’t,” Luz said, still clearly amused by the whole thing. “The dedication is still admirable, though.”

“Uh, Luz?” Gus peered through the glass of the microwave. “I think it started burning again, it smells weird.”

“Shit!” Luz quickly released Amity, almost sending her toppling to the floor, as she rushed back to the microwave and tore it open.

She withdrew the bag and opened it with only a small wince at how hot it was, peering inside before sighing.

“Welp, it’s the best we’re gonna get.” Luz said, setting it aside. 

Amity flipped off Willow, who only responded with a chuckle, as Luz continued talking about movies and gathered the snacks together to take to the living room, making Gus carry the rest. As the four wandered off towards the other room, Luz paused and looked back towards the front door.

“Jesus Christ, do you guys not know how to close doors?” She hissed, quickly dumping the snacks on the couch before going back to the front door. “Three of you come in and not one of you could remember to shut a door?”

“I got distracted by the smell of burnt failure,” Amity defended, taking the corner of the couch for herself.

“This is gonna be worse for you,” Luz called, shutting the front door and skidding back in. “You have a better sense of smell than me.”

“Not my house,” Amity shrugged as Luz quickly took the middle of the coach before Gus could. The boy gave her a comically betrayed look as Willow took the floor and he had to be squished into the other corner. 

“You’re still getting the burnt popcorn,” Luz said, fishing on the coffee table through the snacks for the remote. “Maybe I’ll be nice and throw you a normal one here and there to spice it up.”

“How sweet of you,” Amity grumbled, crossing her arms and leaning back further on the couch as Luz started flipping on the TV.

“Also, as a heads up,” Luz added as she readied the DVD already mostly set up. “I may have gone on a research binge when I was younger for about seventy percent of these movies, so you’re all going to be subjected to weird facts I know.”

“Are we sure this isn’t a torture experiment?” Willow teased, leaning against the couch between Luz and Gus.

“Torture for you, maybe.” Luz corrected. “I’m gonna have the time of my life.”

Six and a half movies later, Gus had filled out almost every page of his notepad, and Luz had barely escaped getting broken teeth. There were cries of outrage, confusion, and plenty of shouting at the screen for inaccuracies. Lots of ‘look, it's you!’ from Luz at whatever weird or villainous thing the witch on screen did towards her friends, particularly Amity, and receiving bruises on her arms and sides for her troubles. The Wizard of Oz had been the worst, what with her comparing the Wicked Witch’s green skin to Amity’s hair.

They fought over the last piece of candy from a pack, Amity tried sneaking a grab at the un-burnt popcorn pieces and decided she liked the ashy ones better (to which Luz looked rather horrified) while stealing any of the sour patches Willow tried to nab as retribution. Luz introduced Gus and Amity to the peppermint, which almost ended in Amity fighting her right there and then if it weren’t for Willow threatening to beat both of them up if they didn’t quit it. Long, informative rants from Gus the girls all groaned through, Luz going on and on about facts about the movie productions, and a certain instance where they were pretty sure one of the actors in the movie they were watching was actually a witch, and things were finally winding down.

Gus had already passed out, the poor guy, and Willow didn’t look too far behind. Amity was probably only awake out of spite at this point, and even she looked close to sleep. Luz was hardly paying attention to the TV anymore, the volume lowered for Gus's sake more than anything.

“It’s gonna be such a pain in the ass to get to school tomorrow,” Willow muttered bitterly, eyes shut as she leaned back against the couch.

“Nothing important is for another week,” Luz lazily waved a hand. “We can afford to pass out in class.”

“You’re the last person who can afford to skimp out on work,” Amity mumbled. “Gus is already smart, and Willow and I can intimidate the teachers into giving us a pass.”

“Bullies, the two of you.” Luz huffed. “You’re just gonna leave me to rot, huh? Let me fend for myself in this vicious world? I thought better of you.”

“No you didn’t,” Amity scoffed. “Now shut up, you’re too loud.” She complained, batting at the human's face.

“You’re just tired, I’m talking at a perfectly reasonable volume.” Luz rolled her eyes. “Witch hearing isn’t so fun now, is it?”

Amity gave Luz a glare and a weak, croaky growl in the back of her throat. Luz gave a poor attempt at a mock-growl back. Amity was quick to raise a hand and make a grab at Luz when Willow spoke up, still perfectly still even in her half-asleep state.

“Both of you be quiet,” Willow gruffed, immediately getting the two to quickly freeze.

They held still for a brief few moments, glancing between each other and Willow. After a minute or two with Willow not making any other movements or further tired threats, they slowly relaxed back into the couch, Amity giving up on swiping at Luz.

“You’re growling is horrible,” Amity whispered, barely audible above the soft hum of the television. 

“Unfortunately, I was born with vocal cords that don’t let me sound like a crocodile on steroids.” Luz whispered back. “But I spent a good few years of my childhood mimicking cat sounds, so I like to think that’ll give me an edge.”

“Do I even want to ask?” Amity grimaced, giving Luz a hesitant look.

“I was a really weird kid,” Luz shrugged, constantly glancing at Willow to make sure she was quiet enough not to wake her up.

“You still are,” Amity deadpanned.

“Aw, how sweet.” Luz placed a hand on her chest with an emotional expression. “Never thought you had it in you.”

Amity muttered a quick ‘move’ as her only warning before she sharply punched Luz’s arm. The human hissed and jerked away, rubbing at the sore spot.

“You know it doesn’t actually count as a warning if you give zero room for a reaction, right?” Luz grumbled.

“I give you plenty room, you had a whole second there to move.” Amity replied, voice lowered as she leaned against the arm of the couch. “A warning is a warning, be grateful I’m giving one at all.”

“Your honor code is a Roulette wheel,” Luz huffed. 

“It’s not a--”

Gus shifted and the two of them went quiet again. They watched him as he shifted around in his sleep and almost went careening off the couch. Luz shot out a hand and caught his back, holding him right on the edge as he settled down again. She slowly pushed him back onto the couch, and he barely reacted.

They breathed a sigh of relief, laying back against the couch. Amity leaned her back against the arm of the couch and stretched out her legs, kicking up against Luz’s side. She turned to glare at the witch, momentarily caught off guard by the eerie glow Amity’s eyes had in the shifting, dim light from the television. Amity didn’t break eye contact.

She couldn’t help but feel like she was being studied. Like a cat determining whether or not it was worth it to go after a bird in the garden. Her blank face didn’t help matters.

“You’re sure your mom won’t realize we’re here?” Amity spoke before Luz could, eyes never leaving her.

“Uh, no, no, she’s usually pretty tired whenever she gets back, and we’re out of view of the front door, so she’ll just go to sleep and we’ll be at school before she wakes up.” Luz said, the first to break eye contact. “I’m more worried about you guys’ parents wondering where you went off to.”

“Eh, Willow can handle her dads.” Amity shrugged, slowly turning her head away to watch the movie after Luz looked away. “Gus’s dad is the only one we’ll have to be worried about.”

“Really? Would’ve thought a rich girl like you had a stricter curfew.” Luz teased, shaking off the tension from earlier. “They let you party all night, any night?”

Amity didn’t respond. Luz noted the claws on one of her hands slid unsheathed. Alright then, touchy subject. That didn’t surprise her much, considering how she’d spoken of them in the past.

“...I can’t believe you liked these movies.” Amity eventually sighed, scoffing at some scene involving wands and whatnot on screen. “No wonder you were so helpless when you came to Hexside.”

“Hey!” Luz snapped, remembering to lower her voice at the last second. “This ‘helpless’ human has fought the cliche trigger-happy jock and won.” She accused, pointing towards Amity.

“You have not.” Amity scoffed. “It's not a winning fight until someone surrenders or runs off.”

“So you’re saying we end in draws, then?” Luz raised a brow. “I still think that looks pretty good on my record.”

“Your record went up in flames months ago,” Amity rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky you're easy to pity.”

“Going soft on me, Blight?” Luz teased, sticking out her tongue. “Or are you that worried I might win?”

Amity glared at her, claws still unsheathed, Luz noted without changing her face from her taunting expression. Amity’s eyes narrowed for a second and she growled, and that was her only warning before she sprung out of her position and lunged.

Luz choked back a laugh and a surprised squeak as she jerked back, raising her foot and kicking at Amity to hold her at bay. She almost landed right over Gus, just barely missing him as Amity hissed and one of her claws dug into the side of Luz’s leg, ow.

The other hand lashed out to hit Luz before she caught her wrist and held it away just enough to avoid her claws, pushing her leg on Amity’s stomach further out to keep her off.

“Time and a place, Ames.” Luz whispered, cocking a brow as she jerked her head in the direction of Willow still sleeping leaned against the couch, almost definitely bound to wake up if they started a fight now. And Gus.

Amity glowered, lips pulled back to flash honestly ridiculously oversized fangs. Not that she was complaining of course. She looked like she still wanted to tackle Luz despite the poor repercussions that would follow, but alas, she eventually pulled her wrist out of Luz’s now lax grip.

Luz kicked her and Amity wheezed, falling back onto her side of the couch as Luz snickered and drew her legs back under her. She frowned at the tears in her jeans and scratches along her leg and flipped off Amity with her most exasperated look.

Amity’s hair puffed up as she repeated the gesture. They scowled at each other for a few moments before Luz gave up and shook her head, allowing a quiet chuckle at the ridiculousness of the two of them. Amity sighed and lowered her hand as Luz did the same, expression softening as Luz leaned further back against the couch, ears lowered.

“Wake me before I miss the first period, will ya?” Luz asked, right before leaning right across the couch and onto Amity’s arm.

“Not in your life.” Amity hissed, tensing. Her hands twitched and she looked ready to shove the human off, who only gave her a smug look and finger guns in response.

“You're lucky I put up with you.” Amity grumbled, clearly deciding against pushing her to the floor.

“Feelings mutual,” Luz said, waving a hand casually before shutting her eyes. “Just keep quiet and I won’t have to make you sleep in your car.”

“Sure, make me sleep in my car.” Amity scoffed, leaning her head back against the couch and letting her eyelids fall. “Nice one, Noceda.”

“I know, I’m hilarious.” She grinned, not bothering to open her eyes.

Amity rolled her eyes before closing her eyes as well, arms loosely crossed as she let Luz adjust against her side. Luz could still hear the quiet hum of the TV still playing the movie, but decided against turning it off. Too much effort, and the movie would end soon, anyway. It was far too quiet to disturb anyone.

Amity hadn’t legitimately snapped at anyone since the second movie, so really, Luz would call tonight a win.

Though it took only a moment before Amity, also not reopening her eyes, reached out and yanked Luz’s beanie over her face.

“Wh--hey!” Luz snapped, flailing around and managing to land a smack or two on Amity, who, in response, hissed and pushed at her face.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Both of them froze at the sound of Willow’s tired voice, a snarl laced in her tone. They looked over only for a moment to spot her glaring at the two of them with malice before they immediately went back to their previous sleeping positions, eyes shut tight.

None of them moved for the rest of the night.

[citadelspires]

P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)

Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.

First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!

Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.

Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.

An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.

(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).

Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.

I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.

Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.

Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.

She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.

For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really  use something like that).

Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.

What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.

Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.

Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.

A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.

Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the  kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.

For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.

And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.

“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”

“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”

“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”

[hillnerd]

Au headcanon where Ron is a squib and Hermione is a muggle?

so had a couple thoughts about it- here are the random bits- i definitely could have explored so much of this deeper- but eh- anyways! Here we are! :D Sorry this is like, months and months later.

A PERFECT FIT

Ron had never quite known where he fit in the world. 

One by one he watched his brothers get their letters and go to Hogwarts. He waited with anticipation for the year he’d get his own letter. Each year he got closer to being eleven, the hope and anticipation grew thinner. His brothers had grabbed wands and performed spells when they weren’t supposed to, and when Ron grabbed a wand nothing happened. It just sat in his hand like a stick. He’d had some awful scares, and no magic had come from that either. Everyone else could see the fairies in the yard, and only if he tried his hardest could he even catch a glimmer of them.

He turned eleven in March, and when it was time for Hogwarts letters that summer he waited. And he waited. And the final day of July came and his father came home with a grim look on his face.

‘Ron… Your mother and I need to talk with you,’ he said with a careful deliberation, in a careful tone he’d never used around Ron before.

‘Is… Is it about my Hogwarts letter?’

Tight mouthed his father nodded.

His mother was smiling at him in comfort, but there were tears in her eyes. 

They went to his parents room, where they sat him on the bed and told him.

The Hogwarts letters had gone out two weeks ago. They contacted the school to be sure.Ron wasn’t magical. He was a squib.

‘You have a little bit of magic, darling,“ his mother assured him. “That’s how you can see bits of fairies and ride alright on a broom, but it’s not the kind of magic that can do spells and everything else.’

'I’m… I’m not good enough,’ Ron had managed to say before tears clouded his vision that he fiercely scrubbed away.

'It’s not about being good or bad, Ron,’ his father told him, almost fiercely. 'You know how much I love Muggle things? Well, I can’t use a lot of them or my magic interferes. You can! You can do all sorts of things we can’t.’

Ron nodded, but bit his lip to hold back the fierce horrible things he wanted to scream.

He didn’t give a whiff about Muggle things. He wanted to got to Hogwarts like all his brothers! He wanted to do spells, and play REAL quidditch… but he wasn’t good enough! He knew he wasn’t.

He knew he was a disappointment long before the news of being a squib.

His mother had wanted a girl, but instead she got Ron.

His siblings wanted someone cool, but instead they got Ron- the brother they were always trying to get rid of.

His parents had wanted all their kids to be magical, but then they got Ron.

'Tell you what,’ his father said. 'I’m going to take you to some Muggle parts of London and we’ll get a good look at it, and you can see all the great things you’ll get to do.’

Ron didn’t want to go. Honestly, in that moment, he didn’t even know if he wanted to breathe. His dad and Mum were looking at him like he might break, and the thought made him immediately jump to his feet.

'Yeah… Yeah let’s do it…’

'Excellent!’ said his Dad. 

And they were off to London.

He’d never been in the Muggle spots of London, and found the straight grey lines of all the buildings off-putting, but then they went to the cinema, and tasted the sweets, and went to an electronics store. It was when they took static photos in a photobooth that Ron realized he was spending more time with his dad than he’d ever gotten to before, just the two of them.

When they got home, he put the photo strip next to his Canons poster, and went to bed with a smile on his face.

—

Hermione had never quite known where she fit in the world.

Every year she’d go to school hoping this would be it; this would be the year she’d get a friend. 

She’d shine her shoes, straighten her clothes, have extra pencils, pens and paper for them to borrow should they need it– and she’d come home at the end of the school with plenty of school supplies and no friends. 

She finished her secondary schooling with some acquaintances, and straight teeth after years of braces, but no real friends. She went to University, and as she packed her bag for the first day of classes she agonized over whether to bring extra pens and pencils. 

Her first language arts class was good. They didn’t bother doing introductions and immediately were learning, when she felt a tap at her elbow. She turned around in her seat to see the most handsome boy she’d ever seen. Alright, well, technically she’d seen people who were more handsome, but this one… there was something entrancing about him. Everything from his bright red hair, to his bright cerulean blue eyes, to that little wry grin he had, and the freckles and– oh no he’d asked her something!

'Pardon?’ she whispered.

'Do you have a pen or pencil I can borrow?’

'Yes!’ she excitedly whispered back, smiling to herself as she rifled through her bag. She wanted to chastise him for not seeking a writing implement earlier. Class was half over! But he’d wanted one of her school supplies! As he took the pencil from her their fingers barely brushed, and she could barely keep her eyes facing forward the rest of class. She could barely take notes. It was ridiculous. She knew she was ridiculous to be so flustered. At the end of class she didn’t dare look back at him, but after a moment she felt him tap her shoulder.

'Yes?’ she asked, trying to comport herself. 

'Wanted to return your pencil,’ he said. He stood up and towered over her. 

'Oh no! No, you keep it! You’ll need it later, won’t you?’

'Yeah, I guess so, thanks,’ he replied, putting it behind his ear. 'What direction are you headed after this?’

She nearly shouted 'new friend!’ at him, but very skillfully didn’t.

'I’m going to the library. I don’t have class for another hour, so I figured I could get started on the paper the lecturer described.’

'The one that’s due in November?’ he asked with a quizzical lift to his brow.

Oh drat! Well, there went that opportunity. Dammit, Hermione! She knew she should have known better than to look like such a lame swot. 

‘Well… I mean it was just to pass the time…’ she lied. ‘I don’t know anyone here yet so…’

‘Well, you can know me. I’m Ron,’ he said offering his hand to her. ‘Ron Weasley.’

‘I’m Hermione Granger.’

They walked to one of the green commons amicably chatting when she spotted the library and felt it pulling her. It really was lovely, with beautiful gothic windows and pointed arches.

‘You want to head to the library, don’t you?’ he asked with a discerning look.

‘Only a bit…’ she said looking at the building with longing. ���We don’t have to study or anything!’

He let out a sigh, but then he smiled at her. How could he be so tall, but still be looking up through his fringe in that charming way?

‘Well, let’s get in before they sell out of books.’

‘That’s not how libraries work.’

‘I was joking, Hermione.’

Oh. Jokes. She wasn’t very good at those. But she could try!

And she did try. For months she worked at it. Over time she found Ron could make her laugh, gasp, be horrified and exhilarated all at once at the things he’d dare to even think let alone say!

There was something special and perfect about Ron Weasley. 

—

Ron had never felt special much in his life. He could count it on his fingers.

The day he’d found out he was a squib, and his dad took him to Muggle London.

The day he’d gotten new school supplies, for the first time in his life, because he needed Muggle supplies.

The day he became Keeper for his football team.

The day he became Head Boy at his school and his mum had cried from happiness. 

The day they’d won the cup.

The day he’d gotten his acceptance letter to uni and his siblings had all cheered him on.

The day he’d met Hermione Granger and she’d smiled at him and blushed, like he was someone to blush about.

—

Hermione had always been told she was special. She couldn’t count how many times she’d been told.

She was told she was special by her parents.

She was told she was smart by her teachers.

She was told she was gifted by her school.

She was told she was a brain by peers (sometimes derisively.)

She was told how very special and perfect her mind was.

It used to make her feel special, but soon that soured and turned into pressure. Oh, so she’d proven to them she was special and smart NOW… but what if she had just been working harder than everyone to make those good grades? What if they realized she wasn’t special? What would be her worth THEN.

Then she went to Uni and a boy borrowed her pen. He might have said she was brilliant all the time, but half the time it had nothing to do with her brains. He’d laugh with her. He’d look at her and she’d feel warmed all over and special in a way she never had before.

—

A boy and a girl had never quite known where they fit in the world. They found they fit together.

[alwaysfeelingsaintlike]

Dancing in the Dark [G.W]

Description: You and George work to make Fred and Angelina’s wedding absolutely perfect, while planning your future together in the process

Pairing: George Weasley x fem!reader 

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: I wanted to take a quick minute to thank @theweasleysredhair for giving me some advice on starting up this blog! I’m really excited to share some more of my works and I hope you all enjoy them. Please go check out her writing!

                                                           X

“George let’s go! We’re going to be late!” You looked at the clock and waited precisely five seconds before barging into the room.

“What could possibly be taking you so long?” You asked him. You found George in the bedroom with an open suitcase and his wand, packing all his belongings at the last minute. “You told me you packed last night,” you said sternly.

“Well I did. But then I felt I needed to add to my luggage a bit. Just in case.”

“You’re even more high maintenance than I am,” you joked.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” he smiled at you. He finally finished up his packing and he walked over to you, embracing you in a tight hug.

“You may have mentioned it a few times. Lucky for you I never get tired of hearing it.” You gave him a peck on the lips and then went to gather your belongings.

“Now we really need to go. We’re already late and something tells me we’re one step away from getting kicked out of the wedding party.”

“Whatever you say, my lady.” He grabbed your hand and you apparated to the Burrow. It wasn’t the ideal time for a wedding, but it was something everyone needed. Fred and Angelina were set on getting married and they were so in love that they didn’t want to wait.

You had grown particularly close to Angelina over the past few months considering you were living together. You ended up moving in with George after finishing at Hogwarts and Ang was living in the apartment, staying in Fred’s room. It was a small space for four people, but you made it work and had fun being cramped. After the wedding, Angelina and Fred were planning to move out and get their own place (somewhere spacious to raise all the children they planned on having). You were sad seeing them leave, but you and George were excited to finally have the place to yourselves. 

You arrived in the kitchen of the Burrow right as breakfast was being served.

“Y/N! Darling!” Mrs. Weasley said, shuffling over to give you a big hug.

“Yeah, don’t mind me. It’s not like I’m your son or anything,” George remarked.

“Oh hush you,” she said, swatting him with a tea towel before hugging him.  

Everyone at the table got up to greet you. Everyone was staying at the Burrow for the weekend, since the wedding was to take place there. You were impressed when Fleur actually remembered your name after meeting you for what seemed like the hundredth time. Mrs. Weasley pulled up two seats at the table and you sat and ate while she sent your bags upstairs. Everyone seemed pleasant and conversation flowed easily, but you could still feel a little bit of tension in the room. For one, Harry barely said a word. Harry was usually quiet, but this was something else. George had mentioned that the three of them weren’t returning to Hogwarts for their 7th year and you couldn’t say you blamed them. Snape had been instated as Headmaster and everything about that seemed awful.  Soon everyone finished eating and you went out back for a friendly game of quidditch.

                                                             X

The day had gone by pretty quickly (the Burrow always had stuff going on, which made time move fast) and soon enough it was dark out. Technically, the night before the wedding day was reserved for some sort of bachelor/bachelorette festivities, but nothing wild was planned. All the girls were staying in Ginny’s room for the night, aside from Fleur who was staying with Bill, and you all decided to drink and have a girls’ night.

You supplied firewhiskey and Fleur had contributed a few bottles of “ze finest wine in France.” You were not planning on getting that drunk, considering tomorrow was a big day for Angelina, and as Maid of Honor, you had to make sure everything went according to plan. Ginny and Hermione let the alcohol get the best of them and went to bed relatively early. Fleur left to be with Bill, which left you and Ang. She told you about how excited she was to get married and how she knew she was making the right decision and everything. You couldn’t have been any happier for her and once your talk ended, you suggested going to bed to get some sleep before the big day tomorrow.

By the sounds of her light snoring, Angelina fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and that left you alone with your thoughts. You were truly thrilled for her and Fred. But it was hard not to compare their relationship to yours. You and George started dating before they did; yet they were the ones getting married. You didn’t doubt your relationship with George for a minute, but it did make you think. You had never really discussed the future in detail. After lying awake for what seemed like hours, you decided to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water and maybe a snack.

You slipped down the stairs as quietly as you could, careful not to wake anyone. You heard some shuffling coming from the kitchen, but you assumed it was the ghoul in the attic rattling the pipes or something. You were surprised to find a ginger figure walking around the kitchen looking for food. You thought about sneaking up on him, but the minute you reached the bottom step he turned around.

“Hey darling,” he said, kissing you on the forehead. “What are you doing down here so late?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Stressed about tomorrow, eh?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that I don’t think. I just have a lot on my mind.” 

You took a seat at the kitchen table and he brought over a plate of biscuits and a tall glass of milk to share, which was exactly what you needed.

“What are you thinking about love?” he half-smiled.

“Just overanalyzing things as usual,” you sighed, taking a bite out of a biscuit.

“Meaning?”

“You’re happy with the way things are going between us, right?”

He looked at you a little concerned. “Well yeah, I couldn’t be happier. Are you happy?”

“Yes, of course I’m happy. It’s just all this wedding stuff is making me think about the future and we haven’t really ever discussed that and I’m just worried we aren’t on the same page.”

“Tell me what you want,” he replied, “for the future.”

“I…I mean I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it in detail…” you trailed.

“Just tell me what you want, anything and everything that you want, and I’ll make it happen,” he said softly. He gently picked up your hands and looked deeply into your eyes. You weren’t sure you had ever seen him this serious. 

“All I want is to be with you,” you said, matching his eye contact. He took your hands and pulled you to his side of the table, where you found a seat on his lap. “I think that can be arranged,” he purred while pulling you towards him even further, into a deep and passionate kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck and brought him closer to you. He countered your move by squeezing you even tighter and making you feel even more loved. You parted shortly and you rested your head on his shoulder.

“Just so you know, you essentially just turned over all the wedding decisions to me,” he smirked.

“Oh did I?”

“You did. That was your opportunity to demand your perfect wedding and you failed to do so. Therefore, I get to plan the wedding. I’m thinking…an outdoor winter wedding, right in front of the Whomping Willow.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And I will make sure it snows, since I know how much you love snow.” It was obvious he was messing with you, since he knew you didn’t enjoy the cold and the snow, as well as the deranged willow tree. Instead of getting all pouty like he expected you to react, you decided to surprise him.

“As long as I get to marry you, then I don’t care.” Your words had indeed surprised him. His grin spread from ear to ear and you couldn’t help but kiss him.

“Don’t worry love, I’ll make sure our wedding is perfect.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that. Might be hard to top Fred and Ang though.”

“I think we can do it. You know, I was planning to propose to you a few months ago, about the same time when Fred and Angelina got engaged. But I didn’t want to steal his thunder and I didn’t want you to think I proposed just because Fred did.” His statement made you giddy. It all just became so much more real. The fact that he had actually almost planned a proposal was reassuring and you knew you’d get your happy ending.

“Really?” you smiled, excitedly.

“Yes really.”

“Weren’t striving for the double wedding?”

“Definitely not. I want our wedding to be ours. I don’t want to share that day with anyone.”

“You really are saying all the right things. What are you trying to get at here? I can’t reward you in the way you want to be rewarded. Not here and now.”

“But you will keep this in mind when we return to the apartment, right?”

You chuckled, “Maybe. If you behave.”

“Now when do I ever behave?” he grinned. You ruffled his hair and kissed him on the cheek.

By this point the biscuits and milk were gone. You waved your wand and sent the dirty dishes over to the sink, where you magically cleaned them.

“Ready for bed? Got all your thinking out of the way?”

“I think so. It is pretty late and tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” 

He put his arm around you and you walked up the stairs. Ginny’s room was the first bedroom on the way up, but once you reached the door, George walked right past it.  

“Um, I think this is my stop,” you said, as he continued walking.

“No it isn’t,” he insisted. George grabbed your hand and started pulling you up the stairs. “You’re staying with me.”

“Don’t do this to me. What if we get caught? Your parents will hate me.”

“One: my parents could never hate you. They love you more than they love me. And two: when do I ever get caught?” The latter of the two points was definitely true. It wasn’t a hard decision to make and you gave in moments later.

You scurried up the stairs, as quietly as possible. The door opened with a slight creak, but Fred was out cold and did not wake.

The two of you tip-toed over to George’s bed and he got in, sliding over toward the wall to give you ample room. George’s bed was a twin, which was smaller than you were used to, but you can’t say that you minded. It just meant you could snuggle closer with him. He put his arm around you and you rested your head on his chest. He kissed you on the forehead and whispered, “You’re perfect. Don’t ever change.”

“I won’t if you won’t,” you responded. 

“I love you Y/N.”

“I love you too, Georgie.” It wasn’t long before you drifted off to sleep.

                                                          X

You woke up the next morning with George snoring softly beside you. The sun was just starting to rise, so it must’ve been early. Fred was still asleep so this was the perfect time to stage your escape. You nudged George gently and he opened his eyes and smiled at you. “Well isn’t this a beautiful sight to wake up to,” he said, voice stale from sleep. “Stop trying to charm me. You’re making it harder to leave.”

“Don’t leave me,” he pouted.

“It’ll just be for a couple of hours. I don’t want to get in trouble, or get you in trouble. Come down and grab me on your way to breakfast.”

“Yes darling.” You kissed him on the cheek and ran your fingers through his hair. He held your hand in his, in what you assumed was an attempt to get you to stay, and he looked at you lovingly. You swiftly hopped out of bed and blew him a kiss before leaving the room. The staircase seemed clear and you snuck back to Ginny’s room without being caught. Hermione and Ginny were still passed out, so you decided to brew a bit of a hangover cure for the two of them to make the morning a bit more pleasant. You crawled into bed and planned to sleep for another hour or two when you heard your name. It was Angelina. She clearly had been tossing and turning all night and you couldn’t blame her.

“Were you with George last night?” she whispered.

You tried to hide your smile and shrugged, “It’s possible. Now hush and get some more sleep. Today’s a big day for you. You need to preserve your energy.” She shook her head and curled up into a ball under the covers. You closed your eyes for a moment and suddenly you were dozing off.

                                                           X

You awoke to a figure sitting on your bed and stroking your spine with a gentle touch that almost tickled. You opened your eyes and found George waiting for you. Everyone else was gone and you suspected they had gone downstairs to grab a bite to eat. George helped you out of bed and you stretched before joining the rest of the family downstairs. Everyone was present except for Harry, Ron and Fred. Harry and Ron were still sleeping and Fred was banned from seeing Angelina, so he had to wait until she was finished eating to come downstairs. You found a seat next to George at the end of the table where you could observe everyone. Ginny and Hermione looked awful and were clearly playing it off as being tired. You saw right through it though and figured you’d be a good friend and help them out. You bumped Hermione’s knee and she turned to you with a pained expression. You found her hand under the table and placed the small vial in it. She looked at you with confusion and you simply winked at her. She trusted you enough to know you had her best interest at heart. When no one was looking, she dumped the contents of the vial into the cups of pumpkin juice in front of her and Ginny. A few sips later and it was like they were good as new. 

Breakfast came and went and then the stress began. George joined the boys in the backyard. They were responsible for setting up the tent and all the tables, as well as de-gnoming the garden. Meanwhile, the girls gathered upstairs to pamper Angelina. The bridesmaids’ dresses were lovely, and something you would probably wear again. The dresses were teal, a color everyone looked good in, with a strapless sequined bodice and wrap skirt. The dress fell right above the knee and managed to lengthen your legs. While all the bridesmaids were making themselves look great, Ang was changing into her gown. She emerged and all of you gawked over her beauty. The strapless, silk chiffon gown could not have been more perfect. The simplicity was breathtaking and was perfect for Angelina. The A-line silhouette gave the illusion that she was floating as she walked and the detailed, shimmery belt gave just the right amount of sparkle. You had never seen a more beautiful bride. 

                                                            X

The backyard was all set up and the guests were seated. Angelina was positively freaking out and it was your job to keep her calm and smiling. You were the first to descend down the aisle so you had to pass off your responsibilities to Hermione for the time being. 

George nudged you with his elbow and held his arm out, waiting for you to latch onto his bicep. “Ready love?” he asked. “Let’s get this show started,” you smiled.

The music started and you took that as your cue to begin walking. The guests all stood up and you gracefully walked down the candlelit path together.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I think you’re the most beautiful woman here today,” he whispered in your ear.

You couldn’t hold in your grin and replied, “You know that’s why I keep you around, the endless amount of compliments.”

“Ah ha ha. Very funny. I know the truth is that you can’t resist me.”

“You just keep thinking that,” you said as you departed. George found his rightful place next to Fred and you stood and watched the rest of the wedding party walk down the aisle. Angelina was escorted by Mr. Weasley, seeing as her parents couldn’t attend the wedding. She was glowing. The sunlight was hitting her in the perfect spot and she had this twinkle in her eye that completely brightened her face. You looked toward Fred and he was visibly in love. The only time you’d ever seen that look before was when George looked at you that way. As she reached the altar, you held her bouquet as she grabbed Fred’s hands. She took a deep breath and focused on holding back her happy tears. You caught George’s eyes and noticed while everyone else was watching the happy couple, his eyes were focused on you. 

                                                            X

The ceremony was beautiful. No maid of honor emergencies came up but you still spent your time making every little detail perfect. The reception was even better. Everyone took the opportunity to have a good time and escape from the cruelties that were currently going on in the wizarding realm. 

You and George kept the champagne flowing in everyone’s glasses, as well as your own. Fred and Ang spent most of their time on the dance floor when they weren’t mingling with all the guests. They both looked so happy and you couldn’t help but smile whenever you saw them.

“Y/N! I know I haven’t seen you all day, but I just wanted to thank you for all your hard work. The day has literally gone flawlessly and I owe it all to you,” Ang came over and hugged you.

“Oh honey, I just wanted everything to be perfect for your special day!”

“It is, it really is. Now stop worrying about everything and go have fun with George!”

“You sure? I mean, what if…”

“Y/N, stop. Go dance.” She didn’t have to tell you twice. You gave her another hug and scurried off to find George.

He was over by the bar, talking with Lee and Ron, drinking what you assumed was firewhiskey. You snuck up behind him and ran your hands up and down his back. He turned around and put his arm around you.

“Sorry to interrupt boys. Mind if I steal him for a bit?” you asked. They both nodded  and you grabbed his hands and led him to the dance floor. 

“Where have you been all night?”

“I’m sorry baby. I just wanted to make sure everything was perfect for Ang and Freddie.”

“Well you did a fantastic job. But I think it’s time to hang out with your awesome boyfriend now.”

“You’re right. Now I just need to find him…” you said, looking around the crowd of people.

“Oh you’re funny. No wonder I like you so much,” he said wrapping his arms around your waist. You just smiled at him and he kissed your nose. You always tried not to show too much PDA, especially around family, but this was a special occasion. Everyone was so loved up that you didn’t feel weird being cutesy with George. 

He took your hand and you started dancing to whatever upbeat song was playing. You forgot how fun dancing was and it seemed like you had been out there for hours. Soon, the tempo started slowing down and George swiped you up and placed you in a waltzing position. His right hand was resting comfortably around your waist while his left was intertwined with yours. Your right arm was lightly draped on his shoulder and it almost looked like you knew what you were doing. Normally, the height difference would make this difficult, but the heels gave you a few inches and brought your faces closer.

“You know, we should just get married. Like tomorrow,” you said, as you swayed to the music.

“Tomorrow?”

“What, is that not enough notice for you? Still deciding if you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

“Oh no. It’s not that at all. It’s just that I know you and that’s not what you really want.”

“I just want to marry you.” He smiled as you said this and kissed you passionately on the lips.  

“But if we got married tomorrow, you wouldn’t get to plan out every little detail of the wedding. And you wouldn’t get to wear your dream dress. And we wouldn’t be able to spend it with all of our friends and family. Besides, I still need to plan out an extravagant proposal.”

“I mean I guess you’re right. You always seem to know what’s best.”

“That’s just you wearing off on me.”

“I know I’ve probably said this a million times, but I don’t know what I would do without you.”

He kissed you on the forehead and squeezed you tight. The song ended and you stopped swaying and just stood together. Your head was resting on his shoulder and you let out a yawn.

“Someone’s sleepy,” he said, running his fingers through your hair.

“I am pretty exhausted. It’s been a long day.”

“We can probably turn in. There’s still a ton of people here, no one would even notice if we left.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem like this party is dying down anytime soon. I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake,” you replied.

“Come on then,” he grabbed your hand and led you back into the house. The Burrow was quiet, aside from the dull sound of the party outside, which was strange since most of the time there were people running about, fussing over this and that. 

You walked up the stairs and found his room. Fred had packed up his stuff, since they were leaving for their honeymoon right away. That meant the room would be all yours tonight. Even though you technically weren’t supposed to sleep in the same bed as George, you knew that tonight no one would notice or even care. As soon as he shut the door, your lips were on his. You didn’t think he was expecting you to be so forward, but he definitely didn’t mind. You pulled off his suit jacket and started to loosen his tie. He picked you up and carried you to his bed as you started unbuttoning his waistcoat.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to do it in my childhood bed.”

“Oh yeah? Well I guess it’s time to cross that off the list,” you winked at him.

[eyayah-oya]

Carry You With Me Always

Buckle up everyone, because I have three prompts today!

Cloneship Week 2021 - Tattoos - @cloneshipweek

Rex/Echo

Rating: G

Warnings: very vague references to something bad happening to Tup and Dogma in the past

Ao3 link--Ao3 has some world building notes about Tup, Dogma, and Mom Echo if you want to check those out!

           Lazy days were Echo’s favorite.  They always had been.  Especially the days when Rex didn’t have to be a commander masquerading as a captain.  (Echo still didn’t understand how hard it was to sign off on a promotion for Rex. Skywalker knew how to sign his own name.)  It was the third day of leave on Coruscant, just when the duties required of the commanding officers tapered off to allow them time off just like their men.

           Rex entered the officer barracks with two cups of caf and a datapad tucked under his arm.  He must have recently taken a water shower, as he looked cleaner than the sonics were able to achieve.  For a moment, Echo mourned the opportunity to shower with Rex but they figured there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

           “Morning,” Echo called, their voice deep and raspy from sleep.

           He looked up, though Echo noted he didn’t actual startle. Rex only got that jumpy when he hadn’t been sleeping, so he at least got some rest since the 501st arrived on Coruscant.  That was good.  Echo had been worried when Rex hadn’t shown up the past two nights to the bunk they shared when not on the Resolute.

           A warm smile, reserved just for Echo, softened Rex’s face and filled Echo with happiness.  “Morning, Echo,” he responded.  With ease, he set the two caf cups down on his desk without spilling a drop, the datapad following immediately after.  Then, with slumped shoulders and tired eyes, he fell onto the bed beside Echo and nuzzled their shoulder.

           “Meetings go badly?” they mused as ran their fingers across the closely cropped blonde hair.

           “Eh, not too bad.  Just long.  General Mundi preached about the value of life again and Gree got into an argument with General Fisto over some obscure plant the 41st found on their last campaign.  I think if they’d been in the same room, it would have become a physical fight.”

           Echo snorted.  “That would definitely be interesting to watch.  What did General Unduli do?”

           “I’m 90% sure she was either sleeping standing up, or talking to General Kenobi telepathically.  Kenobi kept snickering every once in a while, so I wouldn’t put it past them.”  Rex shook his head as best as he could from where his face was smooshed against Echo’s shoulder.  “Anything big happen with the boys?”

           “Denal and Attie got arrested again.  I’m pretty sure they’re trying to court the intake officer in the Corrie’s brig.  I escorted Dogma and Tup around the city the first day and ended up taking them to Tatta. You know, the vod who gives the best tattoos?”

           Rex hummed in acknowledgment.  “Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure, but I’ve heard he’s one of the best on Coruscant.  Did Tup and Dogma end up getting any tattoos?”

           “Tup got a little tear below his eye and Dogma got a really cool one over his face.  Kix is gonna have a conniption when he sees that; you know how he is with large facial tattoos,” Echo said with amusement.  “Dogma struggled a bit at first, but Tup talked him through his anxiety and held his hand.”

           “That’s good.  I’ll make sure to pair them up on campaigns.  Aren’t they twins?”

           Echo nodded.  While not numerous, there were several sets of twins in the GAR.  Commanders Thire and Thorn in the Corrie Guard, Kix and Captain Keeli, Tup and Dogma, Lupis and Canis in the Wolfpack, and of course Echo and their twin Fives. Commanding officers tried to keep twins together as much as possible, though it doesn’t always happen, like with Kix and Keeli.

           “You could have warned me they were former Corries,” Echo grumbled.  “Technically I was escorting them, but it was mostly them dragging me all over the city. Although, they did take me to this diner with the most amazing nerf burgers.  I’ll have to take you sometime.  They’re sweet kids, but they also could use a lot more support than the average vod. Something happened to them when they were with the Guard.”

           Rex sighed.  “I know. Fox briefed me on their situation. I won’t tell you what happened exactly—they should do that themselves—but it was bad.  We’ll take care of them, I promise.”

           “Good.”  Echo nodded once and wrapped their left arm around Rex’s shoulder and pulled him in closer. Rex flung his own arm back over Echo. Immediately they hissed as their right pec flared with a stinging pain.

           Immediately, Rex sat up in concern.  “Echo?  What’s wrong?”

           Echo grinned sheepishly.  “Well, Tup and Dogma were really nervous to get tattoos since the Guard isn’t allowed to have tattoos.  And I might have gotten a tattoo to help them be more comfortable.”

           “Really?” Rex grinned.  Without hesitation, he gently placed his hand over Echo’s pec, exactly in the same spot he had left a handprint on their first set of armor. He didn’t have to guess what tattoo they had decided to get.  Echo arched into the touch, the sting sharp and pointed and somehow exactly perfect.  “Can I see it?” Rex asked softly.

           “Help me get the shirt off, and yes,” Echo answered. They surged upwards, ignoring the pain from his tattoo, so they could press a heated and soft kiss to Rex’s lips.

With far more reverence than they usually have time for, Rex slid his fingers under the hem of their loose shirt, trailing over the firm muscles and warm skin. Echo shivered deliciously and lightly sucked on his lower lip, rather than help their boyfriend in any way. Inch by inch, more skin was revealed until Rex pulled away to tug the shirt over Echo’s head.  They helped, lifting their arms over their head to allow the shirt to slide free.

           In the exact same placement as their armor, a handprint had been tattooed completely in a darker blue than they used for their armor. The dark blue color the Rishi eel’s blood had been.  The permanent mark on their skin was a bold proclamation of who Echo belonged to.  A way to inform everyone who they went home to and who they would always go back for.  That day on Rishi was life-changing for both of them for more than one reason. It was the day Echo had lost their batchmates, save for Fives, and the day they had both joined the 501st. It was the day Echo had first met Rex, a young shiny who was in awe of the legendary captain.  And it was the day that began Echo’s journey of falling completely in love with the man behind the legend.

           Rex traced the edges of the tattoo gently, barely ghosting over the skin.  It was still swollen and red from the needle, but that would go away in a couple more days. Echo didn’t mind a little bit of pain if it meant they could wear Rex’s mark in his skin as well as their armor.

           “Do you like it?” they asked cheekily, already knowing the answer.

           “I love it.  They did a really good job.  Does it hurt a lot?” Rex asked.

           Echo wobbled his head from side to side.  “A little, but it’s not bad.  Barely noticeable, really.”

           “Good.”  And with that, Rex pressed his hand against the mark and pushed Echo back onto the bed until he was leaning directly over them.  “Because I need to show you exactly how much I like it.”

           They eagerly reached up and wrapped their arms around Rex’s neck, pulling him down against them, though they both were careful not to dislodge his hand from its place on Echo’s chest.  Echo pressed their forehead against Rex’s, letting them bask in the peaceful moment instead of the hurried seconds they only managed to snatch while out on the front.  Eventually, the keldabe shifted to the more traditional type of kissing, their tongues tangling together languidly.  They had all day and the rest of the tenday to relax and enjoy.  They could take their time, and Echo couldn’t be happier.

           “I love you,” they whispered between kisses.

           “I love you, my eyayah.  My Echo with my mark,” Rex answered before diving back into their mouth and showing them exactly how much he needed and loved them.

           Echo shivered with delight, the intimacy of the moment barricading everything else from the Captain’s quarters.  For a time, they existed in a bubble, cut off from the galaxy and perfectly at peace together.

           Then, the bubble popped.

           “Does the Captain really have to know?  I mean, it’s not like he’d be surprised.”

           “Fives, don’t be an idiot.  You know he always needs to know when we brawl with the Wolfpack so he can keep Commander Wolffe from killing us.”

           “But if we go in there, Echo will kill us.”

           “I’d rather die by Echo’s hand than by Commander Wolffe’s! He’s scary!”

           “Oh, lighten up, Jesse!  I wouldn’t mind fighting with the Commander!”

           “ . . . Hardcase . . . “

           “What?  It’s true!”

           “I’m gonna tell him!”

           “Fives, don’t you dare!”

           With matching, heavy sighs, Echo and Rex broke apart and turned to the door.  Yes, Echo loved lazy days.  But those days never lasted long, and they loved their brothers just as much.

           “I’ll go deal with Hardcase’s unacknowledged romantic feelings for Commander Wolffe.  You need to get some sleep,” Echo said, giving Rex a soft kiss on the cheek as they grabbed their t-shirt.  “Think I can make Jesse prefer he’d faced the Commander?”

           Rex smirked and flopped down by Echo’s side instead of on top of them.  “I know you will.  I’ll be here when they’re all suitably punished.  Come back and we can finish what we started.”  His eyes were dark with hunger and love, sending a shiver through Echo.  That was a promise they wouldn’t pass up for anything.

           “I’ll be back after I finish wrangling the children.  I’ll probably drag Dogma and Tup along so they can laugh at Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase,” Echo said with a grin.  They pulled their shirt over their head and climbed over Rex to stand up.  “They could use the enrichment.”

           Rex only laughed.  Lazy days really were the best.