#great exploded murdered lord

[firesmokeandashes]

[bamsywrites]

And Comes Dawn pt iii

Pairing: Sauron/Halbrand x Reader, more ships/love triangles to come, though, so stay tuned.

Summary: the deciver has decided he must get rid of you until a stranger reignites his curiosity in an unexpected way.

Word count: 2k

Notes: let me know if you wanna be tagged. I was not expecting this many people to like this fic. Thank you so much for the feed back, I read every comment and reblog multiple times. Keep any and all feedback coming. I'm super invested in this series and have so many plans that I'm so excited to write.

Tags/warning: male masturbation, nothing super explicit but sauron has some pretty unhealthy kinks, slow burn, saurons post nut clarity is murder plotting, sauron being sauron. galadriel finally shows up, cliffhanger

Series Masterlist

“She does nothing but sit there, day in and day out. Our rations are wasted on her!” 

“All of us sit and do nothing because there is fucking nothing to do.”

Halbrand and the older man were fighting again. Halbrand had become annoyed that the other had declared himself the de facto leader of the raft, and his anger exploded when it was proclaimed you had not 'earned' your rations. He had obviously found it absolutely insane and when you made no sound or protest, he took it upon himself to make it known how insane it was. 

“I am the leader here. I have organized the rations, I have kept order, and I have directed where we go.” The other man seemed offended. He had proven himself to be rather arrogant, and you held no surprise that he would suggest such a thing or believe that he was the leader of the raft.

“Oh great Lord of the Raft. How difficult your job must be. Deciding if we die a little to the west or a little to the east.” Halbrand rolled his eyes as he spoke. 

“Be sarcastic all you want. She's lucky we don't throw her in.” 

The air stilled and a dark shadow passed over Halbrands face, his jaw clenched and in a moment he had grabbed the other by their shirt, “The moment you do that is the moment I feed you and every single person on this raft to the wyrm.” Their faces merely inches apart,  Halbrands voice was cold, full of hatred, and it sent a chill over everyone on the raft. The older man stared up at him with fear, a fear so palpable and intense that it was as if he was looking into the eyes of the great foe himself. 

“Halbrand,” you spoke softly, fingers gently wrapping around his wrist and moving him away. “This is not what I wish.”

He turned to look at you and his gaze softened,tongue peaking out to wet his lips. The air flowed again, and the darkness lifted, “You wish to starve? Because that's his wish, that's his plan. He wants to make our supply of food last longer by taking the very little portion you have. He knows you would never say anything to him, and you can not ask me to sit back and watch you starve, sweet one.” His eyes searched your face as he spoke with such earnest conviction. 

“I do not wish for you to murder in my name,” you replied in a passionate whisper. 

Halbrand nodded, sighing softly, “Then I will not,” he leaned closer to you, so his lips were next to your ear, and you could feel his hot breath on your skin. Your breath caught in your voice as he whispered softly, “Know that I would, though. If you only asked, I would burn this raft and everyone on it to keep you safe.” 

He pulled away and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of your head as you stood speechless. The butterflies in your stomach exploded. This was new. Your interactions had been purely platonic until this point. He never presented himself as someone more than a friend, and you had been content with that. Yet you enjoyed the feeling of his lips on your forehead and greatly missed them when they were gone. 

The talk of murdering everyone else was one you didn't wish to dwell on. Perhaps it was hyperbolic. Perhaps said in anger. Either way, those were thoughts for another time. Now, you would embrace the shivers and butterflies. 

“Well, your highness, she will be eating today and I will ensure it,” Halbrand gave the man a pointed look and the other simply nodded, his eyes still swimming as if he'd seen some great horror but you were too fixated on the ghost of Halbrands kiss that lingered on your forehead to pay it much mind. 

~

He'd taken the deception too far when he placed that kiss upon your head. He regretted it the moment he did it. The taste of your skin stained his lips, and it was all he could think of. Your skin felt unbelievably soft and he could just imagine what your lips would taste like, your tongue, your cunt. 

Your cunt. The thought of it had been all consuming. Warm and wet. Soft and velvety. He ached to feel it, to taste it, to take it. The thoughts had led to his current position, standing at the edge of the raft with his cock in his fist. This act felt below him but the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind and he needed some relief from them. From the thoughts of you. 

Thoughts of your cunt. 

Warm and wet. Soft and velvet. 

His eyes fluttered, and his breath caught in his throat. He hated every second of this. He had no control. Ever since you looked up at him with those eyes of yours, eyes he wanted to make weep as you choked on his cock. He breathed a soft curse as he imagined your sweet, innocent eyes looking up at him with your lips wrapped around his cock. His thumb collected the precum from his tip and worked it around his shaft, the soft wet sounds filling the night. 

Would you be inexperienced?  Had someone claimed you before? You were his and his alone, his precious sweet one. The thought of someone else having you first filled him with such rage. He would drench his hands in their blood and paint your body with it as he fucked you. His hands around your neck, squeezing enough to feel your life thrumming underneath his fingers. 

You were his and his alone. No one else could touch you, no other lips taste you, no other cock take you. He'd burn all of Middle Earth to ensure it, torture any man who dared look at you. He'd carve his name into your flesh, lick the blood off your skin. A growl escaped his lips, the thought of his name scared into your soft skin. His hand tightened around his cock and his movements increased in speed. 

His breathing got more ragged as he got closer to his peak,  your name tumbling past his lips in a choked whisper. He could almost imagine you whining and whimpering his name, his real name.  That was what sent him over, the visual of you impaled on his cock and desperately calling his name. He groaned loudly, his seed shooting into the water. 

Breathing heavily, his eyes closed. Almost immediately, the cacophony of thoughts entered his mind. That had been a brief reprieve, but now his existential crisis continued. What was his purpose? Who was he now that his master was dead? Power and control, how could he have both without sacrificing the other?  

And then your smiling face flashed through his mind, the sound of your laugh...-

This couldn't continue. No amount of curiosity was worth this loss of control. He was a god, but his mind as of late had been reminiscent of a teenage boy. Thoughts may plague him, but he would forget you within the age. He needed you gone, dead. The longer you stayed alive, the longer these damn lustful thoughts would plague him and be his undoing. He was slowly losing his sanity because of you. 

The problem was he couldn't do it. He tried mere minutes before giving into these urges, but as he looked at your sleeping face, he couldn't bring himself to push you in and under the waves. In thousands of years, no one had been able to still his blade or stay his hand with such ease. He couldn't look at you and take your life. He could not be the one to do it, that thought alone proving to be more a reason for your death. Weakness was not something he would tolerate. 

His mind called out to wyrm, calling it to their location. If he couldn't do it, he'd give the task to something else. By nightfall tomorrow, you'd be gone. You'd be at the bottom of the sea or in the belly of the beast. By nightfall, he'd have his mind back. 

Why did the thought of your death fill him with such dread?

~

He wouldn't even look at you. You'd greeted him in the morning, and he ignored you. You sat next to him, and he moved to the other side of the raft. You watched as his eyes bore into planks of the raft. You wet your lips and pulled it between your teeth. He was your first friend in a very long time, and now you had lost him for reasons that escaped you.  You were utterly alone, lost at sea, and you struggled to find hope here. All you could do is close your eyes and remind yourself that falling into despair would do nothing more than make the situation worse and more hopeless.

You watched the clouds pass in the sky, counting them, and your fingers tapped away at the wood. Every few moments, you had to blink away the tears that had started welling in your eyes as you thought of losing another person you cared for. Suddenly, you sat up as you heard what you thought was a voice in the air. You squinted as your eyes examined the fog.

“There's a voice on the water.” You spoke quietly. 

Almost instantly, bickering broke amongst the others. To save her or not. You shook your head, “We're not leaving her to starve and die!” 

One of the others pulled her up and gave her water as you grabbed her a chunk of bread and looked for a piece of cloth or something that could bring the stranger some warmth. The bickering continued as you searched and returned with a piece of bread.

“Suppose you'll be sharing your rations?” the old man asked. 

You couldn't help the roll of your eyes, “Damn the rations,” you kneeled and handed the stranger the bread. “It's not much, but it's something. Are you hurt?” 

Before she could answer, one of the others asked, “What are you doing out here?”  

The stranger took the bread, “I was separated from my ship.” 

You looked at her with empathy. Of course, you could understand. She looked over at you as if to answer your question next, but she stopped, her eyes examining your face as if she knew you but was unable to place how. It made you uncomfortable, made your heart still. Has your past caught up with you all the way out here? 

“She doesn't look dangerous,” the other woman spoke.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Halbrand spoke, and you were about to protest when you saw the point to her ears. Your blood ran cold, and you moved back from her. 

“Remove your hand from me, sir,” the stranger spoke, her attention returning to you. “I know your face.”

You quickly stood up and stepped back. This could not be happening. Not here. Not now. Perhaps the elf could save you, or perhaps she would convince the others to throw you into the sea. The sins of your father would never stop chasing you, it seemed. 

~

“I know your face."

His head snapped your direction at this revelation. What did that mean? How would an elf know you? He watched your reaction, the fear and shame passing over your face confirming that there was a story there. He cursed silently.

All day, he avoided looking at you. All day, he had convinced himself that you were nothing more than a naive human, that the warmth he felt had to be in relation to this new form getting used to the world around him. There was nothing special about you. Nothing at all. He repeated it over and over, though he never really believed it. He could sense the darkness and calamity swimming through the ocean towards them, the beast he had called, and he had convinced himself that your death would solve his internal struggle. 

But now, this damn elf had reignited the curiosity with vigor. It felt as if an inferno burnt through him. He had to know more. He knew when the wyrm came, he would be unable to leave you to death. You were the most curious thing, and it was infuriating. 

Who were you? 

previous next

[screamting]

what r ur thoughts on reconciliation between jason and bruce. is it really possible? what would it take? what would it look like? seen some stuff on my dash lately about that particularly thorny issue and would love to get your perspective. (hopefully this is the kind of ask ur looking for)

(you are FINE this is going to be the bane of my fandom career) 

So realistically we're not going to see Jason reconcile with Bruce because a) everybody loves angst b) no one is talking about the ISSUE. 

The ISSUE is not the murder thing. Like. The murder thing doesn't help but it isn't the root; killing people is something Jason decided to start doing because it was something Bruce is extremely firm on. He stands by the 'no murder' thing even when his own life and the lives of others are in danger. He stands SO firmly by it, that if you break that rule maybe you can break the entire foundation of Batman, which is that things are never so far gone they can't be redeemed. Gotham is never so far gone it isn't worth trying to repair. We are not cutting the rot away we are building an environment which no longer collapses into rot around us, even if it is gross, demeaning, dangerous work. 

If Bruce killed the Joker in Under the Red Hood I think Jason would have been lost forever. Because it would've been proof that Bruce's most fervent beliefs meant nothing. If Bruce's hardest promise, that he would not kill, was broken so easily, then what does that mean about all his other promises? All the promises that he loved Jason and would never send him away? If his hardest promise can be broken, do those easy promises even stand a chance? 

I think the issue is and always will be: Did you love me? Do you love me still? 

All those posts about coming back wrong and unlovable, and what if I was unlovable the whole time and it was just that I can't even be bothered to pretend anymore? That's Jason Todd. He crawled his way out of his own grave an open wound and he is trying to convince himself that he's doing fine while actively bleeding. I feel insane reading some of the discourse because it's talking about Jason from the pov of his disenfranchisement and that as driving him in Red Hood and like. No! Jason is disenfranchised, he was failed by the systems, absolutely; I do not fucking believe he is doing any of this for people like him. He is saying things that validate his pain because he cannot deal with the enormous amount of pain he is in. He died and came back to life. He did it in a way people don't know or understand, or via Lazarus pit, which people condemn. I think to resolve things they'd need a god damn religious discussion to even start with, to ask Jason if he thinks anything that has died and come back to life can ever be good, or if it's just him. 

I think he must have had self-loathing and insecurity built up before his death and it Exploded when he came back to life several years later and saw from the out side people attempting to move on. This is not a victim blame because of course he had self-loathing and insecurity, he was a kid with a difficult childhood and you need at least five years to a decade to start feeling like someone else, who maybe has confidence and certainty. I think being Robin let him borrow confidence, and so like, probably did feel great! He had a script and a role to fill and he was given a lot of practice to do it!

I think part of the problem is that post-resurrection is Jason has to figure out who he is for the first time again, even older now. He lost some of his teen years in figuring things out. He has the life experiences of a 14 year old and then training under assassins and then like. Drug lord?? For a bit?? 

Jason is not fighting for the disenfranchised. He is trying to figure out who the hell he is and is bouncing around so many teams and timelines and shit that all already know him and know him as the dead kid that I think for him and Bruce to make up, like. He probably needs to have a job?

Not for money necessarily, because like. The Wayne fortune is right there. But I think he needs to go somewhere, with a schedule, for like at least six months in a row, and have something low stakes dependent on him. Like a dog or something. Maybe get involved in local theater. Take the dog to dog training twice a week and teach small children acting in the afternoons. 

And once a week or whenever they feel like it Bruce and Jason can have a phone call, and Jason can bring up what's happening at the theater and how the dog is, and Bruce can talk about Wayne Corp shit. 

And if Jason learns from dog time about someone who is mistreating an animal or a partner then like maybe he goes and steals a dog or tells someone to come stay over at his house for a while and gives them some cash. And after he does something rash he still needs to come back to his apartment and feed the dog and show up to the theater the next day. 

I think he needs to see the world around him when it ISN'T homelessness and assassins guilds and running out into the streets at night looking for trouble. 

'but you haven't addressed anything for bruce to do' for Bruce to have to do anything we first need to get jason at the table. 'bruce beat jason in x comic/brainwashed him into an overactive fear response/almost certainly also something else' 

1. i'm choosing to say besides the throat thing that people hate (bc I get that. Bruce needs to say 'yes I was panicking and my writer was being dramatic I'm sorry' ) bruce doesn't beat his kids or any rogues in general once they're at a point they're no longer trying to kill/hurt anyone either. 

2. tbh I think the anxiety brainwashing is facinating and definitely something Bruce might have thought about but making it and using it is fully in 'I was also having a 3 day long mental breakdown' territory. However since Jason put a lot of heads in a duffle bag during HIS mental breakdown I think this might again be within 'yeah that was fucked up I'm sorry about that' territory.

Honestly I wish that Jason had gone to Bruce after the Selina 'making thieves pay 15% to charity' thing and they had just had the BIGGEST bitching fest about it with each other.  I think that, faster than literally any amount of relaxation and therapy, would have gotten them back on the same side. They need to get in a room together and just. Bitch about it. Jason saw the WORST adaptation the other day. Bruce is dealing with the MOST stuck up prick at the board meeting. 

Before they can fix anything they need to remember why they even loved each other. If they feel it again maybe they'll work to save it. But no one is going to fix a relationship where it feels like an obligation for a feeling you aren't sure even exists anymore.

[firsttimewriter92]

I would love a sirius x reader fic set during OoTP where the reader works at the Ministry while being part of the Order like Arthur and Kingsley, and she's staying at Grimmauld Place with Sirius. She often comes home to find him drunk and touch-starved during the school year when the only other person in the house is Kreacher. thanks xx

Hello dear anon :) I know it´s been a while since you sent me this ask. I hope you´re still in the mood for it :P I kept it pretty tame but there´s a lot of angst and it developed into a huge slow burn. Hope that´s all right and everyone enjoyes it <3

Words: 7.536

Warnings: Angst, cursing, (f!) hufflepuff reader, mentions of Sirius being bisexual, kissing, slow burn, fluff

12 Years

“Oh, for fucks sake, not again” you whisper sighed as you entered the kitchen at Grimmauld Place number 12. “Third time this week” you grumbled as you looked at Sirius´ slumped over figure sitting on the polished wooden table. His arms cushioned his head that was laying on the surface, an almost empty bottle of fire whisky next to him. No glass.

Taking off your shawl and coat you walked over to him to assess the damage. It wasn´t as bad as it usually was. At least this time he was clothed.

Three months ago, your boss and mentor Kingsley Shacklebolt had brought you to your first order meeting. The moment he told you what the order was and what they did, you exploded on him. Why didn’t he tell you about this order sooner? Didn’t he trust you enough? Wasn’t he confident enough in your abilities? Kingsley had just stood there stoically, letting you spit fire at him. When you´d finished, Kingsley sighed deeply and started explaining his reluctance to you.

He knew. Of course, he did. He knew who you´d meet again, once you set foot into headquarters and he didn’t know how you´d react. He was right to do so actually. The first time your eyes had met those of Sirius Black, it had flared up again. That nauseating feeling that haunted you for 14 years. Guilt, sadness and loneliness were flooding your system with only a small glimmer of hope and relief.

It was so surreal to have him in your general vicinity again. Two years younger than him, your time at Hogwarts had been the happiest you´ve ever felt. When puberty hit you like a freight train and the mischief of James Potter and Sirius Black became legendary, your hormones betrayed you in the worst possible way. A major crush on the black-haired teenager formed itself inside your chest over the years. Clawing at your ribcage every time you saw him in the corridors, you hated the feeling. You hated his beautiful face, you hated that your body reacted the way it did.

As a Hufflepuff and general people pleaser you´d despised his arrogance and his devil may care attitude. Especially towards the swarms of girls hanging onto the seem of his cloak. You´d stolen glances from afar, never exchanging a word with him. You paid attention instead. You saw everything and liked only so much. His pranks amused you; his bullying infuriated you, his attentiveness to his friends and the younger students warmed you. 

Sometimes, especially after the holidays, you saw him sitting in the great hall amongst his friends, a dull and empty look in his eyes and your heart had squeezed so painfully that you had to look away. About a second later, when you dared to look again, he was grinning and joking like nothing had happened.

And then, one year into your Auror training, your world came crashing down on you. You arrived at the ministry and immediately felt the air buzzing with dread and excited relief all at once. Grabbing the daily prophet that was handed to you with shaking fingers, your knees gave out then and there. Sirius´ face, screaming and laughing manically, stared at you. Ice replaced your blood as you´d read the news.

James and Lily dead. The dark Lord gone; a little boy still alive. Sirius? A cold-blooded murderer and traitor; already in a cell in Azkaban. You refused to believe it. You refused! James was more than a friend to Sirius. There was no way he was a death eater. Sirius had never made a secret about his hatred towards his family or how much he loved his friends.

That´s when your letters had begun bombarding the ministry.

__________________________________________________________

Now, here at Grimmauld place, you had to watch Sirius fight every day just to try and keep his sanity. Between the usual order meetings and the children coming to visit for the holidays, he drank himself to sleep every night. And ever since you´d moved into one of the bedrooms upstairs, you helped him into bed or at least onto a couch every night. Dumbledor was the one who´d asked you if you wanted one of the rooms upstairs. “Less commute” he´d said, remembering your dislike of apparating quite vividly. When asked if he had any objections, Sirius had only grunted before disappearing into Buckbeak´s room.

He wasn´t always unpleasant, however. Sometimes you did have conversations when meeting in the library by chance, although they´d always turned out quite meaningless. You couldn’t figure out if he wanted you there or not.

Around the holidays when the house was full, so his heart seemed to be. He warmed up to you, brought you tea, filled your plate at dinner (much to the surprise of everyone at the table) and conversed with you a little more enthusiastically. At these rare occasions you began to see glimpses of the flamboyant teenager return into his grey eyes and his small grins. Your heart beginning to flutter in your chest yet again. Then the teenagers returned to Hogwarts and so did Sirius´ sour mood.

It was about two weeks after Christmas now and therefore the 14th day of you finding Sirius black out drunk early in the evening. You walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the kitchen and pulled out the last flask of potion you´d brewed for him. It usually woke him up enough for you to be able to manoeuvre him around and lessen his hangover the next day. You hadn’t quite figured out how to make it potent enough to get rid of his drunkenness completely. It was an immensely complicated brew.

Sighing, you uncorked the flask and moved Sirius into a sitting position. He mumbled something and flopped around in your arms like a rag doll. Leaning his head back you put the flask to his mouth and poured. Sirius tried to get out of your grip very weakly and some of the potion spilled from the side of his mouth. “Come on, Sirius, please” you said urgently. “Swallow, damn it.” He finally did. When the flask was empty you gently guided his head back onto the table and waited.

You knew he wouldn’t be sober when he woke up but at least he would be coherent enough to work with. Slowly he began to stir. His head lifted and with a deep groan he leaned back into his chair, holding the bridge of his nose. The long black mass of hair on his head was dishevelled but still wavy and bouncy as it had been all these years ago. The little streaks of grey on his temples and in his beard only contributed to his still very much intact attractiveness.

Sirius wiped at his mouth absentmindedly and opened his eyes. Grey orbs found yours sitting across from him immediately. Instantly you recognized the defiance in them. Great.

“I asked you to give me that shit in the mornings. Not when I´m trying to sleep” he croaked hoarsely in a cold voice. You rolled your eyes. “I´m not letting you sleep at the table, Sirius. Not when you own a bed upstairs. But I can´t lift your arse, so…” you shrugged and looked at him challengingly. You´d figured out quite quickly that trying to be compassionate and soft with him in these situations had no impact whatsoever. Sirius huffed and wiped at his face again to try and gain more control over his movements.

“Never asked you to do that” he slurred slowly. Hot annoyance burned your throat when you answered in a hiss. “´S better than you trying to climb some stairs, falling backwards and breaking your fucking neck.” Sirius laughed humourlessly and looked you straight in the face.

“Not so sure about that.” He had a weird glimmer in his slightly sunken eyes.

“For fucks sake, Sirius!” you yelled as your fist hit the table. Sirius flinched only slightly as you regarded him with a furious look. “Could you at least pretend that you care about your own life? I know you´re lonely and frustrated. I´m sorry I´m annoying you by staying here but the order still needs you! Harry needs you!” You knew you had him with that. His godson seemed to be his only lifeline sometimes. “I won´t pretend to know what you had to go through, Sirius. But you´ve been given a second chance at this, even though you didn’t even get a first one. And you´re drinking it away. Stop it!”

Sirius looked at you for a long time. Breathing heavily his eyes threw daggers at you and internally you just waited for him to cuss you out. That didn’t happen though. Sirius stood up from his chair without breaking eye contact with you. You didn’t like the way he started walking over to you, almost predatory. So, you stood as well and backed away against the table. Of course, you´d crossed a line.

Watching him step closer and closer you had no idea what he was trying to do. The moment he stood right in front of you, his breath hit your face. It reeked of alcohol, and you crunched your nose a little bit. Sirius grinned, showing off his sharp canines.

“You´re worried about me” he sang triumphantly but couldn’t quite remove the belittlement from his voice. Even though you were sure he could feel the heat emitting from your face, your stomach churned with rage instead of shame. “At least someone is” you hissed quietly. He ignored it and only raised a single black eyebrow. You hated how good he looked doing that.

“Don´t tell me,” He breathed and leaned down closer to you. Fuck, fuck! Too close! “You have a little crush on me.” Your head snapped up immediately and your face must have betrayed you because Sirius´ face lit up in sarcastic glee. He chuckled darkly as his eyes scanned your face quickly. “Is that why you wanted to live here? Aw, that´s nice. How old are you? You couldn’t have been in my year at Hogwarts. I´d sure as fuck remember you.” Again, there they were. The waves of nausea crashing over you. Your infatuation with him mixed with worry about his behaviour started to become a cocktail of resentment and pity. You didn’t want to feel this way about him.

“Get the fuck out of my face, Black” you growled and leaned further away from him. Something dangerous mixed itself into his swirling grey irises and your stomach sank.

“Come on now, birdy” he whispered, leaning over you and talking against your neck. Your breathing faltered and hitched, your hands gripping the side of the table hard. “You´re pretty enough. You´d be a delightful way to pass the time.” Shock almost made your body convulse. You knew he was still drunk but his words were so clear. You felt cold, useless and helpless. His lips ghosted across your pulse when he spoke again. “Don´t be a prude, now.”

WHACK!

Your arm pushed him away from you forcefully before your hand collided with his cheek with full force, knocking him back a couple of steps. Breathing heavily, you stood upright and glared at him. His head was still turned so you could see his pale cheek turn red by your smack. When he looked back at you, you didn’t see rage or confusion in his eyes. In fact, they looked almost apologetically, like he knew he´d fucked up but was too proud to admit it.

Your eyes were slits when you spoke next. “Have it your way, then. I can´t deal with a three-split persona. Either hate me, tolerate me or fucking ignore me completely. But one more disrespectful bullshit act like that and I swear, Black, you´ll have one less ally here.”

With those venom laced words you turned on your heel and stormed out the kitchen and upstairs to your room.

Sirius stood there alone in the kitchen for another few minutes. The alcohol was still thrumming in his veins, but he was all too aware of what he´d done. What he´d said, even as he said it.

Of course, he knew you were right with everything you´d said. And that infuriated him more than he cared to admit. Why were you even here? After a stressful day at the ministry, you came back to a horribly decorated, dirty, uncomfortable hellhole of a house, a house elf that insulted you whenever he got the chance to and a fucking drunk man child. Every night. Sometimes he´d wondered how he´d gotten onto the sofa in the library or into his own bed after drinking. He´d had an idea that it might have been you, but he couldn’t be sure. Now he was.

You´d always made him drink the hangover potion that was in the cabinet in the corner. Had he ever thought about how it got there? Who bought or made it? He couldn’t remember.

You didn’t deserve this. He actually came to appreciate your presence over the holidays. He found you witty and bright, a delight if he was honest with himself. And the fact that you were a special kind of beautiful in his eyes didn’t help at all. So why couldn’t he allow you to grow closer to him? You clearly made an effort to at least know him better.

Bitterly he walked over to the almost empty bottle of whisky, setting it to his mouth. Thinking better of it he stopped, turned and poured the remains down the sink. There was a horrible taste in his mouth. Either hate me; He didn’t hate you. Tolerate me; He wanted to do so much more than that. Or fucking ignore me completely; How the fuck was he supposed to do that when you just…existed?!

He really needed to get his head out of his arse. That was no way to talk to anyone. You just wanted to help. Why though? He´d never seen you before. At least he couldn’t remember but then again, he´d surely lost a lot of memories back in prison. You must have been at Hogwarts.

Oh fuck, were you an old flame?! His body went rigid when he thought about that. It would kind of explain your behaviour towards his advances. Or…OR, you dickhead, she just didn’t want a sorry drunk, smelling like a distillery all over her. Sirius shook his head. Why was either rage or excessive flirting always his default? Because he didn’t think you´d react like that. He was way out of line of course, so he really didn’t think his hunch about you having a crush on him would have this much of an impact. How the hell could you like him when he behaved so poorly in front of you; when he hadn’t paid you much attention since you´d moved in?

Maybe he should start doing that.

________________________________ 

You lay in your bed that evening, hot tears running down your face and sweat beading at your forehead. You felt so lost. Had you really been holding onto this teenage version of him so desperately that you couldn’t see how much he was suffering now as a man?

It´s true, he´d never asked for your help. Were your actions overstepping boundaries of his that you just couldn’t see? He´d made you feel so insignificant that evening with just a few words. You felt downright dirty and even though he didn’t really do anything more than graze his lips along your neck, you felt used.

You´re pretty enough…enough. Was your intuition really this bad? Had you read him all wrong for all these years? No. He was drunk, he was frustrated, he was alone. Maybe someday he´d let you help him with at least that. His loneliness.

__________________________

The next evening there was supposed to be an order meeting and you were dreading it like nothing else. You tip toed around the house the whole day, praying that you wouldn’t run into Sirius at least until the Meeting started. Unfortunately, you weren’t that lucky.

When you made your way downstairs to the kitchen, you crept along the corridor quietly as to not wake up the shrieking portrait of Sirius´ mother. Just as you were about to open the door to your left down into the kitchen another one further down the corridor opened and Sirius walked out. Both of you stopped immediately when your eyes met. Your whole body went rigid and hot acid bubbled up your throat. Sirius stood still. He looked at you with an unreadable expression. He sighed deeply and his eyes changed into something calmer and softer.

He opened the door to the room he´d just exited again and waved you over. When you couldn’t move from your spot, his face contorted into a pleading look and he mouthed a ´please´, waving you over once again. And even though your legs felt like jelly, you started moving. Your heart was beating out of your chest when you passed him. You noticed he smelled clean. Clean clothes, clean hair, no alcohol on his breath or his skin.

You walked into the little study and turned around just as Sirius closed the door timidly behind him.

He squared his shoulder and looked at you. You were sure he could see your shiver.

“I have to apologize” he rumbled. “I behaved…incredibly disrespectful towards you last night and you have every right to resent me after what I´ve said.”

You stared at him. That wasn’t exactly what you expected. But it was also very much welcome. You stayed quiet, noticing that he was still trying to talk, having difficulty finding the words. So, you gave him time, schooling your features into not looking at him like you wanted to be anywhere but in his presence.

Sirius started pacing and mumbling before he looked at you again. “´S been difficult” he whispered. “I´m sorry, truly.” He hung his head, raking his fingers through his hair. “I´m not really sure what else to tell you. I-I don’t know you. But…maybe that could change? I mean, you live here. Might as well be…house…mates? Urgh” he groaned loudly and only stopped when you started giggling. He whipped his head in your direction and raised an eyebrow.

You stood there and watched him fight tooth and nail to explain what he wanted and honestly, after his apology you found it kind of amusing. Sirius was anything but insincere, so you didn’t question his motives in wanting to get to know you better. You appreciated it immensely and slowly your body relaxed, the acid in your throat started to retreat.

“Listen,” he said with a lopsided smile, his eyes glued to your smirk. “You can´t laugh at me for having terrible interpersonal skills. I was incarcerated for 12 years.” Your giggle immediately stopped as you looked at him with guilt.

“Relax” he said gently. “Sometimes jokes are the only thing that help me coping.” You nodded hesitantly.

“Did I even introduce myself properly when we first met?” he curiously asked.

“Not exactly” you said with a small shrug and a smile. “You were half drunk and just grunted.”

“Merlin´s beard” he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He stood tall and walked over to you.

“Can we start over then? Can I salvage my reputation somehow?” He stood before you. Tall, handsome and kind. His hand was outstretched.

“I´m Sirius Black. Welcome to my lovely home” he said in a deep velvety and mildly sarcastic voice that made the hair in your neck stand up. “It´s nice to meet you, ___.” It was heartfelt, the way he said it. You reached out your hand and shook his. “Likewise, Mr. Black” you said.

He didn’t let your hand go for a moment, a grin spreading on his face. One that let him look years younger, one you wanted to see for all eternity. The little crinkles around his expressive grey eyes were the most adorable thing you´d ever seen.

Sirius looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he gently guided you out of the study and down into the kitchen. “By the way,” he said as you descended the stairs. “You´ll find that my humour is kind of fucked. I´ll stop the heavy drinking, promise. So, no need to walk on eggshells around me, ´k?” He turned his head up to you, giving you a beautiful angle of his neck and the tattoos that scattered down from his ear and disappeared into his collar.

“If you´re sure” you said with a grin of your own. His eyes blitzed amusedly as the both of you entered the kitchen. What you didn’t see was the curious look Arthur and Molly Weasley exchanged when they saw Sirius pulling out a chair for you before sitting down himself.

_______________________________

 The meeting progressed and plans were made. The debate was already heated enough before Snape decided to speak. The moment he opened his mouth, your eyes rolled to the side. You resented that man with every fibre of your being. Mostly because he seemed to have it out for Sirius. Taunting him whenever he could. It was unnecessary and just plain vile.

“It´s easy for you to say, Black. You´re just sitting comfortably in your home while everyone else is either being productive or helpful. At least not all of us have to deal with your bipolar character” Snape snarled and gave you a pity filled look. You were about ready to tell him to kiss you where the sun don´t shine when Sirius spoke up. He was relaxing into his chair, staring at Snape with a victorious grin.

“Congratulations, Sniffellus. At least you got the bi-part right.”

Snorting into your wine glass you coughed several times before trying to hold back a fit of giggles. You looked at Sirius´ smug face grinning at you. His eye twitched to look dangerously like a wink and you knew that the heat in your cheeks didn’t form because of the wine.

_______________________________________

The days after became more and more comfortable. Sirius kept his promise to you not to drink excessively anymore and greeted you sober every evening when you returned. You ate dinner together and talked a lot more. You actually began looking forward to coming back to Grimmauld place every night. The kitchen was cozy and warm, soft light from candles and gas lamps illuminated the space as you sat at the table, sharing stories from your time at Hogwarts and your Auror training.

Day after day Sirius seemed to hang onto your every word more and you slowly got to know his sense of humour and therefore gradually you stopped feeling guilty whenever he made a joke about his time in Azkaban. Of course, you knew that deep down, 12 years in that horrible place left its marks, but it seemed like he was done with showing them to you.

“So,” he said one evening, cheeks tinted a beautiful rosy colour from the wine he´d poured the both of you. “You were two years under me. A Hufflepuff and a brainiac.” His voice sounded impressed. “What I can´t believe though” he said and took a swig of his wine, “Is that you were a beater in the quidditch team, and we actually played against each other?!”

You grinned and nodded. “We did. I remember it vividly. I´d just gotten into the team and our first match was you guys. You were in your last year. I tried so hard to hit those bludgers in your or James´ direction, but my strategy was futile. James was too quick, and you were too wicked on a broom” you shook your head in mock disbelieve while Sirius´ eyes gleamed with excitement.

“I don’t get it” he said with an almost dreamy look on his face. His chin rested in his palm as he spoke. “Don’t get me wrong, I know you´ve got spark but I would have recognized that in school. You told me you were a closed off and private. But then you go joining the quidditch team as a beater no less. How?”

You smiled at him. “Well,” you said amusedly and took a sip of your glass. “I was closed off, that´s true. But that doesn’t mean that I had no personality. There was a certain potential of rage. I had to let that go somewhere.” You shrugged with a grin. Sirius looked at you impressed.

He topped off your wineglass and spoke. “I´m impressed. The closed off, timid girl, grew up to be a fearless auror.” You shook your head. “Fearless is not true” you said calmly. “Fighting death eaters fearless is a stupid idea. Makes you end up looking like Mad eye” you smirked and winked at him. Your palms encased your cheeks as you spoke in a high-pitched voice. “Compared to him and looking at all this” you turned your head prettily left and right, “I was scared shitless every time.”

Sirius threw his head back an bellowed a joyous laugh. It fitted him so well all you could do was stare at him in awe. He wiped at the corner of his eyes and gasped for air. “Merlin, I really regret being such an insufferable prick to you up until now.”

“Thank you” you said earnestly. “You´re not so bad yourself.”

He smiled at you sweetly. “And we never talked in Hogwarts?” he asked. “Are you sure?” he sounded almost hopeful. You huffed laugh and shook your head. “I´m sure” you said, feeling the wine coursing through your veins, making you bold. “I avoided you like the plague.”

Sirius´s face fell, and you were quick to answer. “It wasn’t because I thought you were a bad person.” Quite the opposite actually. “More like…you were…intimidating.” He raised an eyebrow at that. “Intimidating?” he asked. You nodded.

“Yes. You and your friends…you were legendary as it was. Everyone either knew you, hated your guts or was crushing on you” you could feel your face heat up once more. “I just didn’t see the point of being one of many, you know.” You smiled at him timidly, his expression somewhat empty. “I did pay attention, though.”

A little more light appeared in Sirius´ eyes at that. “You were?”

You took a deep breath and downed the rest of your wine. Fuck it!

Nodding you continued. “Yes. I mean, you were hard to miss. But I´d often see how you joked with your friends, how you comforted the younger students. It was nice to see that side of you. It always made me wonder why you decided to act on your ´attention whore´ attitude more. But then again, I didn’t know you privately, so I don’t even know if I´m right with that.” You rushed the last sentence and reached for the wine bottle. Sirius´ hand shot out and grabbed your wrist. His fingers were strong but gentle.

Goosebumps appeared immediately on your skin. The little hairs on your forearm standing up when you looked up and directly into his eyes. He regarded you with a look full of wonder, gratitude and something pleading. “What else did you see?” he whispered, leading your hand down onto the table, not letting go. Ok, this seemed to be a little too intimate, but you were damned if you broke eye contact for even just a second. It was time to come clean.

“I saw how you always seemed different when we all came back from holiday. At least for a few years. You were always…sad one minute and then chipper the next. It looked fake.” His eyes grew wide. “I saw how your eyes would not leave Remus´ plate that you packed with food until he was done eating. That always happened after he turned.” Sirius´ fingers tightened. “How do you know about that?” he asked in awe.

You raised both eyebrows. “As I said. I paid attention. Still do.” At your words and to your utter delight, Sirius began absentmindedly stroking his thumb across the soft skin of the underside of your wrist. There was no way in hell he didn’t feel the insistent and fast beating underneath.

“I saw a lot of things that made you more than just an attention seeker to me. What I didn’t like, at all, was the bullying. James and you. You were both better than that. Sure, Snape was a little git but…sometimes you overdid it.” Sirius hung his head for a moment and nodded silently before looking at you again. An ashamed look spread across his face. “I know. We could be quite…insufferable. At that age you don’t really think about these things” he said quietly. You nodded in understanding. “I know. And I also know that Snape wasn’t exactly innocent himself. But I guess it´s no wonder he hates your guts. He´s still a bloody git, though.” You grinned at him.

Sirius took a deep breath. “You saw all that without ever having spoken a word to me?”

“Yes”

Sirius looked impressed and incredibly moved.

“´S no wonder Kingsley bursts at the seams with pride for you. I guess death eaters have no chance when it comes to you.”

Blushing hard you grinned bashfully but shook your head. “I´m not that good in the field” you said, and Sirius raised an eyebrow in doubt. “But when it comes to interrogations, if they make it that far, I´m actually very successful. I either get a full confession or at least some names. Always.” You spoke the last part with as much confidence as you could muster, hoping you´d impress him at least a little bit.

“Wow” Sirius breathed. “And you think I´m intimidating?” You giggled. “No, not anymore, actually.” He seemed very pleased with that.

You sat there for a moment in silence. Your eyes trained on his tattooed fingers still gently wrapped around your wrist. Ever tiny movement they made sent waves of shivers over your body.

“Can I ask you a question?” Sirius asked quietly. “HmHm” you mumbled, still not looking up. “Please, look at me” Your head snapped up at his tone. His eyes were filled with something so soft it made your heart quake.

“I can´t stop thinking about it…The other night, you said I was drinking my second chance away.” You nodded. “Even though I didn’t really have a first one. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh” you said and looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I meant your trial.”

Sirius´ eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“M-My trial?” he stuttered out? “I didn’t-“

“-get one, I know. That´s what I mean.”

He looked at you with a shocked expression before his face relaxed. A grateful smile stretched onto his lips as he looked at you fondly. Slowly, his fingers that held your wrist moved to lift your hand up to his face. Not breaking eye contact he gently but firmly pressed his mouth to your knuckles, effectively knocking the wind out of your lungs. Times stilled. The edges of your vision blurred, and a loud beeping noise filled your ears. It felt like you were about to pass out from a fever when his lips left your skin, and an uncomfortable cold ran over your back.

Sirius set your hand back onto the table and seemed reluctant as he let it go.

_____________________________________________

The next days were a blur. A happy blur. You were walking on clouds, you were dreaming so much more vividly and to no surprise, Sirius´ face always ended up being the main character. Sirius seemed much happier as well. He went out of his way to make you comfortable. For the past week now, he´d cooked you dinner and scolded you whenever you tried to help him out. He´d point his finger at you, his eyes comically narrowed and told you to sit down at the table.

It also seemed like he tried to be closer to you whenever he could. He´d stand closer to you, he´d sit closer to you, he´d guide you through doors by the small of your back. It all wasn’t helping your situation at all. He changed his behaviour towards you so dramatically, you weren’t able to stop your old crush from coming back. Not when he looked at you so dreamily sometimes, not when you both dissolved into laughter about some silly story, not when you thought about his lips on your skin.

Every time you thought about that night, your whole body started to tingle. The little flirts just came naturally to the both of you. So much so, that it was in no time, that the whole order noticed something was going on. Most of them seemed very pleased by the fact that they didn’t have to deal with Sirius´ outbursts anymore. Especially Remus. He regarded the two of you often with mirth in his eyes while Tonks almost ripped out his arm when she noticed as well.

The only thing that dampened the sugar high you constantly seemed to be on, was the fact that even though Sirius and you started flirting heavily, nothing ever came of it. In the last minute, either him or you, would draw back and either laugh it off or deal with a few moments of awkwardness. There was a magnetic pull forming between the both of you, and both of you felt it. It got stronger with ever shared meal and laugh.

These days, it got so much harder to fall asleep. Your heart beating against your ribcage so insistently that it was a herculean task to calm down. Apparently, it started to show.

You came down into the kitchen one Saturday morning with Sirius working on the stove. Even though you felt knackered, there was no way you would ever not appreciate his broad shoulders and lean back, covered by some raggedy old band-shirt. You smiled fondly at his back. He heard you approach and turned halfway around. “Good morning, darlin´.” Again, goosebumps everywhere and your heart going ballistic. “G´ mornin´” you yawned.

Sirius turned the stove off and turned to you fully. The smile on his lips vanishing when he saw you. “Are you feeling ok, ___? You look tired.” He rounded the table quickly and came to a stop close in front of you. So close. It took everything in you not to take a deep, deep breath.

“Fine. Didn’t sleep well last night” you said. Lie. You haven’t been able to sleep properly for a couple of nights now.

Sirius looked around your face worriedly. “Do you need one of those pick me up potions you always gave me? I can give you some money to go get them.” That made you chuckle. You lifted your hand and very gently ruffled the soft, black locks on his head.

“Oh, Sirius” you said smiling. “I didn’t buy them. I made them.” It took him a moment to let your spoken words sink in. His eyes went impossibly wide, then slightly damp. You retracted your hand from his head. 

Sirius couldn’t hold on. In one gentle swoop he bent down slightly and pulled you into his chest by your waist. Your arms wound around his neck in an instant. Delirious with happiness you pressed your forehead against the side of his neck and felt the vibrato of his voice against it as he hummed contently. He smelled divine. A mixture of firewood, tobacco and something citrusy. It smelled like coming home and you felt your crush bloom into something much more valuable. It didn’t scare you at all. You were cradled in his arms, his cheek atop your head, his hands gently caressing the small of your back. You could´ve stayed like that forever.

“There´s nothing I could give you to make up for all the shit I´ve put you through” he whispered into your hair. “I don´t deserve the kindness you´ve given me or are still giving.” You shook your head against his neck and wanted to speak, but he was quicker. “You make it more than bearable to stay in this house, love. I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t decided to move in.”

You stook on your toes to be able to hug him closer and he pulled you in with a desperate sigh against your ear. “I was such a fucking arsehole to you. I´m so sorry.” Hot tears formed in your eyes when you heard his tone. “You are lonely” you choked out. “And frustrated. I get it.”

“…was” he whispered and slowly withdrew just a little to look you in the face. His gorgeous, regal features were formed into a look of gratitude and longing.

“What?”

“I was lonely and frustrated” he emphasized. “Not anymore.”

His blazing silver eyes took in the entirety of your face before closing them and leaning his forehead gently against yours. “I´m glad you´re here with me” he said before kissing your forehead and almost sending you to the ground. The tears spilled over. Sirius noticed them and used his little finger to wipe them from your face.

“Why aren´t you able to sleep? What do you need?”

“I think it´ll be a little easier now” you said with a watery smile. Sirius nodded his head, for the time being, he was satisfied with your answer.

“Let´s eat breakfast before everyone shows up for the meeting. The moment I have to look at Snapes hair, I´ll not be able to eat for hours.”

_________________________________________

The meeting went quite well. Most of the time people were calm and the plans you´d made weeks before, finally came to fruition.

You were sitting beside Sirius who´s palm sat comfortably on your thigh underneath the table. It burned your skin and made you a bit drowsy with longing, but you paid attention still.

After the meeting, some of the members stayed for dinner and drinks after. Everyone had a great time. Sirius and you stood a little to the side, close together and smiling happily.

“Well, finally” came a booming voice from the table and your head swivelled towards Kingsley. He had a dopey grin on his face, wiggling his eyebrows as he regarded Sirius and you. It was evident that he was quite tipsy.

“I really thought it would never happen. You two” he pointed at the both of you and with a hiss you gestured for him to quit it. “Kingsley” you whisper yelled while Sirius next to you just tried to bite back a huge grin. “What?” Kingsley slurred. “You could at least thank me, you know. For bringing you here. ´S the last thing you deserved after all these dumb howlers. Haha!” You felt the colour drain from your face. Oh no. Oh no. “Kingsley, shut up!” You hissed at him again. Sirius looked very curiously between you and Kingsley.

“What howlers did you send him, darling?” he asked in an amused tone.

“SO MANY HOWLERS!!” Kingsley yelled and nearly fell of his chair. “You´re lucky I started intercepting them when I became your mentor. If the committee had found out that the one terrorising them with howlers was actually an auror trainee…I tell ya. You wouldn’t be an auror today.”

“Oh Merlin, help me” you sighed. “Kingsley, please just drop it.”

Sirius´ face was filled with question marks. “What in Merlin saggy left nut is he talking about?”

Kingsley explained. “You see, dear Sirius. This one,” he pointed at you with a shit eating grin. “This one wouldn’t take no for an answer. She tried to send them anonymously and for the most part it worked. Until they set me on it. I found out it was you,” he playfully glared at you. You wanted to sink into the floor and never emerge again. “At this point I was already training you and you had so much potential. So, I made it work.” He sounded so proud of himself.

Sirius had walked over to Kingsley, still smiling and trying to figure it out. “What howlers did she send Kingsley? Why would they be so dangerous for her career?”

“Oh” Kingsley said, and his eyes went big. “Oh, you don’t know.” Sirius looked taken aback.

“I don’t know?”

“Yeah, the howlers, the letters she sent. They were because of you.”

Sirius went still, staring at Kingsley intently. “What do you mean, they were because of me?”

“Kingsley…” you tried again but your voice was too quiet. You could only let it happen. You´d try to explain it to Sirius later. That was, if he didn’t throw you out the house.

“They were trial demands” Kingsley said matter of factly and the air was suddenly too think to breath. You felt like drowning.

“Trial demands” Sirius whispered as he put two and two together. He turned to you slowly. You couldn’t look him in the eyes, embarrassment making your skin feel like it was on fire.

“Kingsley?” he asked in a dry tone without looking away from you. You felt his eyes boring into you. “Kingsley, when did you intercept the last demand?”

Kingsley hummed. “Hmmm…. the last one I got was about four days before your escape from Azkaban was made public. Before that, they came in once a week like c-clockwork.”

You heard Sirius take in a sharp breath. When he spoke next, he was calm, quiet and somehow sounded unsure. As if he couldn’t believe what he´d just heard.

“You…you tried to get me a trial…for 12 years?”

Your shoulders pulled themselves upwards as if you were trying to sink into your own body before you nodded, looking at the floor.

You heard a sniffle from somewhere to your right. It sounded like Molly Weasley.

“___” you heard Sirius say. His tone was choked up and still unsure. “Please look at me” he pleaded.

You couldn’t. You couldn’t bare the look on his face. He already knew about the crush you´d had on him in school and now he´d found out that even as a grown woman you tried so hard to get with him. He must be so appalled.

You shook your head no.

“12 years?” you heard him ask again.

You nodded.

“Every week?” His voice was closer now.

You nodded. His shoes appeared directly in front of you and you cowered back against the counter even further. “Don´t do that” he whispered. “Don’t…please, look at me.” His voice cracked and at that your head snapped up to look at him. The sight broke and healed your heart all at once.

Silent tears were running down his tinted cheeks. His eyes were swimming with something you couldn’t pin point. With a wobbly voice he spoke.

“You didn’t believe it was me?”

“Of course not” you whispered, throat tight.

“Why not? Everybody else did”

“There was no fucking way you´d betray James” you shook your head defiantly. “No way. It all fit too well. They used your family name and the reputation behind it. But I knew you couldn’t have been a death eater. I saw you…in school…” Your own voice began to crack when you thought back to the day you learned what´d happened to him.

Sirius nodded slowly. “Yes. You saw me. You saw me. You always have” Gentle, warm hands lifted to your face and encased it. Sirius looked at you like you were the only other living being in the world. Another tear fell down. “Don’t you ever, ever, call your feelings for me a simple crush” he said and smiled at you. “I didn’t know I had such a loyal warrior out there.” Your face was also tear stained by this point. You sniffed and Sirius gently shook his head.

“No more tears, my love. I´ve got you now.” And with that, he pulled your head to his and pressed his lips to yours. It was like a rubber band snapped in your chest. As your hands tangled in his hair at the base of his neck, he hugged you ever closer, lifting you a little and moving his lips more insistently against yours. This was right, this was perfect.

Open mouthed kisses were pressed against your lips slowly, thoroughly. There was no sound except for his breathing and his heart. A throat cleared itself in the background and with a groan Sirius let go of your lips, looking at you. His grin seemed excited. You didn’t have a chance but to reciprocate it.

“You know that it´s not a simple crush you have on me, right?” Sirius winked at you. You nodded in defeat and leaned your forehead against his chest. You felt his chuckle. “Come on, dove” he taunted you good naturedly. “Call it by its name. Please?”

Your eyes met his and they twinkled with a juvenile excitement you hadn’t observed on him yet.

“I´m in love with you” you said and smiled.

Sirius closed his eyes to let your words really penetrate his mind and soul. The hands around your waist tightened before he nodded with an equal smile. Again his lips met yours. This time, shorter, sweeter.

“So am I” he whispered against them. “I love you. My beautiful fighter. You´ve saved me.”

___________________________________________________________

thank you very much for reading. If you liked it, please leave a reblog or a comment so I can improve :) I´m grateful for every feedback I get. Thanks a lot

[hrizantemy]

Dear Diary,

So… things got complicated. My brilliant plan to keep everything under control might be looking a bit… uh, misunderstood by some people.

To recap: Feyre was pregnant, which should’ve been great, right? Except for the small detail that our kid was going to kill her. But, hey, I was handling it! By… not telling her. Because who needs that kind of stress during pregnancy? Definitely not Feyre. Nope. I thought, “What could go wrong if I, her High Lord husband, just quietly solved this whole baby-will-murder-you problem behind her back?”

Turns out, a lot could go wrong. Who knew?

My logic was simple: if she didn’t know, then she couldn’t freak out, and I could be the hero, swooping in at the last minute with a solution—preferably while looking devastatingly handsome, naturally. Feyre’s peace of mind? Priceless. My questionable decision-making skills? Apparently also priceless. In retrospect, I see how this might not have been my finest moment.

But honestly, how was I supposed to predict that everyone would think I was being controlling? I mean, am I not allowed to play the overprotective, emotionally stunted husband card once in a while? Isn’t that part of the whole High Lord package? She gets to paint her trauma, I get to… bury my emotions until they explode in bad decisions.

Anyway, I’m off to fuck her. Again. Hopefully, this time it will buy me some forgiveness. Or at least, a night on the couch that’s less uncomfortable than the last.

Yours truly,

Rhysie

[casdeans-pie]

Part 2 of Flustered Castiel Accidentally Explodes Lightbulbs And Causes Power Outages Especially When Dean's Fingers Are In His Hair

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4. Thanks again to @dreampencil for the inspiration to get this done!

Thanks to everyone for all the great feedback on part 1!

---------

The second time it happened, Dean was trying to make a joke out of it. (Even if the reason he did it wasn’t funny at all).

The thing about hunting The Winchester Way was that it sometimes involved dressing up in silly outfits.

Gym teacher, fitness instructor, insurance salesman, television crew, that one time they were zookeepers… The Winchesters never skipped an opportunity to infiltrate a case by wearing a ridiculous disguise. Nearly every hunter out there had pretended to be FBI, or doctors, or part of the CDC, but where was the fun in that? Something about putting on the outfits of these different people like he was stepping into their skin appealed to Dean’s inner child who had never had the time or opportunity to play pretend games.

Ironically, Dean had been calling it The Winchester Way since he and Sam had started hunting together, but at no point could either of them imagine John Winchester ever dressing up and pretending to be in any of the professions that they had used for a hunt like that. So, in fact, maybe it was just The Dean Winchester Way.

Which was fine with Dean.

And being an Angel didn’t excuse Cas from this.

If anything, it created an extra dimension of fun, because then Dean got to see Castiel Angel Of The Lord’s pouty bitchy frown whenever he had to wear whatever silly outfit they were using for their disguises.

But it had never backfired before…

The plan for the hunt had been simple: their research had led them to the deeply religious Mark Lomax, who’d unknowingly purchased a cursed pocket watch. He would be kept busy talking at his door with Dean and Cas, while Sam broke in through the back and removed the curse. To keep him talking for long enough Dean and Cas would be disguised as members of a new local church appealing for new followers to combat the evils of all the recent deaths and murders in town.

Simple.

Dean had no love for the cardigan-wearing-sensible-hair look, but he’d thought that it would be worth it to see Cas dressed up all dorky like that.

But the laughter that Dean had been ready to let loose turned to acid in his throat when Cas emerged from his room – with his frown firmly in place – and a name resounded like a thunderclap through Dean’s skull.

Emmanuel.

Dean froze where he stood, feeling his blood run cold.

And then, to his increasing horror, he distantly heard Sam complaining about the state of Cas’s hair through the ringing in his ears. Sam reached over and flattened the soft black spikes with his hands, completing the look even further.

Cas pouted the whole time.

Sam eventually stepped back to survey his work and nodded. “Much neater,” he said.

But Dean could almost feel his heart breaking all over again, remembering how it felt to look at Cas and see no recognition in his expression. Meeting his wife-

“Dean?” Cas said, the line between his eyebrows deep and furrowed at his long silence. His blue eyes locked onto Dean’s and held there.

You know me, Dean remembered thinking desperately, even as Cas- Emmanuel had looked at him like a total stranger.

The affection almost glowing in those same eyes now finally seemed to ground Dean back into reality.

Castiel. Cas. He wasn’t Emmanuel. He’d got his memories back.

You know me, Dean thought with relief, as he felt his heartrate slow.

“Dean?” Cas asked again, his voice low and laced with concern.

Sam cleared his throat.

Dean swallowed, shook off the last of the nightmarish flashback, and finally broke eye contact with Cas. He gestured at his hair. “C’mon, Sammy,” Dean whined with a shake of his head, “look what you’ve done to him. Lomax isn’t gonna believe this guy even leaves his house. Definitely won’t think he goes door-to-door.”

Without waiting for a reaction Dean took the two strides to stand in front of Cas and plunged his hands deep into his hair, intending to ruffle it back out and fully dispel the image of Emmanuel.

A few things happened at once.

The lights above them fizzed loudly as they flashed almost blindingly, while the whole bunker buzzed and groaned as every electronic console and device flared to life – dials whizzed, switches blinked, and car alarms all simultaneously blared from the garage. The lights flickered and dimmed and flashed brightly again. The electronic buzzing increased in pitch until it hit a reedy whine, and just when it felt like the whole bunker was going to overload or his eardrums were going to burst, Dean removed his hands from where he’d left them in Cas’s hair to slap them over his ears instead- and everything stopped.

The lights returned to normal, the ringing and the alarms stopped, and all the devices powered down again with a gentle hum…

Dean and Sam slowly removed their hands from their ears.  

The three of them looked at each other in the eerie silence.

Dean could see that Sam was fine, just a little shaken, but Cas’s chest was heaving as if he were short on breath. His hair stuck up at crazy angles where Dean’s hands had pushed in, and his wide eyes were once again locked onto him.

Sam looked up at the lights. “What was that? Should I check on the power?”

“Cas?” Dean asked hesitantly, remembering a similar phenomenon that had happened on a hunt once before.

Cas finally blinked. “Uh. Excuse me-” His voice came out at an even lower rumble than usual, and he practically ran back to his room. The door slammed behind him.

“What’s going on?” Sam said as he looked between Dean and where Cas had gone. “What happened?”

Dean let out a low breathy laugh. “I think… I think I know. But I uh, I might need to do one more test. Y’know, just to make sure.” He clapped Sam on the shoulder. “Nothing to worry about, Sammy. Just grownup stuff.”

Sam shrugged and snorted as he went to check on the consoles of dials and lights. “I shouldn’t even be surprised with you two anymore,” he mumbled as he went. “D’you think he’s coming back?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll give him five minutes to compose himself and then we’ll get the show back on the road.”

If Dean needed any more confirmation that Cas was really himself, here with them- here with Dean, well, that was certainly it.

His heart felt too big for his chest suddenly.

With his good mood restored Dean grinned as he looked out at where Cas had fled to. He flexed his hands by his side, remembering the brief moment that he’d had them in the feathery softness of Cas’s hair.

First, they had the hunt, but then Dean had an experiment to plan.

------

Part 3: [link]

[owlwithanapple]

Your Hero

He is one of my favorite characters in mha. I want to write a future version of Bakugou Katsuki, I hope you guys will like it. 😘

Part 1.

( Bakugou Katsuki X Y/N )

This is a superhuman society, with 80% of us possessing some uncanny ability. Cities swirled with chaos and confusion following the appearance of these powers, and a new profession emerged. We call those who fight for justice and help others in need heroes.

Bakugou Katsuki, 25 years old. Hero Name Great Explosion Murder God: Dynamight, the hero who uses explosion Quirk. A young top professional hero in Japan, established his own hero agency a few years later.

Dynamight Agency——

"Tchh...another resignation." Bakugou put the employee's resignation letter on the table.

"Hahaha, Lord Dynamight has a bad temper and looks fierce." Kaminari laughed.

"Shut up! Why do you come into my office!" Bakugou shouted.

"Come and visit your office and see the secretary by the way~" Kaminari visited the office.

"Tchhh! What a pity! Get out of here!" Bakugou shouted.

"Bakugou~ Be kind to people~ How many beautiful secretaries have resigned like this?" Kaminari said.

"Shut up! Dunce face! It's their poor ability to do things!" Bakugou complained.

"Emergency rescue! For the nearby heroes please go to the rescue immediately! Villain is out!" Urgent notice.

"Tch! Work is coming! Hey! Dunce face! Get out of here before I come back!" Bakugou flew out of the window.

"That guy still busy as usual. It's worthy of being the Top Hero. " Kaminari looked at the window.

Urban area——

Your name is Y/N, 23 years old. Professional hero, just returned from the United States. Hero Name is Wind Breaker, a hero who uses the wind attribute.

You walked leisurely on the street, and the long-lost return life has finally come. Suddenly there was an earthquake, you felt an ominous premonition. Then you heard a lot of howls, and saw a lot of people running away.

Intuition tells you that something must have happened ahead. You ran to find out, suddenly exploded after hearing a loud noise in the distance. High-rise buildings fall and many broken rubble will hit nearby citizens. You release a whirlwind to blow away the rubble to avoid hitting people.

A floor of a tall building is burning and emitting black smoke, to avoid being smoked you take out a handkerchief from pocket to cover your nose and mouth. Near the building, you can see several heroes rescuing and evacuating the crowd.

When you want to get close, there is a second harsh loud noise. You squat on the ground and cover your ears. You have a little impression of this sound. A few seconds later, a layer exploded again dropping a lot of rubble on the ground.

You release a wide range of whirlwinds blowing away the falling rubble. It is remembered that the explosion is connected to the loud noise, which is the signal to start the explosion. You run in the direction of the hero and inform them.

You didn't notice a piece of rubble falling in your direction for a moment. Suddenly, someone grabbed the falling rubble and blew it up, you released the whirlwind to blow away the broken rubble. You didn't react for a moment. You looked at the person floating in the air.

"Idiot! Hurry up and take refuge!" He shouted at you.

You heard him yell at you, and you said to him in anger, "Huh?! If you have the guts, say it again! You hedgehog head!"

The third loud noise sounded again, you covered your ears and looked up at the tall building. You are calculating the timing of the third explosion. Think that the timing of the first and second signals is random, not a fixed time, so someone must be controlling it.

A few seconds later, the third explosion occurred, and the hero blew the falling rubble into pieces in front of you. You release the strong wind and blow away the fragments everywhere.

"Hey, you! What if you blow up the rubble like this and hit the citizens!" You talk about him.

"Then why don't you take refuge!" He said loudly to you.

"Dynamight! Thank you for the rescue! There have been three explosions in a row, and it is difficult for us to enter the internal investigation. " A rescue hero said.

"The trap set by Villain is nearby. The loud noise and the timing of the explosion are random. Maybe someone is controlling it nearby." The hero named Dynamight said.

Although the man named Dynamight in front of you is very irritable, but you have the same idea as him. This person is a professional hero, you admire his observation and logical thinking.

"Hedgehog, you're not bad and smart." You poke him on the shoulder and say.

"Woman! Say the hedgehog again, I'll blow you up! My name is Dynamight! Remember it! Get out of here and take refuge!" He stared at you and said loudly.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I just saw through the drone that there were still children who hadn't escaped yet." A rescue hero interrupted.

"What!?" You and Dynamight are surprised.

"Hey, woman! Take refuge! I'll go inside to save people! Others go nearby to find Villain!" Dynamight said.

"Wait a time! Hedgehog head! I can go inside to save people! You go and find Villain!" You stopped Dynamight and said.

"Woman, you...!" When Dynamight is ready to yell at you.

"I can control the wind to blow away the fire. At least the children inside can be rescued safely. Time is limited, the fourth explosion will come at any time. Take advantage of this time to find Villain nearby and knock him down directly. " You say the plan.

Dynamight looked at you angrily, but he thought your plan was worth implementing. Other rescue heroes can only be found on land, but he can search in the air at the fastest speed. He noticed your reaction ability and controlling Quirks, he sighed and stared at you.

"Hey, woman." He stared at you.

"What?" You stare back at him.

"You are not allowed to die." Dynamight carry you on his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down! Where are you touching!" You beat him on the back.

He carried you and suddenly rushed into the air, you were so scared and grabbed him tightly. When reach the window, he throws you in hard, and you release the wind to surround yourself and land safely.

"Hedgehog head, you are not a gentleman!" You shouted at him and turned around to enter the fire.

"Hey, woman! Dont die!" Dynamight shouted.

"Shut up, hedgehog." You walk into the fire.

"Tchhh..." Dynamight flew high in search of Villain.

You release a whirlwind to surround yourself and separate the black smoke from the fire to avoid being smoked. You walk slowly to look around, you hear someone asking for help. You saw two children in that direction. One of them had fainted and the other was crying for help.

You are close to check the two children, there are no skin injuries. You carried them on your shoulders and ran to the window just now. You saw the rescue hero downstairs waving to you. You release the protection layer of the wind to surround the children and slowly land them to the rescue hero.

"Well done, woman." Dynamight is looking from a distance.

"If you want to transmit the signal and the timing of detonation, you need to see the process clearly and seize the timing, so it must not be far from Villain. Tall buildings... A high place..." Dynamight thinking.

Dynamight looked at the opposite building and saw a figure. Villain noticed it and ready to pack up and evacuate, Dynamight rushed to him.

"Bingo...Villain!" Dynamight shouted at him.

Dynamight released a flash bomb to temporarily blind Villain, then went around kicked him down to subdue him.

"Have fun? Villain!" Dynamight shouted to him.

"Hehehe, what about your friend?" Villain said.

After Villain finished speaking, he pressed the button and there was a loud noise. Dynamight knocked Villain hard and stunned him then grabbed the remote from in his hand.

"Damn!" Dynamight rushes to your position.

This loud noise will make you guess that Dynamight has found Villain, then Villain directly presses the button to prepare for the explosion. The fourth loud noise is very loud, which means that you are very close to the bomb.

There is no time to find out the location of the bomb. You run to the window and prepare to jump down. Dynamight looks at you close to the window and rushes directly to you. You noticed that he was approaching, and you jumped out without saying a word.

A few seconds after you jumped, there was an explosion behind you. Dynamight rushed in your direction to catch you, you looked at the direction of the explosion and sighed. You glad you reacted, otherwise you would have been blown up. After, you noticed that you were in mid-air and catched by Dynamight.

"Nice catch! Hedgehog head!" You said with a smile.

"If you say it again, I'll throw you down!" Dynamight said.

"Try it, I'm fine. I can fly." You teased and said.

"Tchhh! If I had known, I wouldn't have catched you!" Dynamight looks to the other side.

"Hahaha! I know you will come to save me. You say.

"Woman, you knew from the beginning that I would catch you, so you didn't use the ability in the end, right?" Dynamight stared at you and asked.

"No. Because I believe that Dynamight will come to save me. " You said with a smile.

Don't know why you are so embarrassed to call him Dynamight.

"Alright! I'm landing now!" Dynamight slowly landed on the ground.

He put you safely on the ground, you stand firm and ready to leave the scene. You turned your head and looked at him, he noticed that and were also looking at you. You want to thank him, but don't understand why it's a little difficult for him. After thinking about it, you still smiled at him and left.

"You have a good smile, woman.“ Dynamight whispered.

After knocking down the Villain, the heroes immediately entered the high-rise building for a search. Find the bomb and then dismantle it. Dynamight conducted a final inspection in mid-air.

You get home and lie on the sofa to rest, remember the hero named Dynamight just now. You search him at social platforms on your mobile phone and find the amazing truth. He is a top professional hero. Although he has a bad personality, you admire him inexplicably.

"The hedgehog! so powerful... But he is not a gentleman at all!" You lay on the sofa and said.

Part 1 end.

*If you have any ideas, you can leave them in the comment section, and I will try to add in the story.*

[evermorethecrow]

asking really nicely so you can properly explain? please? pretty please? with a cherry on top? 🛐

SIGHHHHHHHH

fine because you were nice

Every evermore au summarised PROPERLY

1) Yuuko au-

Chuuya gets a kid at 14 and has to deal with it

2) Cryptid au-

Chuuya nakahara died in 1935, came back and is now murderous and evil (and a giant ram sometimes)

3) High school au-

Chuuya nakahara is a 15 year old who wants to be completely erased from memory when he dies, simultaneously he wants to fight with everything to keep living (it doesnt work)

4) Vampire au-

Chuuya was born (wrong) into an aristocratic heavily established vampire family with a lot of not so great traditions. after escaping from them the third time he looses it a little bit and decides to now dedicate his life to murdering them all off, as well as anyone who gets in the way. hes aproached by mori ougai the head of a powerful vampire slaying organisation and joins to help his plans. i also gave him a gun

5) God au-

born as the god of luck and fortune chuuya is stolen by humans and placed in a shrine to bring insane luck to the earth. then shit hits the fan. Now hes stuck as the god of curses (and bad luck) and cant walk around without hell breaking loose

6) Plant shop au-

Chuuya nakahara ends up at a police station at 14 and meets murase (as well as some other cops). Chuuya is going to be given a death sentence but after some less than legal talk with his supervisors murase can remove it completely. the only condition is rehabilitating chuuya back into society, which proves a harder task than thought considering a few extra issues that went down in his past.

7) College(idol) au-

At 15 chuuya nakahara is the lead of a world famous pop idol group. Shifty treatment from his manager makes chuuya decide to quit, however on while preforming his last show something technical goes wrong, the stage explodes, the other members got away safe but chuuya was hospitalised. the world assumes him dead and since he contract is over he decides to keep it that way, content with living his life like a normal person now. until hes in collage and it turns out his new roomate was the biggest fan of him and his old group. chaos ensues

8) Sky casino chuuya au-

After hardly a year in the sheep chuuya is found by fyodor and placed inside the sky casino for safe keeping. now at 16 hes very good at his job and very bad at being tollerant of annoying house guests from the port mafia

9) DOA au-

15 goes wrong, chuuya gets hit a lot harder by the sheep and he ends up at fyodors doorstep (through less than natural circumstances). hes been working for the doa since. Dazai and him re-meet at 22 after hes captured by the port mafia. it goes intrestingly.

10) Scene kid au- a fun au where everyone in the show wears some kind of alt fashion (also theres like the worlds impending and quickeningly near end looming over everyone but that doesnt matter)

11) God+Vampire slayer au-

Chuuya is the (born human) reincarnatation of the god/lord of the wild in an era where vampire-like zombies run wild. he meets a boy who turned into a vampire but somehow remained concious and is now working with him and a shifty doctor to blast gore everywhere try and find a cure

12) Ability swap au

Chuuya has no longer human instead of Tainted but keeps his singularity, dazai has flawless but keeps being anything but. They have eachother. (that could be enough)

13) No Yuuko au-

Yuuko (that kid who chuuya got) never actually MEETS chuuya and instead through a long path of events ends up in the custody of a 20 year old dazai. what could possibly go wrong

14) college au 2 eletric boogaloo-

Chuuya nakahara grows up strict catholic and ends up a single parent in some lousey apartment trying to ballence class and like not killing his child. also his roomate is an annoying bastard who wont shut up

15) Nun Au-

Chuuya's raised in a cult and then joins the mafia.

16) Pokemon au Red-

All the bsd charecters live in the world of pokemon. chuuyas a gym leader and secretly a team rocket executive following his bosses order to prevent some kid finding mew

17) Pokemon au Blue-

Pokemon exist in the bsd verse! Canon except they all have pokemon to fight with and chuuya may or may not be spiritually connected to a lucario

18) Demon ability au-

Instead of tainted sorrow chuuya has an ability reminiscent of kouyou and kyoukas. (hes still got that singularity unfortunatly but this time its in a huge fucking demon?) his role in the pm changes acordingly

19) Mermaid au- chuuya's a mermaid happily enjoying life on land. Dazai is a mermaid hellbent on dragging chuuya back to the ocean

20) Circus au-

when chuuya joins the port mafia hes placed under lippmanns command instead of kouyou's. unfortunatly its not that easy and the port mafia's fronting as a circus. now chuuyas got to learn how to use rope.

21) Elise au-

On his deathbed mori manages to transfer his ability to chuuya. hes now living through elise. it goes as well as you'd expect now the mafias being run by an 11 year old

22) Chuuya stays with the sheep au-

self explanitory, dazai's plan fails and chuuya never ends up leaving the sheep. then 15 rolls around and verlaine disposes of them. chuuya travels around with verlaine until hes eventually rescued by the flags

23) Ada au-

chuuya moves to the ada after stormbringer. he works with yosano in the infirmary.

24) Demon/Coffee shop au-

Ex-fighting ring demon chuuya runs a coffee shop and tries to be evil (hes bad at it)

25) Chuuya is inside my laptop au-

Dazai finds a beat up laptop on the floor one day and being the cheap person he is decides to take it. the only issue is theres someone (something?) living inside it (its chuuya)

26) Dragon au-

Chuuya nakahara is one of the last dragons of his kind. dazai wants a pet dog but gets something more exotic instead

27) Nyan bungou stray nekos au- nyan neko sugar girls but bsd derailed and i dont know how to explain this now

29) Botw au-

chuuya's a gerudo who isnt that good at fitting in, dazai's a zora next in line for the throne whos bad at everything. together they make a wildfire look like a beach holiday

Honarable mentions

Danganrompa au (Only existed so i could execute chuuya)

Vocaloid/Utauloid au (canon except they have vocasynth voices)

Evermore's chuuyai farm and factory

[thrawns-backrest]

Krennic in Vader Annual 2

I'm sorry but how can I not love this man

he was in this book for a grand total of four pages but they wrote him so accurately I'm howling

first you've got Vader arriving on Geonosis and Krennic coming out to meet him

and of course his first job is to lay it on thick with his boss. he's also wearing the Krennic cape 2.0 Gucci edition, looking more fabulous than ever

then the rocks above them explode and we get this wonderful panel

LOOK AT HIM MY MAN IS SHOOK. I've never seen him so disheveled shfjhfghdjgf

then as the cherry on top Vader literally grabs him and drags him away by the scruff

if Ben Mendelsohn is reading this, I would like him to make that sound for me please

and the first thing he does when they're safe, the first thing he does, is this

which is hilarious because you just know this man blames Tarkin every time he comes close to dying. though to be fair he probably blames Tarkin every time he stubs his toe or spills caf on himself

(also I'm shook that this is my man's office, babe please, you have standards)

you sir are a little shit. and I love you for it

and if you still had any doubts as to whether this is top tier Krennic characterization, he goes on to smear Tarkin some more while trying to make himself look better

only for Vader to shut him down like it's nobody's business lmao

then we have this beauty of a panel

LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT THIS OLD MAN MAKING PUPPY EYES AT VADER

'You and me, Lord Vader, we're tangled up in this' I CAN'T WITH THIS MAN. GIVE HIM A LAP DANCE TOO WHY WON'T YOU

honestly though if Orson Krennic looked at me like that and begged me to find his assassin I might just fall to the dark side to do it, just saying

we next see Vader talking to some sort of loyalty officer and we get this beautiful description

a manipulative autocrat and a venal ego-driven narcissist? idk sounds like a married couple to me. maybe they can just, not kill each other and enjoy the power the Empire affords them together as evil husbands

just saying

fr though these lines are making me feral. Vader then gets the murder itch and she tells him to calm down while both praising and subtly roasting our loathsome duo

you're damn right my man is brilliant. good to know we're acknowledging that

all in all this has to be some of my favorite Krennic content out there. the only thing I didn't like about this issue is that they made Tarkin and Vader really hostile towards each other. Vader gets two very vivid fantasies of killing him and I suspect the artist just really wanted to draw that, which, fair enough

personally my preferred characterization for these two is that they are low key buddies (seriously read Tarkin, they totally become buddies there, Palpy sends them on a play date to get them to get along and all that)

but otherwise 10/10 would recommend, great issue

[goodqueenaly]

I would like to think that the reason Waymar Royce avoided sleeping under Craster’s roof was more noble than selfish. After all, we have in the examples of Waymar’s (male) family members men who, while certainly not immune to the sort of personal and political ambitions common to Westerosi blue bloods, uphold a certain moral standard at the same time. If Ser Robar Royce sought out a place in Renly’s Rainbow Guard to win the sort of personal glory denied to nobly born second sons, and approached war with a lightness that disturbed Catelyn, he still prioritized honor enough to sacrifice himself so that two innocent women could escape the site of (and blame for) Renly’s murder. If Lord Yohn Royce sought and cultivated the favor and control of both the young Lord Arryn and his somewhat older heir presumptive, Bronze Yohn nevertheless exploded with fury at Lyn Corbray’s (staged) attempt to breach the ancient tradition of guest right during their conference at the Eyrie. Nor was Waymar himself personally bereft of a sense of honor, as demonstrated in his fatal determination to defend the Night’s Watch even against a supernatural enemy he could not have hoped to defeat.

So perhaps Ser Waymar, coming across Craster’s Keep on his very first command ranging, decided that he was not going to condone the same blind-eye allowance of Craster’s rape and slavery of his daughters and “wives” which other Night’s Watch officers allowed when they stopped over with Craster. How, perhaps Waymar might have thought, could he respect the chivalric charge to protect women and the innocent (as Robar Royce would do for Catelyn and Brienne) while sitting by as Craster verbally and physically abused the women and girls in his household? (To say nothing of Craster’s sacrifice of his sons, which admittedly Waymar does not seem to have known about.) Did Waymar, as Jon would in ACOK, decide that Craster was akin to an unjust bannerman, more fit to be hanged than to be trusted as even an uncertain ally? Consequently, did Waymar make the choice Jon would - to reject the obligations of guest right, that socio-political tradition which would in the future be so vigorously defended by his own father?

Of course it’s possible that this refusal was simply a reflection of Waymar’s aristocratic arrogance - that Ser Waymar found the midden heap of Craster’s Keep too humble and impoverished to house him, the knightly son of a great lord of the Vale and an officer of the Night’s Watch. Yet I feel like the more interesting reading is to view Waymar as a sort of proto or imperfect Jon Snow. Just as Ser Waymar was another privileged but extraneous aristocratic scion whose socio-political position virtually required that he pursue a career in the Night’s Watch - and as Waymar and Jon both hold to the fundamental mission of the Night’s Watch against the Others, with Jon perhaps eventually succeeding where Waymar (not for lack of trying) failed - so perhaps Waymar and Jon shared a feudal/chivalric disgust in the unjust actions of Craster.

[captainjacklyn]

jealous headcanon with neige, trey, jamil, cater, epel and rook please

Ok, a jealous head canon coming right up ! Thank you for requesting anon, I hope you enjoy reading this. So sorry for making this so late.

Pairing(s) : neige leblanche x reader, trey clover x reader, jamil viper x reader, cater diamond x reader, epel felmier x reader, rook hunt x reader

Warning(s) : well...jealousy, a bit of possessive behavior because you are their partner after all ! The reader's gender wasn't mentioned so it will be gender neutral, please send in a request if you wanted it to be specific.

Neige Leblanche :

Neige isn't one to be jealous easily, he's constantly surrounded by admirers so if anything you need to know what you're getting into once you decide to date him.

If you get jealous he'll apologize but Neige is far too nice to shoo off his fans. It's annoying, but you must understand that fame also has its flaws. Such as...this one.

He gets a little pouty if he sees you spending more time with someone else than him.

If its just a quick hello or a short conversation he doesn't mind. The boy isn't going to destroy your social life !

Of course he won't immediately show it when you're with that certain person but once he notices just how happily you're smiling in their company, Neige starts to have doubt.

He would understand the pressure of having to be with a star, he always needs to dress up so that people don't recognize him.

Would you be happier with someone else ?

Would you be better off with a person who doesn't have to make you suffer the fate of being watched 24/7 simply because they're popular ?

he will distance himself from you and you have to talk to him about his behavior towards you.

Tell him that you're happy and that you love him for who he is, not because of position in fame.

Trey Clover :

He is an easy going/really chill guy, Trey doesn't get clingy or becomes a jerk when he feels possessive of his partner.

He won't plan the person's death either. Looking at you jade-

If you are the one who is causing this jealousy by flirting with a random friend or being physically closer with another platonic companion he doesn't know :

Trey would be more of a doubtful type of jealous, similarly to Neige, he'll immediately think the problem is him.

Maybe he hasn't given you enough attention this week or he did something wrong and now you're finding yourself in the need to receive this recognition from someone else.

Will ask if he did anything to upset you, will maybe act more lovey lovey then he already is, probably asks you something like "Do you wanna try the sweets I've been baking ? I made a little too much so it would be great if you could help me not get scolded by riddle !"

Now for the different scenario :

The person you're interacting with is the one who is doing the flirting and/or acting too touchy with you.

He talks to you regarding the matter but he won't make a big deal about it. Just brings it up one day and as his lovable partner you can either tell the other guy/girl to stop because you're taken or simply cut ties with them.

A healthy relationship isn't healthy without trust and if you don't trust him or if he doesn't trust you then get tf out-

He's just a cool husband, good husband material. Must marry.

Jamil Viper

Jamil will handle the situation in a very calm manner but on the inside he has already murdered whoever is taking up your attention 3 times. wait now it's 4-

When he does get jealous he completely denies it cause he thinks it's childish to think the way he is thinking when someone gets too chummy with his partner.

If it's Kalim then dear lord please tell the sweet prince to run or else another overblot is going to explode.

...

I did not just witnessed you speeding down the dorm hallways with an oblivious dorm leader in your arms and a vice housewarden viciously shooting snakes at y'all.

If you're the one who is initiating the whole..whatever he assumes to be flirting he will give you the worst silent treatment.

And I mean it when I say the worst.

Bro doesn't even look like he's breathing the same air as you, no acts of service will ever have Jamil give you a single glance in the next 500 hours.

After that he's a bit grumpy but with an apology along with the head of the person you flirted with will get him to forgive you.

"Just don't do that again, I don't know what kind of sorcery had you flirting with that student but you better not do it ever again."

Our Viper boy is someone who requires loyalty in a partner despite not being that loyal to his own future ruler himself ! COUGH COUGH YOU CAN STOP KILLING ME JAMIL

Cater Diamond

UUUH- what.

First of all, I have no idea how he would react.

I'm hesitating between 'he'll flirt with that person with you' or 'he'll turn into a completely different individual and scare the other one to death.'

...

Yeah no, neither of them work.

Cater is not someone who strikes me as possessive or completely open either. Similarly to Neige, this man is going to feel insecure and probably lose his smile when he sees you look more cheerful/ flirty around someone who isn't him.

Walks away, head down and eyes on his phone. He scrolls through magicam to keep his mind distracted, but Trey could tell his smile didn't reach his eyes when he saw him.

"hey there Trey-un ! Uh ? Oh [Name] ? They're just hanging around their friends, I decided to leave them alone since I didn't wanna bother..Mmh ? Am I jealous ? I mean I shouldn't be, but you're right..I am. But don't go telling them that, the last thing I want if for them to get mad at me. I wouldn't wanna loose my favorite Magicam Star !"

It's depressing, I'm not even joking, it's really really sad.

GO APOLOGISE RN

If the person is flirting with you and making you uncomfortable then he'll jump right in and rescue you from those idiots cay-cay style !

*abominable shriek of cringe*

Why is his English translation so wonky-

Epel Felmier

Anger, lots of it, especially if someone is hitting on you in front of him. And knowing what will happen if that person mistakes him while flirting with you for a girl just makes it worse.

He'll get annoyed of course, but he sure is furious now !

Epel can get possessive, he'll punch the teeth out of the student who dared to even look at you weird.

If you're visibly uncomfortable he doesn't hesitate to step in and pull you towards him.

"They belong to me, fucker." "EPEL ! LANGUAGE !" "VIL SHUT THE FUCK UP!-"

Just kiss him and remind him that you'll never leave because someone tells you one to three pick up lines. He's the manliest man in your eyes and that'll never change.

You flirt with someone else :

He's running up to you screaming and crying about how unfaithful you are.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ?!" "Epel-" "IS IT BECAUSE I'M NOT TALL?! IT BETTER NOT BE WHY!" "I just asked them where the next chemistry class was." "..." "DID YOU NOT ASK ME BECAUSE I'M NOT MANLY?!-" "Epel please-"

Rook Hunt

HAHA run.

Both of you, run.

There is no escaping this man, he's hunting you both for dinner.

Rook is one who's ok for open relationships but if it means straight up cheating, you are dead.

If the friend is the one who's hitting on you but you don't reciprocate he'll just jump right onto the conversation and be like :

"I know ! My trickster is the most gorgeous person I ever met, however, that means they deserve to be worshipped so bow down and praise the ground they walk on you predator-"

Jk, unless.

I mean your his partner and a god/dess to his eyes, you deserve to be treated as such.

We all know how he can't stop blabbering about your gorgeousness. (I'm gonna be honest with you rn I have no idea how to write for this guy, he is so weird and will get turned on just for witnessing a murder.)

So he isn't surprised when other people are attracted to you, if it's just a friend, then he would like to know them better.

If it's someone who straight up tries to flirt with you while you're uncomfortable then he'll jump right in and say the exact words I expected him to previously.

On the other hand, if you were the one trying to catch someone else's eye then he'll ask you what's wrong.

"Is there something I haven't been doing right for you Beauté ?"

If you managed to score Rook then please marry me you're drop dead heavenly-

Thank you for reading now bababye~

[ipatrichor]

dead boy detectives episode three thoughts

NIKO MY GIRL NIKO. i love her so much holy shit. she's just so effortlessly charming and so deeply, sincerely kind 😭 i would kill for her good lord the scene after they leave the devlin house? she was so scared for completely understandable reasons (i would not want to go to a house with an axe murderer ghost either, and she almost just died like the day before on top of that!) but she suits up and braves a Goddamn Coastal Storm (seriously, it was dark when she left and light when she found them meaning she was out there alone in the dark storm for a little while Minimum) to help her friends!! it's like. yeah she's pretty naive and easily scared (again, Reasonably so), but also she cares so goddamn much about her friends. im gonna cry dude

also this episode really is giving me everything i asked for huh. i asked for niko joining the gang and changing their dynamics, and we got that incredibly sweet scene with edwin at the library. i asked for the bickering to stay while dynamics grow and evolve, and edwin & crystal have a scene where they still snipe at each other while working well together to rescue charles and appreciating each other's skills and knowledge. i asked for charles backstory, and holy shit. this show really does have it all huh

okay speaking of charles. i love love love what we got this episode. i mean yeah i kinda guessed his dad wasn't great from what he'd said before, but i was also second-guessing myself a little because well, if he was that bad charles probably wouldn't be checking on him to make sure he's okay, right? and then we get that reveal, and damn. god it was so cool to see something actually really hit charles, because he's mostly a chill guy! sure, he's gotten annoyed and stuff, but it never seems to last long and i've been really looking forward to seeing what'll break that composure. this episode did not disappoint holy shit

speaking of which. idk if it was just the dad's abuse that was affecting him so much... this is an odd theory, but hear me out. it's making me kind of wonder if the reason he was so deeply affected was because his dad was involved with his death somehow. iirc his cause of death was drowning or something? hypothermia maybe i do not remember but i remember something about injuries like broken ribs or something. and i dunno i'm starting to wonder if those injuries were from his dad and they contributed to his death. or maybe im completely wrong and it hit him so hard to see a man kill his wife and daughters because he's spent the decades since his death afraid his dad will do that to his mom! who knows! only time will tell, but i am so intrigued

also i actually really love that him repressing so much doesn't get resolved. like yes girl keep deflecting from your trauma until you get overwhelmed and have a messy breakdown where everything explodes. and like yeah his friends know he's keeping shit to himself now, but that's. really not something it's easy to bring up so really the most they can do is let him know they're there for him and keep an eye out. which is probably harder to do with So Many Goddamn Enemies.

like okay let's count we've got esther + monty, crystal's demon ex, death's scottish secretary (idk her name or job sorry. the lady who played the witch mom on supernatural. rowena??? girl idk i didn't finish s5), the cat king (not necessarily evil but he is literally keeping them trapped so), miscellaneous enemies/villains each episode like the sprites or the misery wraith (terrifying btw! i Do Not like that thing on a personal level but i appreciate it thematically 👍), and ALSO Literal Death is basically looming over them as an existential and also very literal threat. girl this is crazy there is So Much going on how the fuck is this show only 8 episodes

crystal's memories... i actually really like that she might've been an asshole. like yeah you could argue her ex was influencing her (either supernaturally or just like peer pressure) but i actually think it's more interesting if he wasn't and she was just willing to be an asshole. and also maybe endanger people's lives?? idk what was up with dropping a large rock on moving cars but it didn't seem like anyone died bc he would for sure have leveraged that against her so. but i just think it's more interesting and compelling if she has to deal with like... yeah she was an asshole. what now? she can't change it, she's just got to live with it and choose to do better

also back to charles bc that scene will not stay out of my head. his actor is so good... the subtle emotional nuance in his facial expressions... i may need to rewatch the episode everything about his acting is so good. also charles getting stuck in the loop was fucking chilling- i didn't expect hitting the dad to work really, I thought it'd do nothing or go through him, but when he caught the cricket bat and hit charles with the axe i actually gasped. and then just sitting there unmoving and unseeing until the loop restarts and he vanishes... girl that was terrifying. like would they kill off charles like that? no I don't believe so, not in episode 3 of 8. however it was genuinely scary i didn't know if something fucked up would happen that he'd need a while to recover from or something. im glad he's okay physically at least, even if mentally is debatable :')

monty... what do i say about monty. he's cute and so awkwardly charming- if we hadn't seen that he's esther's familiar i would've been rooting for him to be a side character who shows up every now and then, kinda like jenny y'know? but because we know he's part of her revenge, i'm spending his scenes side-eyeing him like hey. the hell is that about. however i will say it's better knowing so we can stress about what his plan is instead of having him introduced as just a guy and then being a traitor or something. idk i like the dread and suspicion! it's a quality writing choice

i will say though, there's one thing about him that's making me side-eye him even harder. why did he antagonize charles? if he's trying to ingratiate himself with the boys + crystal and earn their trust, being a dick to one of them won't help. does esther's plan rely on isolating edwin? why? and if it's not her plan, why is he singling out edwin specifically? idk many questions lots to consider!!

in conclusion, this is such a good show and each episode just keeps getting better. i'm jumping right into episode four, i just wanted to organize my thoughts here first haha

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang: Book 1.14

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.14: The Fortuneteller

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

Sokka was surrounded by turtleducks.

Let him rephrase this.

Too trusting, bright-eyed turtleducks surrounded him.

Ever since the Mask-Guy, he refused to call him Blue like the others, Katara and the youngest followed the masked man around, well, like turtleducks!

They asked him questions, interacted with him and tried to make him feel a part of the group.

Sokka was going to go insane.

How could his sister and his friends be so chummy with someone who didn’t show his face and only answered with nods or a shake of his head?!

His instincts told him behind the blue mask was the enemy, but whenever he tried to talk to Katara or Hua or Aang they just waved it away.

At least they found out something about the vigilante.

Not enough that Sokka could pinpoint who could be under the mask, however, it painted a picture of a young man, who didn’t think things really through, who leapt before he jumped and was moody as hell!

Vigilant tried to be friendly, yet you could see how he struggled.

Sometimes it seemed he was ready to explode.

Especially when Sokka himself asked him questions.

Other than the turtleducks, Sokka had asked him uncomfortable things like if he was Fire Nation.

Sadly he didn’t get an answer because Katara screeched how he could even think that their new friend was Fire Nation if he had saved Hua and Aang from them!

That had been a bummer.

However, when he asked Vigilanten if his socks smelled and held them under his nose, the other man's reaction had been priceless.

He seemed to gasp for air and was ready to murder him.

Ha, take that mask-dude!

It was so worth it, even if Katara hit him over the head with the ladle.

Anyway, Sokka was the only one who mistrusted the vigilante and he would prove this to his young and dumb turtleducks.

The other man would not see what was coming for him!

***

Zuko had many regrets in his life, but playing friends with the Avatar and Daimon and their friends might be his biggest.

The water tribe boy, Sokka he learned, was clearly into him, asked him all kinds of exposing questions, if he wasn’t careful and let him smell his rotten socks.

For a second he had wanted to light on fire the water peasant, yet he could restrain himself.

He had a mission to accomplish.

A mission that seemed annoying beyond belief and he had been with them for only a night and day!

The Avatar, Aang was his name, asked him all kinds of random questions, like if he liked vegetables, if he ate meat if he would try the vegetarian lifestyle, where he got his mask and then he just babbled a lot of things to Zuko that made his head twirl.

Aang told him stories from his life at the air temples and…well it painted a picture that Zuko didn’t like.

He learned from his tutors how the Air Nomads had been a crazy cult, with blood rituals and all that, who had a large army, ready to attack the Fire Nation. That’s why his great-grandfather had attacked them first, to save their nation.

Nonetheless, the way Aang talked about his culture made the air nomads out of spiritual people, who respected humans and nature and liked to prank each other.

The banished prince just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Why would his nation say, air nomads were a crazy warmonger cult, when the last airbender was so bubbly and friendly and told him about the many pranks he played with his friends and mentor?

No, it made not at last sense.

And Zuko didn’t like this.

Even more so when the Daimon, her name was Hua, remembered Aang's stories or was part of it.

Two people from 100 years ago against all the history he learned.

What was the truth?

Was it even important if his only goal was to get Aang and Hua to the Fire Nation to restore his honour?

No! Screamed a loud part of him, however a smaller voice, one he had tried to ignore his whole life, begged him to think and listen.

He decides for now to ignore and humour Aang.

Hua was nice company and had healed his shoulder. She didn’t talk much about the past, only when Aang brought it up, but talked about banal things and his shoulder.

She had been shocked when HE had to explain to her, with a lot of nods and shakes and gestures, that legends said female Daimons had the ability to cure wounds and sickness with water.

Since then, she regularly every two hours gave him a healing session.

Neither of them knew how it worked, Hua was making it up on the go, nonetheless, his shoulder felt each time better.

If this would go on for a few more days, he would be ready to take Aang and Hua with him.

And then there was the water tribe girl, Katara.

She was so thankful that he brought Hua and Aang back to her, her words, and she would cook him something special.

After the soup from last night, she made a delicious stew with komodo-chicken, and he nearly wanted to cry.

She was an amazing cook.

Also, he noted how Katara clearly was the clue, the mother, who held these people and their three animals together.

Sokka might say he was the leader, but Zuko saw with his own eyes, how Katara took care of anyone.

She cooked, she cleaned, she was a shoulder to cry on and she was the strict parent who remembered the others of their chorus.

Well, besides Hua.

Hua helped Katara without her input and remember her chorus, the two males needed to get set fire under their butts.

Aang mostly wanted to be a dumb kid, while Sokka wanted to prove his manliness.

It was so stupid in Zuko's eyes.

On his ship, male or female anybody had their chorus and did them diligently. 

No one slacked around.

If Katara and Hua didn’t give Sokka and Aang sometimes a metaphorical kick in the butt, they wouldn’t move.

If Katara was the mother, Hua was the big sister.

He would never admit it out loud, but seeing Katara, Hua and Aang together train in their elements had been…really beautiful.

First, they had worked all three on water, then Aang and Hua on air then earth and now the Daimon showed the Avatar the first steps in firebending.

A voice inside Zuko, who sounded like Uncle Iroh, burned to give them tips. 

They only had a scroll and what Hua learned from practice and error, they needed someone to tell them their stances were all wrong, however, he couldn’t for a lot of reasons.

Manly, he couldn’t give away he was a firebender, also helping train the Avatar and Daimon in their elements was surely treason and Zuko wanted to go back home, not end up on the Boiling Rock!

So he was a silent observer.

Sometimes Jaiyi, the kyuubi and Momo, the lemur, came up to him for pets or to beg for food.

Strangely it made him remember how he had fed the turtleducks with his mother.

So he couldn’t resist giving them something.

For that, he earned an amused smile from Katara, which made him note, how she was actually a pretty girl.

Then he kicked himself mentally thinking his enemy was pretty.

The blood loss he had experienced and Aang's nonsense stories made him think weird things.

Yes, this was it.

Whatever, they had finished currently breakfast, some Water Tribe dish, salted fish and rice with vegetables, which the prince still was surprised he enjoyed as Katara suddenly stood up and pointed at the lake they had camped.

“Look!”

It’s a fish, a se tu, who leaps into the air, facing the group in mid-jump before landing in the water again.

Somehow this pisses off Sokka.

“He is taunting us! You are so going to be dinner!”

He grabs his fishing pole from his tent set up nearby and attempts to cast the pole into the water unsuccessfully.

“Hey, where's the fishing line?”, wonders Sokka.

“Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka.”, tells him Aang sheepish, holding up an intricately woven necklace decorated with a red flower.

“Why would you think that?”, asked Hua with crossed arms. “With what are we going to catch fish now? With our minds?!”

“Ha, good one Hua!”

“I’m not joking Aang.”

Stupified the Avatar blinks at her, while Zuko fights off the urge to facepalm and Sokka bemoans how his fishing line was all tangled.

“Not tangled. Woven!”, the Avatar explains, if it would make the whole situation better. “I made you a necklace, Katara. I thought since you lost your other one …”

He pauses in mid-sentence and displays the necklace, holding it between his hands as he flashes a toothy grin.

As if they had agreed on it Zuko and Hua side-eye each other, as Jaiyi yips in deadpan.

Of course.

It was because of Katara.

Zuko had needed exactly only three hours with them to note how the Avatar crushed on the (beautiful) waterbender.

From all the stories and legends he read about Avatar and Daimon, it surprised him how Aang and Hua weren’t all over each other.

They have been soulmates since the beginning of time.

Of course, he read about Avatar Kyoshi and Daimon Tian Kuo, who had just stayed friends, but they had been one of the expectations of the universal rule.

How the Avatar and Daimon were half of the same soul and drawn to each other.

Why this here was not the case astonished him.

Katara approaches Aang, taking the necklace and thanking him.

Sarcastically Sokka tells the Avatar: “Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewellery-making business.”

“I don't see why I can't do both.”, he grins, as Sokka starts to fight the fish,  and turns to Hua. “I have something for you too.”

Not only Hua was surprised, but the whole world stopped for a second, beside Katara who was like finally.

“Oh, what do you have?”, mumbled Hua with a cute blush.

Smiling Aang takes her hand and pulls out a little bracelet made out of pink flowers.

“That’s for you, I know how much you like pink and cherry blossoms are pretty.”

“Thanks, Aang, that’s super nice of you.”

The two smile at each other and ah, there was the legendary wordless connection Avatars and Daimons shared.

Aang might have a big crush on Katara, but he was at least attracted to Hua.

And she seemed attracted to him too.

And Katara.

Zuko had noted that she was bisexual at least. She stared quite often at Katara's breasts. (And no! It didn’t mean he had stared too, he had manners!)

Huh, it was kind of funny how the two soulmates who ever soulmated had a crush on the same person. 

Only one was keeping her feelings for herself, while the other really thought a fourteen-year-old would like a twelve-year-old.

Smiling Hua puts her bracelet on and shows it to Blue.

He gives her a tiny nod, which she interprets as it’s pretty.

Then Katara calls out: “So, how do I look?”

All beside Sokka, who still fights the fish, turn to her.

Aang and Hua have the most reaction, both blush up a storm, looking at Katara in one of awe and amazement.

Even Zuko has to gulp quietly.

It seems like all around the waterbender was coloured with shades of pink and purple, sparkles of light glistening every now and then.

She was smiling sweetly, blushing slightly with one hand behind her back and the other touching her necklace in a pose.

“You mean, all of you or just your neck?”, stutters Aang nervous. “I mean, because both look great!”

Hua just nods rapidly.

Finally, Sokka catches the fish and can’t help to tease Aang for his stupid little crush.

Yes, even he noticed it.

“Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love!”

He makes kissing noises before the se tu breaks free from his grasp, slapping Sokka in the face with its tail and disappearing under the water.

Poor Aang stutters more as Katara goes for the kill. She can’t make Aang think that she has feelings for him. His crush on her needed to die yesterday and he should fall in love with Hua, how it was supposed to be.

Also, they are super cute together!

“Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend. A sweet, little guy! Just like Momo.”

The lemur has landed on Aang's shoulder and Katara pets him.

Disappointed Aang thanks her.

Sokka emerges empty-handed from the lake, soaking wet and cross. 

Momo suddenly flies off Aang's shoulder upon hearing a loud noise in the distance. 

He leaps onto a rock followed by Aang, who observes the scene. He points to the source of the commotion.

“Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!”

They all start running.

They find a way to calm man who dodges the swipes of the platypus bear like nothing.

“Well, hello there!”, the calm man greets them friendly. “Nice day, isn't it?”

“Make noise! He'll run off!”, advises Aang.

“No, play dead! He'll lose interest!”, yells Sokka.

The bear swings its claws only to miss striking the man once again.

“Whoa, close one!”, laughs the calm man bemused.

“Run downhill!”, begins Katara.

“Then climb a tree!”, adds Hua.

“No, punch him in the bill!”, shouted Sokka.

“And then run in zig-zags!”, finished Aang.

“No need, it's going to be fine!”

Having enough of this stupid idiot our masked prince gets his swords out and makes a loud screeching noise with them.

All have to hold their ears, so terrible it was.

Luckily the platypus bear didn’t like it either lays a large, spotted egg and escapes the scene, swimming down the river.

“Next time a warning!”, mutters Sokka to Mask-Boy, before he picks happy up the egg and then turns to the calm man: “Lucky for you, we came along.”

The calm man just well calmly responds: “Thanks, but everything was already under control. Not to worry. Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey.”

“Aunt who?”, asks Aang.

“No, Aunt Wu.”, corrects the calm ma. “ She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice knowing your future.”

Katara looks off to the side as she ponders this.

“Wow, it must be. That explains why you were so calm!”

“But the fortuneteller was wrong!”, reminds Sokka. “You didn't have a safe journey; you were almost killed!

Hua nods in agreement and Zuko quietly in his head agrees too.

The calm man would have been platypus bear lunch if it weren’t for him.

“But I wasn't! All right, have a good one!”, he bids them farewell and begins to walk away only to turn back again. “Oh, and Aunt Wu said if I met any travellers to give them this.”

He hands Aang a wrapped parcel containing a long, thin object and leaves mysteriously. 

Sokka, Hua and Zuko behind his mask eye the man suspiciously.

This was too much cryptic nonsense for their ears.

“Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes.”, suggests Katara excitedly. Seems like one like this cryptic nonsense. “It could be fun.”

“Oh, come on. Fortune telling is nonsense!”, said Sokka loud and clear.

“I’m with Sokka, it's just a scam.”, added Hua. “They tell you what you want to hear. If someone could really see into the future they would be powerful!”

Blue agreed with a simple nod.

Meanwhile, Aang quickly unwraps the mysterious parcel, which turns out to be a red umbrella. He opens it and holds it over his head.

“What do you know? An umbrella!”

At that moment, the sky darkens and it begins to rain. A low rumble of thunder can be heard. Katara bends an arched shield of water over her head to shelter herself from the weather. Hua copies her, shielding also Sokka and Blue.

“That proves it!”, tells them Katara, now under the umbrella.

“No, it doesn't! You can't really tell the future!”, argues back Sokka.

“If it wasn’t for Hua, you would be wet by now.”, sasses Katara back.

Suddenly Sokka loses his grip on the platypus egg as it flies through the air. 

He attempts to catch it, however, it merely flies a few feet into the air and lands on his head, cracking and causing the egg to run down his face.

Thankful Hua cleans him with some of the rainwater before she shields them again.

Then a discussion breaks out between Team Avatar-Daimon if they should go into the fortuneteller town.

Zuko stays silent observers.

In the end, Sokka and Hua only agree because Katara reminds them they need more supplies since Blue is now with them.

Secretly Zuko was pleased.

Maybe he could manage to slip away from them for a few minutes, find a Hakwery and send messages to his uncle.

This was something Zuko wouldn’t admit also out loud, but he loved and cared for his uncle.

He knew Uncle Iroh must be already sick with worry over him.

He has been missing for a good two days.

Yeah, so better go into the crazy fortuneteller town and try to send him a message.

***

Annoyed Hua had to listen, on their way to the fortuneteller town Makapu, how Sokka and Katara squabbled over if the fortunetelling was real or not.

She was on Sokka's side, she didn’t believe in this mumbo-jumbo, so she said nothing and continued to shield herself Sokka and Blue from the water.

She was proud of herself for how she could do something like this now and walk.

Sokka then pretended to predict the future, saying how it was still going to rain, but, of course, it stopped then.

Aang told him how not anyone had this gift.

Whatever.

They were finally in Makapu and Blue put a hood over his head.

Katara and she had repaired the shirt she had cut open and added a hood at Blue's request since he was a wanted man by the Fire Nation.

You could never know if someone was a Fire Nation spy or just wanted the ransom which was surely on his head.

Before they could walk up to Aunt Wu's house, Blue tried to tell them something.

It took them some creative charade playing, however, they got how Blue hadn’t any interest in fortunetelling and would take a stroll around the town.

Katara was sad, she had wanted all her friends to have a reading, yet if Blue really didn’t want she would let him.

So they split up.

As they reached finally Aunt Wu’s house a strange man calmly welcomed them with: “Aunt Wu is expecting you.”

Together Sokka and Hua roll their eyes at Katara's excitement.

This was all for the show, didn’t she realise?

The quartet walks through the doorway, Sokka and Hua expressing their disgust. 

They enter a room, with four pillows situated on the floor to the right of the room. 

The strange man closes the front door. 

A young girl walks into the room clad in a pink kimono and wearing her hair in braids that stick out from the sides of her head.

“My name is Meng and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant.”, introduced the girl and suddenly gasped.

She has a twinkle in her eyes Hua knows too well. Couriers she follows Meng's sight of the eye and lands on Aang.

What?!

Something inside her which sounds like a thousand voices start to hiss and growl.

“Well, hello there.”, formally purrs Meng in Aang's direction.

Only Aang disinterested hello, calms the hissing and snarling voices in Hua.

What was going on?!

The group sits down as Meng plays perfect host: “Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?”

“I'll try a curd puff.”, brightens Sokka up at getting food.

Meng holds up an index finger in a gesture, her eyes never leaving Aang, saying to Sokka just a moment.

The Daimon has the urge to bite off the finger of this girl, even more so, as Meng kneels down beside Aang and gets really close to him.

She clearly tries to hit on him with the whole our names rhyme things and Hua wants to kick her ass.

It doesn’t help how the thousand and thousand voices in her head snarl and hiss.

Mine!

Stay away from them!

That’s MY yang!

Bitch I  will scratch your eyes out!

Was…was she jealous?

Since when was she jealous?!

When Aang had his little fanclub in Kyoshi she didn’t react this way nor was she angry that Aang crushed on Katara.

The way this Meng made come out the jealous girlfriend in her, was not normal!

Hua bet this was her past lives who had been together with their Avatar and now trowed a hissy fit.

Well, Hua would ignore them. Aang was her friend and nothing more.

Still, as Meng left them to get them the tea and food she was quite happy.

“I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense.”, grumbled Sokka.

“Try to keep an open mind, Sokka. There are things in this world that just can't be explained.”, lectured Katara. “Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?”

“It would be nice to have some bean curd puffs.”

“Ditto and some tea too.”, agrees Hua.

This earns her a strange look from Katara.

“Hua, are you alright?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s just something in your voice…”

The waterbender trails off as Meng with a tray walks towards Aang with a besotted look in her eyes.

Hua feels her and her past lives hackle rise.

Suddenly Meng trips; Aang attempts to help her recover, accidentally holding her hands in his in the process. 

The two stare at each other for a moment; Meng blushes.

They two then hear a growl and turn to a Hua who looks like fury incarnated, with blazing orange eyes and a snarling face.

“Be more careful, girl!”, hiss a thousand voices from Hua's mouth.

Aang looks stupified at his other half, Sokka raises an eyebrow, and Meng looks ready to faint, as Katara puts her hands on the Daimon's shoulder to calm her down.

“Hua, it’s okay.”, she cooes at her best friend and gives her a big cheek kiss.

This gets Hua out of Daimon State.

Embarrassed how she had lost her nerves, Hua grips a mug of tea and gulps it down without looking anyone in the eye

Oh Spirits, what was going on with her?!

Did she really enter Daimon State because of some Floozy, who made pretty eyes at Aang?

Okay, she needed to get a hold of herself and tell her past lives to chill.

Aang would stay her friend and nothing more.

Her past lives whined at this.

Hua ignored them.

While she had her crisis, Meng left and Aunt Wu entered to welcome them and ask them who wanted to go first.

It’s Katara.

So the three stay in the waiting room, Hua drinking tea after another, while Sokka eats the puffs.

“Mm, not bad, not bad!”, states the water tribe boy.

He holds the bowl out to Aang and Hua.

The Avatar declines, while the Daimon puts some in her mouth, still not looking at anyone.

“So, what do you think they're talking about back there?”, wonders Aang.

“Boring stuff I'm sure.”, answers Sokka casually, biting into a puff. “ Love, who she's going to marry, how many babies she's going to have.”

Aang agrees nervous before he proclaims to go to the bathroom.

Finally, Hua looks up.

She knows Sokka would not ask her why she got into Daimon State since it was mambo-jumbo for him, so they could talk.

“This is all so stupid.”, she mumbles to Sokka. “I can’t believe how eager the others are for this nonsense. We should have gone with Blue.”

“Can’t agree more with you, besides the thing with Mask-Boy.”

“Sokka, do you still think he is some kind of spy?”

“My instincts don’t lie, Hua. Look, the guy refuses to take off his mask, who does this?”

“Maybe someone who got hurt badly by the Fire Nation and has a deformed face?!”

That’s when Aang struts back into the room like a happily peacock.

Okay…what happened now?

“Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break.”, says Sokka, picking his teeth.

“Yeah ... when I was in there …”

Disgusted, both Sokka and Hua look away and hold up a hand to signal Aang to stop and yell how they don’t want to know.

Aunt Wu with Katara reenters the Room, asking for her next client.

Sokka stans up with a: “Okay, let's get this over with.”

“Your future is full of struggle and anguish. Most of it is self-inflicted.”, tells him Aunt Wu dryer than the desert.

“But you didn't read my palms or anything!”

“I don't need to. It's written all over your face.” 

Sokka resumes picking his teeth in disgust; as Aunt Wu waves Hua over.

“What about you young lady?”

“Oh alright.”

So Hua follows Aunt Wu into her chamber. 

The chamber is a fairly spacious, dimly lit room. 

Four pillars support the ceiling and four cushions are situated in the centre of the room, surrounding a small fire.

Both sit down facing each other.

“What kind of method would you like to see your future…?”

“Hua, my name is Hua.”

“Ah, flower. A pretty name for a pretty girl. It’s said: The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.”

This makes Hua blush pleased.

“Thank you. That’s nice to say to you.”

“No problem, dear.”

“I think, I would like the hand reading the classic one.”

Aunt Wu nods and Hua gives her hand.

The older woman stares at the lines in astonishment.

“I never saw such lines.”, she muttered, but Hua can still hear her. With a finger, she follows a big one. “Your destiny! This is incredible. You will be involved in a great battle, an awesome conflict between the forces of good and evil. A battle whose outcome will determine the fate of the whole world!”

Okay, this was disappointing.

“I’m the Daimon I already know that.”

Stupified Aunt Wu blinks at her.

“Is this all, then I will go.”

“No wait a second, here is something which will help you on your journey.”

Aunt Wu strokes over another line and explains: “This is the love line. You are destined to love a lot of people and carry them in your heart, but you will have someone who will carry you in your darkest times. Who will be your guiding light, your sun, your rock in stormy waters! This love is so potent, so eternal that it will save the world or doom it if you don’t find each other.”

Now Hua blinks.

“Okay, can you tell me more about this mysterious person?”

“You have known each other since the beginning of time, you loved each other in many, many lives. Your stubbornness and his deafness stop you both from being together and creating a love which will change the whole world.”

“Ah, I get it now!”, snaps Hua and takes her hand away. “Because I told you I’m the Daimon, of course, the Avatar is my destiny. I will tell you that I will create my own destiny and love someone because I LOVE them and not because we did it before!”

Dramatically Hua races out of the room, ignoring the calls of her friends and walks the street of Makapu.

She has a lot to think about.

***

Of course, Aang was worried for Hua, she must have gotten a bad prediction, but he needed to hear from Aunt Wu that he truly was destined to be with Katara like she had told the waterbender when he had listened in on them.

So he was disappointed when the bones just told her what he already knew.

“Yeah, yeah, I knew that already. But did it say anything about a girl?”

“A girl? You want to know about love?”

“Yes!”

Aunt Wu purses her lip, she can’t believe she got two times today the same destiny, as she looks at the bone fragments.

“Ah, there it is.”

She picks up a bone splitter.

“It says this crush, this obsession you currently have will doom the world.”

What?!

Aunt Wu tuts him.

Ups, he had yelled this out loud.

“The one your heart belongs to currently is not for you. If you choose her over your real love, something terrible will happen. You will lose a great power within you. You need to let go of your obsession and realize who your heart belongs really. If you do this, you will become even more powerful and create a love which will change the whole world.”

“But…but…”, stutters Aang totally confused. “Very powerful bender….”

The fortuneteller repeats his words before she understands.

“You listened in, in my reading with Miss Katara, didn’t you?! How dare you?! This was a private matter!”, she scolded him harshly.

“But…but…”

“See, this is an obsession, not love! You are so fixed on the idea that Miss Katara is your love that you forget anything and don’t think any more about what’s right and what’s wrong! Young Avatar listen closely, you will doom yourself and more importantly, the world, if you still go this way. And now out!”

He doesn’t let him told be twice.

Aunt Wu was scary when angry.

And she was wrong about him and Katara.

He was a very powerful bender.

He was the one for Katara.

He ignored the thousand voices in him who called him a stupor idiot.

***

Zuko had been fortunet.

Makapu had a Hawkery, who even sent letters to Fire Nation Vessels. So this meant the little town was neutral.

Better for him.

He wrote quickly to his uncle about where he was and his plan and asked for time.

With this, he gave the man the scroll and the hawk was off to go to delivery.

Since he had nothing better to do he walked around town, waiting for the others to be done with their nonsense.

Zuko didn’t believe in fortunetellers, destiny may exist but if you fought hard enough you could change it.

He needed to believe this or he would never return home.

His feet carried him to the marketplace where he found Hua, sitting on some stairs of a random house, sulking.

Silently he joined her.

“Hey Blue.”, she greeted dull. “Had a nice walk?”

He nodded.

“I should have come with you, Aunt Wu was such a waste of time!”

He nodded again.

The Daimon gave him a little smile and then handed him a little notebook and coal pen.

“Here I bought this for you. So you can better communicate with us. Always playing charades must be getting annoying.”

This…Zuko didn’t know how to feel about this. 

It was a really nice gesture, no doubt. Besides his uncle, no one thought about him to make him more comfortable.

And here was this little girl, the Daimon, who just used her money on him.

Something in his stomach felt unpleased.

She and the other thought he was their friend.

Not knowing they had a snake among them.

Suddenly…his plan seemed cruel to him.

But he shook it off.

Nothing was more important than to restore his honour.

“Ah there you guys are.”, they hear Katara call for them.

She and the rest of Team Avatar-Daimon joined them.

“Why did you run away Hua?”, asked Katara her best friend. “Was your prediction so bad?”

“It was stupid and I don’t want to talk about it.”

For that all gave her a look, so Hua searched for something to distract them.

“Oh look, people are gathering let’s check this out.”

And off she was.

The others just looked all at each other, wondering what was with Hua, before Sokka shrugged his shoulder and made a come-follow motion.

Nearly the whole town stands around a pagoda-like structure, staring at the sky.

“What's with the sky?”, wonders Katara.

The calm man they met before was there too and explained: “We are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of the whole village.”

“That cloud kind of looks like a fluffy bunny.”, musses Aang, pointing at it.

“You better hope that's not a bunny! The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction.”

“Do you even hear yourself?”, groaned Sokka in disgust.

“Wow, even more mambo-jumbo.”, added Hua, while Blue nodded in agreement.

These three were so done with this whole town.

“The cloud reading will tell us if Mt. Makapu will remain dormant for another year or if it will erupt.”, tells a village woman.

The calm man smiles. “We used to have a tradition once a year of going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves. But ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago, we have a tradition of not doing that.”

“I can't believe you would trust your lives to that crazy, old woman's superstition!”, shouted Sokka in disbelief and was shushed by Katara, since Aunt Wu was coming.

Aunt Wu and her guard appear ascending a stairwell. The crowd had formed an aisle to allow for the two figures to pass by. 

Hua stands beside Katara and then Aang, while Sokka and Blue stand behind them. 

Aang and Katara smile widely as Aunt Wu and the guard walk by them. Hua and the two older males, even the one who wears a mask, look unamused.

The crowd is clapping for the fortuneteller. 

Suddenly Meng appears next to Aang. Hua sees this and feels her anger rise again.

What does the Floozy want?!

The girl in the pink Kimono points at the sky, asking Aang if he thinks this cloud looks like a flower, he shoves her away, which pleases Hua greatly, just to ask the same of Katara.

Katara shushes him to listen to Aunt Wu's cloud reading.

The Daimon only pays half attention, till Aunt Wu proclaims that the vulcano isn’t going to destroy the town this year.

The crowd celebrates, while the three skeptics just cross their arms and shake their heads.

What a load of ostrich-horse shit!

“Since I got you here, uh, there's something I want to tell you.”, hears Hua Aang's voice over the cheering crowd. She turns slightly and sees a blushing Aang and a clapping Katara. “I like you, but more than normal.”

Did he just confess?!

And in the middle of a crowd?!

Either he was brave or utterly stupid.

Utterly stupid decided Hua, since she saw for a second how Katara's eye twitched before she played the I-didn’t-hear-anything-card and gripped the Daimon by the hand to run off to follow the fortuneteller.

“Nice played, Katara.”, whispered Hua to her best friend.

Katara made a grimace.

“Spirits, I can’t believe he did that. Even after I compared him to Momo this morning. Why is he so fixed on me?”

“Who knows? Hey maybe you should tell him he is the son you always wanted, maybe that will help.”

“Well, it certainly can’t hurt to try.”

***

A while later Hua joined up with the boys because Katara wanted another reading from Aunt Wu and the Daimon wanted to stay far away from that place.

She finds an interesting scene before her.

Blue actually uses his notebook and shows what he wrote to Sokka.

After the water tribe boy read, he huffed.

“Okay, you may be not so stupid to believe this utter nonsense in this town, but I still got my eye on you, Mask-Dude!”

“Sokka, play nice.”, chest him Hua. “So what’s going on?”

Aang answers her. “Sokka wants to change the minds of the people here.”

This makes Hua blink before she tells in a deadpan: “They are a lost cause, Sokka. Ostrich-Horse learn to fly before they will change their mind.”

“Oh yeah, we will see. It’s time for science with Sokka!”

With that, he walks to his first victim.

The other three stay still, before Blue writes something and shows Aang and Hua.

>>Science with Sokka?<<

“Yeah, we don’t know either.”, tell them the youngest in chor.

Since they have nothing better to do, they follow Sokka around for a while, trying to change the minds of the people of Makapu.

It was going bad.

So bad, that Hua told them she would get herself a snack and Blue joined her.

She wasn’t that hungry, but seeing Sokka lose his mind was scary.

The Daimon bought a for her and Blue a peach, as Katara joined them.

“Hey Katara.”, greeted Hua.

“Hey, Hua, hey Blue.”

“Is this a papaya in your hand? Don’t you hate papayas?”

The waterbender signed loudly.

“Yes, but Aunt Wu said I have to eat one.”

Her best friend wants to answer, but both see how Blue is writing fast something.

He shows it to Katara.

>>You can’t do all that this lady tells you. If she told you, you were going to marry Aang would you do that?<<

Katara makes a face at this, while Hua nods in agreement.

“Katara this is all nonsense, I mean she told me I would end up with Aang and we all know this is not going to happen!”

“Aha! That’s why you ran out!”, pointed Katara in triumph at her.

“Yes, I choose my own destiny and this Daimon is fine without Avatar.”

“But why?”, whines Katara. “You and Aang are actually really cute together. We all know you cuddle to sleep.”

This makes Hua turn into a pepperoni.

“You know?!”

Blue answers.

>>You are not subtle when you drag your sleeping back beside him when you think we sleep.<<

Hua whines, before she turns to her best friend.

“So what did she tell you, that you believe her so much?”

“I’m going to marry a tall handsome powerful bender.”

For that Hua and Blue deadpan at her.

Now Katara was the one blushing.

“What?”

“Katara that’s exactly what we mean by Aunt Wu telling people what they want to hear.”, begins Hua. “Most girls want a tall handsome powerful bender. She would have probably said the same to me if I didn’t blab out that I’m the Daimon. Also, I bet with you if a lesbian goes to her, she will have trouble coming up with a cover story.”

Blue nodded in agreement, while Katara seemed pensive.

Well, if you said it like this…

More time to think she doesn’t have as Aang with Sokka on his glider lands beside them.

They tell them how the volcano was about to erupt and in that moment an explosion was heard and the volcano rumbles violently. Grey smoke is emitting from the peak of the mountain.

They have to warn the people.

Sadly no one wants to listen to them. The villagers to trusting in Aunt Wu's readings.

However, this gives Aang an idea. If they only listened to Aunt Wu, they would make them listen this way.

So he steals himself into Aunt Wu's house, searching for the cloud reading book, as he sees Meng in the reflection of a mirror.

“Oh, I didn't see you there.”, he says arkwark. 

“You don't like me, do you?”, asked Meng sad, her braids drooping down.

“Of course I like you.”

“But not the way I like you.”

“Oh, I guess not.”

“It's okay. It's just really hard when you like someone, but they don't think of you that way.”

Aang casts a sad glance to the side, thinking of Katara. “I know what you mean.”

“She's beautiful, by the way.”

“Huh?”

“That Earth Nation girl. I can see why you like her so much. She's strong, she's a bender, she is the Daimon and her hair seems so manageable.”

…Uh what?!

Aang blushes so red, that you need a new name for it.

“What you think I’m in love with Hua?!”, he shouted shocked, gasping for air. “She is my friend nothing more.”

Meng deadpans at him.

“Your friend? Sure. That’s why she was ready to kill me.”

“That’s a bit extreme…”

“Her eyes glowed and she spoke with a thousand voices!”

“Yeah, this is a Daimon Avatar stuff our past lives want us probably to be together but I like Katara and Hua likes currently no one.”

The girl lets out a sound which clearly says that she doesn’t believe him.

“Here.”, she hands him the cloud reading book. “You searched for this, right?”

“How did you know?”

“I've kind of been stalking you…Heh …”

“Oh, thanks ... I guess.”

Okay, he needs to get out of here!

***

In the end, all went smoothly. 

Aang, Hua and Katara on Appa’s back bend the clouds into the symbol of volcanic doom.

Sokka leads Aunt Wu there when it’s done and finally, the village moves.

The earthbender bends the earth away, while the non-benders shovel a big trench which leads to the river.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

However, it wasn’t.

The trench filled too quickly, and the people of Makapu ran away, while Team Avatar-Daimon stayed to watch.

Then when it’s ready to overflow Aang and Hua bend together in a kind of dance with air the overflowing lava away and cooling it down.

Katara, Sokka and Blue who were the last ones standing were astonished by the feast they created.

“Okay, now I get this whole Yin and Yang thing. These two just stopped a volcano without words.”, tells Sokka.

Katara and Blue nod in agreement.

So this was the power of the Avatar and Daimon.

Beautiful and otherwordly.

It made them all feel really humble.

The village was safe now and the people returned.

Aang handed the cloud reading book back to Aunt Wu. “By the way, we kind of borrowed your book.”

“So you messed with the clouds, did you?”, guessed Aunt Wu angry.

She takes her book back in anger while Katara and Hua look guilty and Sokka smiles and points at them, indicating that they had a part in the cloud manipulation, too.

“Very clever!”, laughs Aunt Wu.

“No offence, but I hope this taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune telling.”, called Sokka the villagers out.

The calm man just responded with: “But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed and it wasn't. She was right, after all.”

Anraged Sokka gets near the Calm man's face and through gritted teeth tells him he hates him.

Katara and Hua each grab a hand of Sokka leading him away, trying to calm him down, as Blue follows them with a shake of his head.

After Aang finish talking with Aunt Wu, he joins his friends on Appa.

Today Katara flow the bison and she said goodbye to the villagers for them and asked Meng to take care.

Never seeing the fake smile and wave from Meng stopped she muttered a: Floozy.

Previous

Next

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 53 The Bloody, Bloody Hospital

So appetizing

I loaf drawing bebe murdle. Makes things better when life is horrible

I can't believe there are episodes without logico cry

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

The blood crust from the floor at the convocation is still in a bag in Irratino’s purse. He knows that the person who would know the most about blood is Dr. Crimson - she can identify who it’s from!

CRIMSON: HELLO… HELLOOOOO! It looks like the INSPECTOR is here to MINGLE… IRRATINO: [shudder] Actually, I need your help again. I have the DNA sequence for the mystery sample written down, but it doesn’t match anyone else’s here.  CRIMSON: MMMM! But where… oh where is LOGICO…

She taps and scrapes at her clipboard with her metal insectoid arm.

IRRATINO: He’s… missing. Don’t you remember? CRIMSON: LOGICO? NO… LOGICO?! IRRATINO: I… told you just a couple days ag- CRIMSON: [complete hysteria] NOOOOO, LOGICO, NO, NOOOOOOOO!!!!

She claws at the ground. Irratino picks her up.

IRRATINO: Hey, hey, shhhhh. He’s okay, but he’s being held in prison - I have to rescue him.  CRIMSON: A human is MURDERED here… and no one will SOLVE IT. IRRATINO: I will solve it!

He finds the local patients. Coach Raspberry and Uncle Midnight are in beds, looking miserable. Baron Maroon is in a giant tube full of liquid, but seems to be fine regardless.

IRRATINO: Is everyone alright? U. MIDNIGHT: Pssht. RASPBERRY: No!!! [cries] IRRATINO: What happened? RASPBERRY: I… I got concussed…

Irratino wants to comfort him, but Crimson gets in the way. 

CRIMSON: Here’s some more BLOOD from the suspects. I took it from them TODAY! IRRATINO: That’s… great.

Maroon does a flip in his tank. What the fuck is he doing in there??

Irratino closes his eyes and dreams for a clue. The ghost of the dead human appears before him, endlessly repeating a phrase in a language that doesn’t exist! He screams himself out of it. This startles Maroon, who does a deafening roar, smashing the glass of his ‘exhibit’! He rolls through the wall and into the parking lot.

CRIMSON: NO, NOOOO!!! STUPID FROG!!!!

The roof of the hospital catches fire, and Irratino climbs up there. There’s no fire extinguisher!

IRRATINO: Well that’s a fire hazard. RASPBERRY: I dunno what’s even goin’ on… I don’t wanna be here anymore!

He tries to leave, but Crimson blocks him.

CRIMSON: YOU can’t go outside… DOCTOR’S ORDERS! RASPBERRY: But… But… [kitten wail]

Irratino imagines what Logico would do right now - he’d go through everyone’s medical files. So he does just that. The killer was the super suspicious Uncle Midnight, who’s been laying in bed the whole time!

CRIMSON: I KNEW I COULD NEVER TRUST ANOTHER HUMAN!! IRRATINO: Benjamin! Why?? U. MIDNIGHT: Nh… I can’t go to my own birthday party. Because… I have a ‘contagious’ disease. And I got so mad… IRRATINO: But now that everyone knows you’re guilty of murder and that you have a contagious disease, will they still want to come to your birthday party? U. MIDNIGHT: …Yes. 

There’s silence, and to everyone’s surprise, Benjamin starts bawling.

U. MIDNIGHT: It was LOGICO, he left me to die in the middle of the ocean!! They just left me to die and I can’t even swim… I wouldn’t even be sick right now if they didn’t do that! It’s not fair… IRRATINO: Hey, hey! It’s okay! 

It’s not really. That was a really fucked up thing for Gico and pals to do.

IRRATINO: It’s July, your birthday’s months away. You’ll be okay! U. MIDNIGHT: I do my birthday party in July because everyone’s too busy with ChRiStMaS when it actually comes around.

The guilt is laying on thick for Irratino. But he can’t go anywhere near Benjamin, because of his unknown disease.

IRRATINO: Uhm… what does he have, exactly? CRIMSON: EXPLODING BILE DYSPHORIA. IRRATINO: What… does that-

Irratino figures out what that means, and will never sleep again. 

The end!

Wherefore art thou Logico?

I'm not feeling tip-top right now so this is a little rushed :'3

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[chaosprinceundivided]

The Tide of Change

The sky crashed with a booming of lightning, natural and unnatural. The ground shook with one slamming like a fist to the earth. The earth exploding into a yawning maw that threw men and devoured more. A drooling tongue lashed and swung, splitting into more with eyes popping alive and lesser maws screaming with newborn teeth.

"Run! Gods save us!"

The cackling squawking was their answer as Lords of Changes crossed the air, waving their staves and guiding their murders of screamers and disc-riders. Horrors peeling themselves from the mutating flesh of the ground and dying soldiers, melding together and splitting apart. Vomiting Flamers from their unhinging maws. The forces of the Changer pushing through like a tide of wax-flesh.

Hounds of glittering scales galloping, twisting and turning into things whilst keeping their vague shapes. Men of Norsca and Traitors of their Kingdoms moved as thralls clad in incascadant armour and tattoos, furs and scales. Many once-humans were shows of Tzeentch's fickle madness transformed into horrors of bare comprehensions, if even that. Chaos Spawns mewled, screamed, laughed and cried in their agonizing existence as they threw themselves into suicidal violence.

Forces were breaking but the few true of their nobility tried to stem the tide. Wizards foolish enough to control their defiance learned the true masters of the aetheral winds. Riflemen aim and fired, splitting skulls and hearts but more often than not, their true shots twisted away or became nothing more than air. Their weapons melting, transforming or melded with their holders.

Eyes engorged. Melted. Split into new mouths. Popped. Became jewels. That and more more terrible fates. Their screams becoming new syllables to daemonic spells that transformed brave men into glittering statues, melt into bubbling pools, consumed in dancing fires, their souls tore from withering bodies, becoming quivering masses of squirming flesh. Oh so many changes.

Oh so beautiful.

Rulek, riding on his great multi-coloured wings, flapped and glided along. His form avian with limbs many, twisting his draconic form around and landed on a watchtower stretching with the crawling fleshmetal, branching of silver apples and eyes winking with perfound new sapience. No mouth to scream. His primary hand digging into the pulsating stone with the other holding a staff, he can see the souls scrambling to escape the tower. A secondary hand flexing its long, multi-jointed fingers with popping gesturing. His tongue hissed and beaked maw spoke in a cursed dialect before the victims became mere fuel screaming into his staff's twisting burning eye.

"Cometh to me." He called, summoning an Eye of Tzeentch into the running forces and cackled at the Everchanger's gaze fell upon them. The instanteous ends and transformations became a new heralding gale into the daemonic storm. The Daemon Prince cackled with a wave of his staff and pointed at the coming calvery line of reinforcements. From the ether, golden hounds bounded and crashed into the charging horses, splashing them in white-hot metal and consuming their riders.

The Cathayan forces marching to fight the encroaching evil, even as their own realm was in bitter war with Vilitch and his madness, the Norscan hordes with the Wanderer seeking new challenges coming for their god-dragons. Rulek was consumed by the Gods, they demanded chaos. They demanded souls. They demanded War Eternal.

And together, Rulek consumed their power and gifts. His wings flapped and their eyes twitched, a hint of the insanity that screamed in his soul before focusing on an alchemist and she suffered its brutality. Inside and out.

[elspethdekarios]

Faerûnian Writing Challenge: Family Reunion

Hello, this is very late because it sparked a larger idea and then I could not write anything else.

Elspeth has a not-so-great relationship with her noble family. She's always been second-best compared to her older sister, who she hasn't spoken to in months, and doesn't care to ever speak to again, frankly. That is, until she finds her sister's name among the targets for the murderous Bhaalist cult rising in the city.

This is part 1 of 2 and part 2 will be a masquerade ball (you're welcome). I'm really happy with this and super excited to write the next part, so I hope you like it!

After attending Gortash’s inauguration, Elspeth and her current companions returned to Wyrm’s Crossing to help find “the stern librarian” they’d been told went missing from Sharess’s Caress. The disappearance seemed timely after the murders of Father Lorgan and Dribbles, and they suspected Ffion’s disappearance may be connected, so they volunteered to help find her. And find her, they did.

In Ffion’s room at the Flophouse, they not only found her dead body, but clues about the murders that seemed to be happening around Baldur’s Gate. Notes were sprawled on the desk, some torn, some bloodied. One stood out from the rest, its edges fingerprinted with fresh blood–a list. Elspeth and Gale seemed to spot it at the same time, always being the ones to read through notes and ruffle through desk drawers. She picked up the parchment and read aloud:

“Those wishing to face the Dread Lord's Tribunal and enter the Temple of Bhaal must slay the targets on this list and frame the corpses as a murder by the cult of the Absolute.

Bring the victim's hand as proof of the killing. Walk in blood, Aspirant.”

Astarion and Shadowheart gathered around to listen as she read the list of names, some of which were already dead. 

“Duke Stelmane, killed. Father Lorgan, killed. Dribbles the Clown, killed.” El’s hands shook as she processed the horror. “Alexander Rainforest, killed. Franc Peartree, killed. The rest are still alive, it seems. Cora Highberry, Figaro Pennygood, Ari–” Elspeth’s breath caught in her throat, a coldness settling in her stomach upon the next name. Her heart seemed to slow down and beat wildly at the same time. 

“El–what is it, love?” Gale asked from beside her, leaning over and steadying one of her shaking hands. His eyes grew wide as he read the name. “Gods above….”

Shadowheart and Astarion peered over her shoulder to see what she and Gale were gawking at.

“Ariadne Vaidelark,” Shadowheart read aloud. “Is she related to you, El?”

Elspeth slowly nodded, handing the bloody parchment to Gale. She wasn’t sure how to react. Her body wouldn’t move from its spot standing in front of the desk, her eyes locked on nothing. Finally she was able to speak, a low voice, devoid of emotion: “She’s my sister.”

“Oh, shit,” Astarion said, taking a step back as if she could explode at any moment. Only she wouldn’t. She felt numb other than a rising panic rumbling throughout her body, one that she had become an expert at ignoring over the past few months of mortal peril. 

“Here, love, sit down for a moment.” Gale pulled the chair out from the desk, but El only shook her head.

“No, I’m fine,” she said, steadying herself. “Let’s just get out of here.”

They went to camp straight away, where everyone took on their normal duties, though an unease seemed to have settled on everyone as they learned the news. El didn’t want to talk about it, not yet, so she sat by the fire with Gale as he prepared their dinner for the night, a soft blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He kept the conversation light, talking about his favorite bookstore in Waterdeep and his most prized magical tomes he’d collected from there, to keep her mind occupied until she was ready to talk. His thoughtfulness was one of the qualities she loved most about him. Even though her heart was unsettled and confused, just being close to him, hearing his voice, looking at the concentration on his face as he worked–it was a salve on an angry wound. 

Gale handed her a piece of carrot that he’d been slicing, and she ate it slowly, crunching small bites between her teeth as she listened to his rambling, which was now about rare abjuration charms that he’d learned from said prized tomes. Another voice interjected from behind them.

“That smells so good.” Karlach approached and took a seat on the wooden log Elspeth was leaning against. “Will it be ready soon? I’m starved.”

“Another hour at least,” Gale answered, dumping the chopped carrots into the stew. 

“Damn,” she said before placing a hot hand on El’s shoulder. “Ellie, I heard about your sister. On that list. We’ll save her, okay? I swear it.”

She looked up at Karlach with a sad smile. “Thanks.”

“And if you ever need to talk or hug it out, I’m here for you. Always.”

“Thank you, Karlach. I know you are,” she responded. “Actually, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Can you tell the others not to bring it up? I will talk about it. Just not tonight.”

“You got it, soldier.” Karlach rubbed Elspeth’s arm before walking back to the center of camp, loudly telling everyone to listen up.

Karlach must have struck the fear of the hells into their companions, because no one mentioned her sister at dinner. In fact, everyone seemed to go out of their way to either be completely silent or talk incessantly about lighter topics. No one even brought up their plans for the next day, which they always discussed at dinner. Wyll volunteered to clean up the dishes, a chore that Elspeth often claimed, and she and Gale slipped into his tent to call it an early night. Safely nestled in his arms, her facade slipped away and she let herself sob into his shoulder, aware that the others were still awake and could likely hear her. It didn’t matter. They had all seen her cry before–it wasn’t that she was ashamed of having emotions. It was the fact that her emotions surrounding her family, especially Ariadne, were… complicated. She had briefly talked about being the outcast of her family, and of course Wyll knew, since their families ran in the same noble circles. But Gale was the only one who knew details. He was the only one of their companions who she told about her childhood spent never measuring up to her sister, preferring to help in the kitchen than participate in noble customs. The bruises and tears she was left with as she endured paladin training, Ariadne always coming out on top, her parents’ disappointment in Elspeth evident in their faces. Her calling to become a cleric instead, and the way her mother offered to pay for her training and board at Ambrose Academy–a kind gesture, but one that Elspeth always suspected was a prime opportunity for her parents to get her out of the house. Gale was not the only one who knew about Ariadne being engaged to her ex–she told the others one night after a few glasses of wine–but he was the only one who knew how much it truly hurt her. She didn’t have feelings for Leon anymore, and hadn’t had them for a while. But seeing them together, just minutes before being taken by the nautiloid… it was painful. A reminder that she would always, always, be second best. 

Gale held her as she cried, tears and snot wetting his shirt. He didn’t force her to talk–only hugged her tight and rubbed circles onto her back and offered words of comfort.

“Let it out, my love” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I’ve got you.”

“I can’t let her die,” she choked out between sobs. “She’s horrible to me, but–I can’t–she’s–she’s my sister–and I–”

Words became too much, and she buried her head into Gale’s sleeve once again.

“I know,” he said. “We’ll find a way. I promise.”

No more words were exchanged between them, other than a soft “I love you” from Gale as Elspeth’s cries quieted and she drifted off to sleep. 

El chose her companions carefully for their trek to the Upper City. Gale, of course, was coming with her. Wyll volunteered to go, since he knew her family, though they didn’t know about his new devil form. Astarion practically inserted himself into the group, desperate to walk the streets of the Upper City in the sunlight–but she would have asked him to come anyway. She also asked Shadowheart, since she was, besides El, the most “normal looking” girl of the group. She was reluctant at first, having no memories of the Upper City (or Lower City, for that matter). Karlach excluded herself, though she was desperate to help however she could.

“From what you’ve said about your family, I doubt they’d let me take a single step inside their house,” she said at breakfast. “How about I keep watch close by the gate? And if I hear any commotion, I’ll come running.”

“My bodyguard,” El joked. “Unfortunately, you’re probably right about the first matter.”

“Eh, fuck ‘em. Not my style anyway.”

Elspeth made everyone stop in Carm’s Garms in Wyrm’s Crossing beforehand.

“I wouldn’t mind some nice clothes, don’t get me wrong,” Wyll said as they approached the storefront. “But I worry we’re wasting precious time.”

“Ariadne’s name was farther down the list,” El said. “If they’re going in order, which it seems they are, they have several people to kill before they get to her. Besides, you know as well as I do, Wyll, that they won’t let us step foot in the Upper City looking like this.”

Even their nicer clothes now were worn out, torn, or stained with blood and grime. They had been mistaken as refugees several times already, and Elspeth knew they couldn’t risk the same mistake as they got close to the Upper City. Wyll knew it, too.

“You’re right,” he nodded. “Very well. Let’s go play patriar for the day.”

After being greeted by a very talkative man, they browsed the store’s collection, Elspeth asking the owner specifically where they could find her most expensive items. They tried on dresses, overcoats, new shoes–everything. They had acquired enough gold to treat themselves to nicer clothes, and no one was complaining. Astarion seemed to be especially enjoying himself, trying on every brocade suit jacket and critiquing the cuts of the shoulders or the length of the sleeves. They left the store in their new clothes, looking cleaner than they had ever been so far on their journey. 

“You look lovely in that dress,” Gale said to her as they continued to the city. Her dress was dark blue and cinched at the waist with a silver jeweled belt. “You look lovely all the time, but… well, you know what I mean.”

“Thank you,” she said, slipping her hand into his and admiring his own new outfit, a simple but elegant white linen shirt, sleeves buttoned at the wrist, topped with an embroidered vest that matched the dark brown of his new trousers. He also bought new shoes–some tasteful, yet practical, embroidered loafers. “You clean up quite nicely yourself.” 

“Will you two stop being so lovey-dovey?” Astarion scoffed from behind them. “Honestly, we have a murder to prevent.”

“Since when have you ever been so keen to stop a murder?” Shadowheart asked. He pretended he didn’t hear her.

While the Lower City was teeming with refugees, the Upper City was as calm and sophisticated as ever. People in elegant outfits walked the streets, often arm-in-arm with someone just as well-dressed. Steel Watchers stood tall on every other street corner, casting menacing shadows onto the stone pavement. Music seemed to play from nowhere at all, and the water from the grand fountain just inside the gate cascaded serenely into its basin as sunlight glimmered in the crystal blue water. No one would know about the mass panic that ensued on the other side of the gate from this view alone. 

“Welcome to the Upper City,” El sighed. Even though this was her home, she felt like she didn’t belong here. She was always an outcast among her family, yes, but after her adventures these past few months, standing among the pristine, the rich, the powerful felt… wrong. 

Gale squeezed her hand and ran his thumb across her knuckles. 

“You’ll be alright,” he said. “We’re all here with you.”

El was thankful that she had the foresight to upgrade their clothes. Even in the flowing dress she wore, she felt underdressed as they walked the streets towards her family home. Patriars passed them in vibrant ensembles adorned with golden accents and fancy hats, their heads held high, their walking leisurely and controlled. They came upon a small, well-manicured park where children played with wooden swords and parents mingled in the gazebo. Though they were only a couple blocks away, El slowed down near the entrance.

“I used to play here as a child,” she said, smiling sadly as memories rushed into her mind. Good memories of playing tag or hide-and-seek with her school friends–but also bad memories, like when Ariadne fell and scraped her elbow only to run home and tell their parents that Elspeth pushed her down on purpose. Or when a pre-teen Elspeth snuck out of the house one night to meet a boy in the park, unknowingly being trailed by Ariadne, and came home to her stern-faced mother waiting to reprimand her for breaking curfew. Her nostalgic trance ended when Wyll noticed a flyer on the park’s bulletin board.

“A masquerade ball,” he said with a hint of excitement. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to one of those.”

“I’ve always wanted to attend one,” Gale said as they huddled around the flyer. “The intrigue, the mystery, the romance of it all.”

“They are quite fun,” Astarion added. “Although I’ve only ever been in order to find expensive dinners for Cazador.”

“It’s in three days’ time,” Wyll said. “Maybe we can find an excuse to attend. If we’re not in imminent danger, of course.”

Shadowheart was in her own little world, letting a butterfly crawl onto her finger near the flower bushes. It was like seeing a child discovering the joys of the world for the first time. Despite the thunderstorm of feelings stirring in Elspeth’s chest, she smiled to herself.

“Come on,” she said after the butterfly took flight. “We’re only a couple blocks away.”

The Vaidelark House sat along a row of patriar homes, each slightly different, but all sharing the same Upper City architecture: stone pillars, tall ceilings, iron-gated green courtyards. It was all a far cry from the Lower City’s run down houses. After camping in the wilderness the past few months and seeing so many refugees and beggars throughout the area, Elspeth’s childhood home seemed like a distant dream, and a sense of guilt arose in her as she thought about all the privileges she was raised with and still had, even after being cast out by her family. It felt like a cold blade to the heart. 

“Good gods,” Gale said as they neared the stairs at the front of the house. “You and I surely had different childhoods.”

A large stone “V” supported by two doves adorned the space above the grand front doors, and yellow flowers bloomed on the bushes lining the front of the house. She took a long, deep breath when they reached the entrance.

“I was lucky,” she replied. “But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Not for me, at least.”

It took all of her courage to pick up the heavy iron knocker. She trembled with anxiety–more anxiety than she’d felt at Moonrise just a tenday ago. Gale kissed the back of her hand, letting his lips linger on her skin as they waited for the door to open. She was expecting to see Tessie, the housekeeper who was like a true mother to her. Or another houseworker. But it wasn’t either of them who opened the door.

It was Ariadne.

The sight of her sister’s face was enough to incite dread in the pit of her stomach at best–raging, fiery anger at worst. But as the two sisters sat on mirrored sofas in the sitting room, Elspeth felt… sad. Sad that she would never have that true sisterly bond with Ariadne. Sad that their lives had been spent at each other’s throats. And sad that now, someone evidently wanted her sister dead.

An elven footman entered the stuffy sitting room with a large tray of tea and biscuits. “Good to see you, Lady Elspeth,” he said, nodding to her with a polite smile. She always liked Van–he started working at the house when she was a teenager, and would often sneak a couple of sweets under her bedroom door after dinner.

“You as well, Van,” she replied. “Could you please let Tessie know I’d like to come down and see her before we leave?”

“Certainly, my lady.” Van bowed and left the room.

While they waited for their parents, Elspeth and Ariadne sat in awkward silence as they drank their tea. Gale and Shadowheart sat on either side of her, with Wyll in an armchair nearby and Astarion leaning against the mantle behind her, no doubt eyeing the valuables.

Please don’t steal anything, she willed into his mind via tadpole connection. They already dislike me. 

She felt something akin to an eyeroll before he replied. Ugh. Fine.

“So, Wyll,” Ariadne broke the awkward silence as she sipped her tea. “You’ve… changed since I last saw you.”

“Indeed,” he said. “But you’ve stayed exactly the same.” He smiled as he said it, but El could hear in his voice that it wasn’t a compliment. Ariadne’s facade faltered for a brief second as she realized it, too. 

“I suppose you’re here to make amends with your father, now that he’s in good graces with Lord Gortash?”

“Don’t speak to my friends like that,” El snapped at her sister. “Clearly you don’t know Wyll at all if you think that’s the case.”

“Why else would he be back? Especially ballsy to return looking like a devil.”

“Shut your–”

Their squabble was interrupted when the Lord and Lady of the house entered the room, bringing a silence with them that was only broken by their light footsteps. They each took a seat beside Ariadne.

“Elspeth,” her mother said sternly, more of a statement than a greeting. “Why are you here?” Her mother’s already-stoic face was colder than usual.

El floundered. Suddenly, she was a child again, awaiting her mother’s ire as she stood above a shattered vase in the foyer. Crying on the terrace after getting her ass kicked by Ariadne as they learned to duel, looking to her mother for comfort only to find her staring down with disgust, pale green pools of apathy where her eyes should have been. Being charmed to behave at important dinners with nobility instead of just being trusted–this was the only time her father stepped in. He was a quiet man, and left the parenting to his wife, but it seemed that magic manipulation was where he drew the line. 

Gale’s hand on her knee was enough to pull her out of the flashbacks and back into the room. The room where her family sat across from and in direct opposition to her, seemingly ready to tear her down and humiliate her in front of her friends at any moment.

Friends.

She wasn’t alone this time. It wasn’t just her against her family. She was surrounded by people who cared about her, people who had become her true family over the past few months. She had the most wonderful man, the greatest love she’d ever known at her side. A would-be Dark Justiciar who defied an evil goddess in an unbelievable act of bravery and strength. A vampire spawn who would soon be free of his master for good, who made the difficult choice to be better every day that she’s known him. And, not to mention, the Blade of Frontiers, the son of Duke Ravengard, who once sold his soul for the people he cared about, and undoubtedly would do it again. 

She wasn’t small anymore, and she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t a disappointment to these people, but a beacon of hope. A leader. A friend.

“I’m here to save your life,” she said, locking eyes with Ariadne. “Whether you want me to or not.”