#her and adira are safe

[poebrey]

I forget that paramount hasn’t officially announced that Mary is coming back for Academy and then I see people talk about how Tilly had too many loose ends left lol

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

idk the way both tom and emily react when adira is out of the picture and presumed potentially dead or suffering atrocities at the hands of the state (hint: it's the latter) is interesting to me

[foursthemagicknumber]

Hear me out

Adira is tasked with following Varian to make sure he’s safe and when she gets caught and starts calling people by their defining characteristics hugo decides to call her read head because she quit literally has a red head

anyway just hugo and adira both calling people nicknames and the thing is neither of them know eachothers name

[gretchensinister]

Babylon 5 rewatch, S1 E3: Born to the Purple

Oh lol the TV-safe strip club

Yeah just take the bottle G'Kar

Lando is the first person in the series to canonically get laid (and wait till you learn later in the series what he's using!)

VIR on his switch in a meeting

"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy???"--This is a line that has lived in my head for I guess 30 years now. Sometimes I think it when my alarm goes off

G'Kar on Vir's switch at the meeting

Don't worry the probe goes in your mind

Starlaces spotted! That would be a fun item to recreate actually

I mean, it's surely to simplify things for the actors, but Adira and Lando have such different accents that it makes me think, "oh, I wonder what that means socially/regionally for each of them"

Lando really is a Romantic at heart, I suppose

Oh, it's Ivanova

That's such a 90's pillow on their couch

As a kid I looked at the data crystals and was like "that's cool but inconvenient because you can't label it like a tape or floppy disk" and then I ended up with several unlabeled flash drives and those aren't even aesthetic

I hope Vir was in that cheery mood on purpose *at* Lando

We're going to the MALL to commit INTERPLANETARY CRIME

VIR YOU'RE BEING PROMOTED

"Don't give away the homeworld." --another line that stuck with me

Piss off Drakis

I forget what happened to KoDath, because NaToth became G'Kar's attache later

How did the station develop a criminal underworld so quickly

The Shady Bug again! You build a bug, you use a bug

Lando I love your cloak but it really doesn't fit with the vibe

In a way...it was really lucky for Ivanova to be able to do that, with her so far away.

Mmmm marbles (he did just put what looked like a marble in his drink right?)

Background people like "damn was that the ambassador kicking a guy?"

Oh Lando...

[notsodailycake]

Here, i finally finished this💀

Meet my Zelink fan kids! I have alot planned for them, but I'm too shy to actually share everything, especially bc I've only now just started fully exploring Totk (i got the game around last month) and so i wanna make sure I'm like, canon accurate, but i wouldn't mind answering questions about them👉👈

Anyhow, some fun facts about the desings:

Sonia has scars on her eyes and the tip of her left ear, why? The ones on her eyes were caused by a wolf she came across the one time she ran away from home (due to her jealousy over her sister when she was born, it's a long story), the one on her ear is bc of a bird she tried to grab once since Adira thought it was cute and wanted to pet it (Adira was 2, Sonia was 5)

Sonia's earring was a gift from her bff/crush, a gerudo girl that imma keep secret for now bc I'm still working on her

Adira's feather necklace is a gift from her close buddy/bff, a rito, which I'm also gonna be hush hush about for now

Adira messes around with alot of not so safe devices out of curiosity and the need to create, but gets her hands dirty/hurt in the process, hence the band-aids

They both have small fangs thanks to their mom (iykyk)

Adira's favorite color is pink, Sonia's is blue

Also, huge thanks to @carogdraws for helping me desing their clothes! It was a huge help and i probably wouldn't have done it without it ^^

Now, those are the extra info i have for them, the rest of the basic info i have already shared will be under the cut

Yes it was copy pasted from the last post i did about them, but i have a need to keep everything in one neat little post sue me

The two girls are 3 years apart. Oldest is Sonia (yes, named after Queen Sonia herself), and the youngest is Adira

Sonia is more like her dad, especially in terms of looks, but she inherited her mother's eyes and thurst for answers. She's very energetic and adventurous and likes helping others

She tends to be the guinea-pig to a lot of her sister's projects and creations since she has almost no self-preservation. She enjoys it tho, thinking it as a fun activity to try out new things and hang out with her sister. She also enjoys carving things, mainly toys and masks. Most of her sister's toys were made by her when they were around 11 and 8

Although she is usually quite the airhead, and not really the brightest (like her dad, cough-), she definitely inherited her mother's overthinker mind. Doesn't help that she also tends to think little of herself, being the firstborn of the Princess and Hero themselves, alot of people put her under alot of high expectations and although her parents tried their best to show she didn't have to prove her worth, the gossip around town was hard to ignore, doesn't help the fact that her sister has started to become a prodigy to her mom, creating inventions to help hyrule and planning to bring the royal system back when she's old enough

Sonia though, has no intention of bringing the royal life back, nor to continue it. Like her dad she wants to explore, she's fascinated by history and wants to disvover every small relic left unseen. And she wants to travel beyond Hyrule one day as well and help those she comes across her path. But also perhaps, escape the duties and expectations others put on top of her, and perhaps prove herself better then those expectations

She loves her sister tho, despite everything, and will never admit to her how jelouse she actually is of Adira. How jealous she was of Adira of being able to hang out with their mom so much, have so much in common with her, sometimes she wonders if she has anything from her mom other then her eyes

Adira is alot like her mother, especially in the looks department, but she has her father's eyes and thurst for chaos. She's usually quiet, but very sassy when needs be, and although seeming quite shy, she got quite the temperament and wont hold back her tounge

Like mentioned previously she becoms a prodigy to her mom, creating and getting invested on inventions to help hyrule and planning to bring the royal system back when she's old enough. She spends most of her time studying and working on anything technology finding it fun to see what possible outcomes it came give

Although sometimes the pressure is too much, as much as her parents give her the liberty to explore her interests, as she had started to show advancements in her creations and helping hyrule, as well as proclaiming to bring back the kingdom (even tho she was a child when she said that), all eyes were now set on her and she is terrified of any failure, and to disappoint everyone, she usually confides on her sister who never cared of her status and just liked to be around her for her (and well, she felt too embarrassed about it to tell her parents about it, they didn't need to worry about such simple things in her eyes, they already fought the townsfolk so much bc of that, she didn't want to make them dislike her parents bc of her)

She admires her sister alot, looks up to her and wishes she could be as cool as her, as free as her, but she isn't good in any sort of physical activities and is usually just stuck in the lab. And that causes a smidge of jealousy as Sonia is able to bond more with their dad then Adira ever could, she feels like she has nothing in common to her dad other then his eyes and need for chaos (which the second part was something looked down apon by others)

And those are the basics i have so far, there is more but I'm unsure about it for now, and aren't 100% concrete yet, so i wont share at the moment

But before i end this, here are some small fun facts:

Both Sonia and Adira are pure glutons, just like their dad XD. They have cooking sessions together quite often, helping around the kitchen when they can;

Sonia loves horses as much as her dad does, but she is terrified of riding them, because when she was little and riding one for the first time, the person who set settle on didn't do it properly and she fell, head first into a rocky ground, and to add onto it, the horse stepped right onto her pinky. Now she has small panic attacks trying to ride them

Sonia actually used to hate Adira. Since Adira was a rainbow baby, Zelda and Link did kinda get overprotective with her and accidentally neglected Sonia. That didn't last long after Sonia did cause a whole scene with running away and almost getting killed- but that's likez a whole other story in itself lol (i might make a more detailed post about this later). But after that incident, they were able to work things out, and Sonia ended up being way more protective over Adira than her own parents

[the-andromeda-effect]

20

TW - abuse mention, violence mention, injury mention, mental trauma, ptsd

Caliban had taken many women to his bed the first night he’d met them, and that was the only night they’d spent together.  Some he’d dated for a while before becoming sexual.  None of those had ever brought about the conflict that he currently felt with Adira as she returned to the bathroom to finish changing.  It was not that there was not the physical desire for her, or that he knew that it would be far more than one night with her, but rather that the physical was so far less important at the moment than making sure that she felt safe and secure mentally and emotionally.  The other could wait, and he would wait, because he knew how wounded she was in all ways. He did not want to add to that in any way; certainly not if there was a chance of losing the way she looked at him by rushing or pushing for anything.  Whenever her eyes and his met, there was something that he could not describe within them, something that awoke a part of him that hadn’t been touched before, and he was finding he liked it.  

When Adira was once more behind a closed door, she leaned against it, holding the PJ pants to her as her heart thudded within her chest.  She had no idea what had made her so bold as to walk over to Caliban like that and just assume he would welcome her touch upon his bare skin and her help in disrobing.  It hadn’t been until she had actually been in the act of doing it that her brain had kicked in.  By then it had been too late and the only thing she felt she could do was continue, and now she was thankful that she had.  Just his initial response of covering her forearms and hands with his own had almost made her knees give way in relief and also a warm and safe sensation that had flooded her whole body.  She craved him in a way that she had never craved Mircea, in a way that she couldn’t even put into words. It wasn't blind lust, it was something deeper. 

From the day that she had met Mircea, she had known that they would be married.  It was why her father had introduced them.  Also from that day, she had alway tried to garner his approval, to please him, to make him proud, to elicit praise.  He had at least pretended in the beginning to be somewhat fond of her and that her efforts were more than enough.  The lack of overt affection understandable due to theirs being an arranged marriage, but it was one he seemed to desire, something that still confused her with how things eventually went.  However, the longer their relationship went, the more it was obvious that she was not who he wanted and that her efforts would never achieve the results that she hoped for.  She had still tried, no matter how many times she failed to live up to standards he seemed to change on a whim.  Up until the day she had been kidnapped, she had relentlessly tried.

Caliban was completely different from Mircea in every conceivable way.  One could say that their marriage was no less arranged than hers with Mircea had been.  It was not built on love, but an agreement to provide for her and keep her safe.  The difference was that even in the beginning of her relationship with Mircea she had not felt as safe and secure with him, nor had she felt as accepted.  Then there was something about the way that she felt when she was held in Caliban’s arms, the way just his voice calmed any fear or anxiety in her, the look in his eyes when he looked at her, his gentle and soothing touch when she was upset or hurting - it was all so new to her;  at the same time, it was like what she had always been looking for in the past, but never found.  

It was in wondering how he had not found a wife previously, with everything he had already shown her of who he was, that Adira came upon the thought that made her stomach turn: what if there were other women he was in a relationship with when he had saved her?  Could she do that again?  Could her heart take other women also being in a relationship from someone other than Mircea?  If there were, could she even do a fake marriage?  Her breath caught and her heart burned at the thought.

By the time that Adira finally opened the door again, Caliban had started to worry if things were okay with her.  The room had been too quiet, and she had seemed to be in there too long.  He had to keep reminding himself not to rush her.  Patience was never one of his virtues, but he knew that if he wanted to unwrap the delicate gift that was the true nature of the woman he now called his wife, he was going to have to learn some.  There was something about her that made him confident that whatever new skills he might have to learn or test he might feel like he was enduring, in the end, it would be worth it.

“Is everything alright?” He finally asked as she silently crossed over to the bed and began to place her jeans in the bag that he had brought up for her.  She hadn’t looked at him when she came out of the bathroom, nor even when he spoke to her, and this concerned him.  Before she’d gone back in, they’d once again been affectionate with one another and she’d seemed to be relaxing.  Had she had another panic attack of sorts?  

Still not looking at him, Adira’s voice came out soft and stuttered, “I hadn’t thought to ask before if…” She paused, gathering the courage to say what had come to her mind as she realized how much she was attracted to Caliban. It was as if the question was stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.  There was a fear of hearing the answer once it did.

“If what, sweetheart?” Calban asked cautiously, as head cantered.  He had heard the hesitation and nerves in her voice.   He pushed off of the dresser he’d been leaning against to walk over to her.  There was definitely something wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what could have changed in just a few minutes.  

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her head still bowed as if looking down into her bag.  “If you had…someone you were with..you know, when you..we...”  As she let her breath out, she steeled herself for the answer.  Her hands had balled to fists around the clothing she was holding, as if that would somehow protect her from the answer hurting her.  She had known many men who would be with multiple women simultaneously.  It wasn’t like she was naive to the way the world of rich and powerful men who looked like him operated.  Even those who were married often had more than one girlfriend on the side besides their wife. This was often the life wives of family heads led.

So that was the issue that had suddenly come to bother her.  The tension Caliban had been feeling waiting to hear what had upset her faded instantly.   He was glad her back was to him because he could not keep the devilish smirk off of his face.  Not that he was laughing at her, far from it; no, he was delighted that the beauty was concerned that she might have competition for his affection.  To him that meant that she too was starting to feel something for him in the same way he was for her.  Otherwise she wouldn’t care if he was in a relationship with someone else while being fake married to her.  Being fake married to Adira seemed to get better every time he turned around, and now he was going to have at least two weeks secluded with her in a mountain cabin.  Who knew what could happen then?

“And it would bother you if I did?”  The shaky inhale of breath after his question gave him his answer, just before his arms wrapped around her from behind.  She couldn't hide the slight tremble in her body from him, a tremble that he hoped his next words would quell.   Placing his chin on her shoulder, he let his warm breath fan across her neck with his next words, “my darling wife, if there had been, the moment I slipped that ring on your finger they no longer existed.”  He gently kissed the crook of her neck and continued, “there is now, and from now on always will be, only you, unless it is you who wants things otherwise between us.”  Caliban was never one to share a woman, nor did he expect a woman to share him.

As much as his words comforted her, she also felt like they were too good to be real. “Are you sure that you can be happy that way?” Adira was afraid to even hope, even if she prayed, to a god she had long since stopped believing in, that it was true.  She was under no illusion that Mircea had ever been faithful in their marriage, even from the beginning.  He’d always blamed her; of course it was her failure as a wife that led him to have to find others.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”  He kept his chin on her shoulder and laced his fingers with hers now that she’d covered his hands with her own.  Every time he thought he’d figured out how much damage that Mircea had done, something more was revealed.  There was no doubt the coming days and weeks would reveal more, and he would try his best never to repeat those wounds.  If he could, he would instead heal them.  

“Well,I…I don’t know.  I just know that no matter what I tried, I was never enough for Mi-” Suddenly Caliban’s hand was over her mouth, cutting her off as she felt herself fully pulled back against him.  Her eyes closed, her breathing stilled, and she waited for the pain.  Pain always came after the wrong things were said.  Hopefully Caliban would not be as brutal as Mircea had been.  She still ached from being dragged by Kondrat and the abuse in that basement.

banners by: @cafekitsune

[theinternetarchivist]

Oooh does Varian ever recognize his cousin Horace Eugene? Does he join Raps on her journey to the Dark Kingdom? Does Adira help him out on his journey? Where does Ruddiger come in? If you don’t mind me asking. Your au is really interesting, I’m captivated.

Oooooo these are great questions!

Okay so

1) I’m thinking he doesn’t, Eugene’s, or Horace’s existence might’ve been kept a secret from him to prevent him from getting too curious, or he might’ve been lied to/given too vague of details

2) he does! He’s definitely helping guide her because like, he already made the journey to Corona, he knows the journey back well enough. I need to find motivation for why they’ll return to the dark kingdom, I’m thinking it might be to prove the Sundrop’s existence and figure out what to do next which could always lead to a bit of tension cause King Fr*deric’s like “oh nah”

3) Adria *kind of* helps, she’s not there directly, in fact on the journey to Corona Varian doesn’t even know she’s there, but she is. She wanted to follow him to make sure he’d be safe, but she also wanted to follow him to stop Hector from interfering

4) OOOOO okay Ruddigar, I’m thinking he still meets Ruddigar in Corona and like- okay his only real exposure to animals are the horses the brotherhood keeps, Hector’s pets, and King Edmund’s bird, but he sees this Racoon likely try to steal his food but god dammit the Racoon is too cute to get rid of

And TYSMMM!!!! This au is totally taking over my little brain icl

[kousaka-ayumu]

Adira Amy

Warning: this may contain mature subjects such as bullying,mental health problems, rape, stalking, and abuse and depression.

Nickmakes: Adira(All), UglyBear(Yuzu), Adira-chan(Sonomi), Adira-shi(Idia), Amy-san(Ortho), Princesse des roses(Rook).

Twisted from: Bobby BearHug(Poppy Playtime), Cherry Blossom Cookie(Cookie Run), Honami(Project Sekai)

Voice claim: Fukagawa Ruka

Age:17

Height: 166cm

DOB: 2/14

Species: Bear beastwoman

Homeland: Queendom of Roses(Former)

Sagewillow

Family:

Elizabeth(Mother)

Eros(Father)

Dorm: Heartslabyul

Class: 1-C(No.3)

Club: Chess and gardening

Hobby: Taking photos of flowers, designing clothes.

Likes: Hugs, anything cute, photography, watering plants, romance books.

Dislikes: Plants getting trampled, people getting hurt, Yuzu.

Favorite food: Pies, anything related to honey

Least favorite food: Burned food.

Favorite drink: Tea.

Pet peeve: People think love is a disgusting and weak emotion.

"A second year at Heartslabyul, she's a very loving and caring girl, and the unofficial therapist, if anyone suffer from any mental health problem, please talk to her at her personal office."

Appearance

Adira is a tall girl with long brown hair tied to a ponytail with a red ribbon and deep blue eyes.

Background

Adira is the daughter of a psychiatric and a nurse in Queendom of Roses, unfortunately due to her being a bear beastwoman, she is stereotype of being a terrifying and a horrible girl due to many of her peers, causing her to get bullied by many kids.

This led to her being depressed as nobody stand up for her as well as being isolated and left out by the other kids, gradually she and her parents ended up moved to Sagewillow in order to keep her safe, but unfortunately it only led to her feeling guilt as her mom have quit her job at the Hospital and her dad quit being a psychiatric.

And now she didn't want anyone to go through the same thing she did, that's why she have her own personal office at the dorm.

Personality

Adira is very loving, kind and caring girl as she tries to help anyone and everyone with their problems as well as giving them a reason to live, unfortunately this led to her being called a people pleaser by the NRC NPCs but she tried to hide it with a smile.

Unique Magic: Calm Rose

It allows her to create silhouette rose vines, it help reduce a person's stress and lower the heart rate, however doing it too much led her to exhaustion.

Trivia

Her family and the Rosehearts knew each other.

Seh was put to sleep by Samara once while overworking herself and being too hard on herself.

She had a close relationship with Riddle, due to his problems with his mother he would often talk to her about, making them have a close relationship causing the other Heartslabyul students to mistaken them for a couple, making both of them denying it.

She likes having tea parties with her dolls and other stuffed animals.

Would go mama bear on anyone.

She almost overblot once but was stopped by Kalpana.

She knew about Carter's real self.

Adira loves romance books, movies, anime, manga and manhwa but doesn't like it when it involves @bu$ed, sta@lk1ng, and r@p3.

She didn't understand that she can't help everyone.

What do you guys think about her?

@zexal-club @anxious-twisted-vampire @yukii0nna

[mallmarrdlc]

Cassandra teleported onto the balcony and looked through the window. Nothing much changed in the house. All the people still looked the same. They all sat at the table in the room that was Lance's bedroom. Eugene must have returned from work not long ago because he was wearing his police uniform.

Cassandra quickly murmured a spell to be able to hear their conversation better, hoping that it would be something of significance.

'That's crazy that Adira came in the middle of the night and I never heard anything.' Lance sighed.

'Well, I suppose you do sleep in the other room a lot now...' Eugene shrugged. 'But more importantly, what are we going to do now? This battle will be much more difficult.'

'Isn't Elsa just a ghost?' Lance frowned. 'Like, what can she do? Jump scare us?'

'Oh, Lance, you weren't with us when we were fighting my mother all those years ago.' Rapunzel shook her head. 'It took a whole crew from the Windenburg Inn and a few vampires to beat her. And a couple of sages, too.'

'And I died!' Eugene made a dramatic gesture and chuckled.

'What?!' Lance sat up straight on his chair, his eyes darting between Eugene's and Rapunzel's faces. He was not sure what question to ask first. 'What do you mean you died?!'

'It's a long story, man.' Eugene shook his head. 'But what's important is that that woman is no joke. We need to be ready for this battle or it will end really badly this time. How's your magical training going, dear?'

'Well, everyone's saying that I'm doing well. But is it enough? I will obviously continue to practise as much as possible. And I suppose I could visit the market in the Realm and possibly prepare the potions. Just in case.'

'Better safe than sorry. That potion helped immensely the last time.' Eugene nodded.

'Is there anything you need from me?' Lance asked. 'Anything I can help with?'

'Just stay brave, Lance.' Rapunzel smiled lightly. 'And be prepared to make some difficult choices if need be. We don't know what to expect from Elsa. What sort of powers she has now. And how Cassandra is mixed into the whole thing.'

'We don't know what sort of sacrifices we'll need to make.' Eugene added.

Cassandra took in a deep breath. What she'd just overheard shook her to her core, but she knew she couldn't let fear get to her.

'Difficult choices, you say...' she muttered. 'Interesting...'

[twotangledsisters]

Honestly, Cassandra feeling like she HAS to use the midntrap to keep herself safe is a much better motivation than the lack of motivation we get in the show.

YES!

I could sit and list every problem I had with Season 3, but the mind trap and, more relevant here, the brotherhood, definitely on the list!

The idea of going to get soldiers isn't inherently bad.

But the brotherhood really felt like plot tools... Need a mid-season enemy? Hector.

Need cryptic information? Adira.

Need a season final enemy? Edmund.

Served their purpose? LEAVE THEM AT THE DARK KINGDOM.

And I get it, that's how you tell a story but... They've spent their entire lives protecting the moonstone, it gets stolen and they don't go after it? I hate that.

They should have been hunting the moonstone down! They could do so with the intent of saving Cass or of doing what's needed to get the moonstone back, but they should have been doing something!

And that would of course could make the mind trap a lot more of an interesting concept, because suddenly it's Cass seeking to protect herself and then maybe once she has it the power goes to her head?

Also, would have been nice for it to be the brotherood racing to the spire to save themselves rather than Rapunzel and Eugene, but that's just me thinking it'd be cool, not an actual critic.

I think the more I think of S3 the more angry I get and not because it was done badly but because it was so close to done properly.

Few tweaks here, few tweaks there and it would have worked!

[donnetellotheturtle]

Siren

Chapter 8

Varian watched as they approached the vessel of the Sundrop, smiling. Hugo was smiling, looking outwards towards the vessel. Varian liked his smile. It was like a warm breeze on a cold night.

“Okay love birds.” Adira put her hands on both the boys shoulders. “Behave.”

Hugo scoffed. “What do you think we’ll break something?”

Adira rolled her eyes, a tiny smile creeped up on her face though. Varian could tell Adira liked him, even just a bit.

“I think you two are going to get in more trouble than you need. Rapunzel is great at cleaning up messes. I’m trying to make sure you two don’t create one.”

Varian pouted “and what’s that supposed to mean?”

Adira ruffled her nephews hair. “Just behave yourselves, freckles.”

Hugo frowned. “we don’t have to tell them about the siren thing…right?”

Varian chuckled. “Nah. They don’t know about my mom, either. I’d honestly rather keep it that way for now.”

Hugo nodded, taking Varian’s hand.

Within an hour, they approached the ship, Rapunzel could be seen in the short distance, tugging on Eugene’s arm excitedly. They reached each other and the two anchored their ship together. Rapunzel was immediately over to Adira’s ship and hugging Varian tight.

“I was so worried! We didn’t know where you were going and we were worried he was going to hurt you and-“

Varian laughed. “Rapunzel, we’re okay.”

Hugo smiled lightly. Rapunzel turned to Hugo and suddenly he was grabbed in a tight hug.

“Oof! Okay we’re doing this now.” Hugo saw Varian giggling. He gave him the stink eye. Varian just smirked. Hugo would get him for that later.

“I was so worried about you too. Oh that’s a nasty cut.” She pointed to the now scabbing over cut on his cheek.

Hugo shrugged. “It’ll be an awesome scar in a week though.”

Rapunzel giggled, then released Hugo entirely. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything…”

Varian put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be. There’s nothing you could have done without putting our lives in danger.”

Rapunzel sighed softly. “If he ever comes after you again I’ll-“

“That wont be a problem.” Hugo said off handedly. “Their boat got swallowed up by a massive wave. We were lucky Adira got us off beforehand.”

Rapunzel blinked, unsure how to respond. “…Oh.”

Varian chuckled nervously. “Yeah. Rocked our boat pretty well.”

Hugo grabbed Varians hand without thinking about it. Rapunzels face immediately lit up.

“Are you two…”

Varian blushed deeply. Hugo smirked at that.

“Yep. We did it last night.”

Varian blushed deeper. “HUGO! NO WE DIDN’T!!!”

Hugo cackled. “Yeah but you know you wanted to.”

Varian smacked his arm, red as a tomato. “Shut up! Shut up! Don’t say that to Rapunzel!”

Rapunzel giggled softly at the boys antics.

“Hugo. Didn’t I just tell you to behave?” Adira asked.

Hugo pouted. Varian laughed.

“Thank you, Adira for taking care of them.”

Adira nodded, then pulled Varian into a hug. “Be safe…ill be keeping an eye on you.”

Rudiger climbed up onto Varians shoulders, nuzzling the boy. Varian smiled. “thanks Adira. I love you.”

“I love you too kiddo.”

Hugo and Varian made their way onto the sundrop, and waved to Adira as she sailed off. Varian was glad to be home.

Nuru and Yong came up to Varian and hugged him tight.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Nuru yelled. “you scared us!”

Varian chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for Hugo.”

They both looked to the blonde. Nuru just nodded. Hugo figured that was the best he was going to get from her. Yong however bounded over.

“Did you get that cool scar fighting those guys!?”

Hugo blinked. “uh…kinda?”

“Cool! Was the fight awesome! Did you win?”

Hugo let out a sigh of relief he didn’t know he was holding. He didn’t have to worry about being accepted here. He already was.

Hugo looked at Varian, then smirked, bending down to Yongs level. “Definitely. I wiped the floor with each and everyone of those guys.”

Yongs eyes shined. “woah!!! I bet Varian thought that was cool!”

Hugo chuckled. “He did. So much so he decided to kiss me.”

Varian went red again. “That didn’t happen!”

“Whos to say it didn’t?” Hugo grinned.

Varian glared playfully. “Okay when we were fighting off the pirates, you needed me to rescue you. And you fainted into my arms.”

Hugo took this as a challenge. “And right as you were about to get killed I popped back up and socked him in the jaw!”

“only cause I was able to wake you up!”

Nuru got in between the boys. “okay how much of this is actually true?”

Hugo and Varian looked at each other, then dissolved into giggles.

“none of it.” Varian managed to get out. “absolutely none of it!”

Hugo had tears in his eyes by the time the two finally calmed down to speak again.

“What really happened?” Nuru asked, crossing her arms.

“Hugo decided to be a little shit to the captain of the seporian and earned that scar in response. Then we sat in a cell for a week before Adira finally saved us.”

“it was worth it.” Hugo said, smiling. “Andrew was an asshole.”

“You could have been killed.”

“My point still stands.”

Nuru chuckled softly. “Well, Hugo, welcome to the family I guess. Anyone who stands by Varian is a friend of ours.”

Hugo smiled a bit. “…Thanks, Nuru.”

She nodded, and led Yong away. He was still excitedly talking about the pirate fight to her.

“Would you stop making everything sexual?” Varian asked, exasperated. Hugo could hear a bit of laughter in his voice though.

“What? Me?” Hugo asked in the most innocent voice he could mutter. “I am the most upstanding citizen of this ship!”

Varian rolled his eyes, then looked to the door to the inside of the ship. “Come on. I want to check on the flynnolium. Im sure the others messed up my system.”

Hugo smiled as Varian took his hand and led him down to the painters room. Varian closed the door behind him, looking at the balancer.

“Okay yeah they completely messed it up but I can fix it.”

Varian let go of Hugo’s hand, who pouted at the lack of touch, and went over to grab his tools.

“Can I help?” Hugo asked.

“Kind of a one person job but you can keep me company!”

Hugo chuckled, sitting. “I could tell you about underwater alchemy.”

Varian paused. “You have alchemy underwater?”

Hugo nodded. “I could tell you about it while you work?”

Varian nodded excitedly. “You have to tell me absolutely everything!”

Hugo chuckled at varians excitement, then nodded. “Where to start…”

The two chatted for hours. It didn’t take long for Varian to finish up fixing the balancer, but eventually, the two sat on the ground, going back and forth about alchemy. Different forms as they were, they were similar.

“my mom, Donella, made me the head alchemist in our pod!”

Varian cocked his head to the side. “Pod?”

“Oh. Its just a community of merpeople. Usually close knit. Kind of like what you guys have here.”

Varian nodded. “that’s super cool. We use that term for groups of dolphins.”

“Oooh!” Hugo grinned. “There are also huge cities underwater! The one I went to the night you caught me was one made of gigantic coral!”

“That’s amazing!” Varian put a hand on his chin, then leaned on his knee. “I wish I could go there.”

Hugo sighed. “…me too. I want to show you everything about my world.”

Varian blushed softly. “I want to see it all with you.”

Hugo blushed deeply. “Maybe we can whip up something to give you temporary gills?”

Varian perked up, his mind immediately beginning to whirl. “Yeah!” He stood and started pulling out his things.

“What are you thinking?”

“Im going to make a water breathing potion.”

Hugo chuckled, seeing Varian so excited. He went and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, putting his head on his shoulder. Varian paused.

“Maybe it can wait a minute?” Hugo asked.

Varian smiled softly, eyes flickering backwards to the blonde lips.

“I’d like to continue the conversation from yesterday.” Hugo whispered in Varian’s ear. He could feel the chills running down the alchemists back.

Varian switched around, taking Hugo’s face in his hands. “I’d like that too.”

Hugo leaned into Varian’s hands. It felt right. It felt gentle and kind and all the things Hugo had never gotten the chance to experience. Hugo’s heart was beating so rapidly in his throat that he thought it was just going to stop.

Varian brushed Hugo’s hair back, smiling lightly. The twos foreheads pressed together as they held each other in that moment.

Varian couldn’t take it anymore. He moved forward and gently kissed Hugo. Hugo kissed back with just as much gentleness. He didn’t want to risk hurting Varian by being too eager and rough. But moon above, he had waited long enough.

Varian held Hugo like something precious to be protected. Hugo had never been held like that. He’d always had to protect himself.

Varian kissed Hugo again. He tasted like freshly chopped cinnamon.

When the two finally pulled away, Varian smiled. Their foreheads were still pressed together.

“You’re my moon.” Hugo whispered. Hugo meant that by the way. Varian was his moon. How the boy had meant so much to him in such a short amount of time Hugo would never know. It was as if the goddesses of the sea and moon pulled them together.

“Hugo?”

“Hm?”

“…don’t stray far.”

There was that phrase again. He used it on the pirate ship. Hugo squeezed Varian’s hand. “Never.”

Hugo knew now. He had to get that moonstone ring. If nothing else, to keep this relationship with this wonderful boy. A relationship he never thought he’d have. Hugo would do anything to keep it. To keep him by his side.

Finally, the two broke apart, but not by much. Their hands were still intertwined.

Varian took a deep breath, then turned back to his work. “Now then…about this potion.”

--

Hugo sighed. It was late at night. The moon was full.

He didn’t have to go in the ocean tonight, thanks to Varian setting out a bucket of sea water for Hugo to splash himself with.

Hugo left the room and frowned. If he could find the ring tonight, then everything would be solved. Just tonight he’d check the kitchen. He doubted it would be in there but it was a good place to start due to the fact that it would be empty.

Hugo took a deep breath, and exited his room. Luckily this time, Varian wasn’t there. The feeling of guilt piled up in his stomach at that thought. This was for him. This was to keep this whole crew, Varians family safe.

He steeled himself, and headed for the kitchens.

He searched the whole of the kitchens. Just as he expected, nothing. Hed check the lower decks next. It had to be somewhere on this ship.

“Hugo.”

Hugo jumped. Turning, he saw Eugene. He looked…concerned?

“You okay kid?”

Hugo opened his mouth to speak but, he couldn’t think of a good excuse.

“You couldn’t sleep, huh?”

Hugo just nodded. Eugene softened. “Well, I got the solution to that.”

A couple minutes later, Hugo was confusedidly drinking hot cocoa out of a mug. It was really good.

“Thanks Eugene.”

Eugene nodded, sitting. “So, kid, you’re making eyes at Varian.”

Hugo blushed. “Well uh- I um…”

“He's making them back at you.” Eugene sipped his own cup of hot cocoa. “Listen, kid, Varians a good kid, a great one in fact! I’m happy for both of you! The thing about Varian is-“

“Hes too good for me?” Hugo asked. This conversation was coming from a mile away.

“No.” Eugene raised an eyebrow. “gosh kid you need therapy…what I was going to say was, Varian has a lot of trauma.”

Hugo looked at Eugene. He’d heard a little on the seporian but nothing that didn’t pertain to the situation.

“You mean with the pirates?”

“Before that.”

Hugo frowned.

“I wont go into it too much. That’s Varians story to tell. All I’ll say is, he’s been hurt before. He’s still hurting. He needs support. He has frequent nightmares. Probably PTSD.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

Eugene chuckled. “Cause you’re the first one to make him laugh so much in years.”

Hugo paused. “...he didn’t laugh much before?”

Eugene shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong he did sometimes. But since what happened to his dad…happened…he’s been closed off, angry. He was angry at Rapunzel for a long time.”

“At Rapunzel? Why?”

“…She made some decisions that hurt him.” Eugene looked into his cup. “And I wont lie, so did I. That was years ago…but Varian never really got past it trauma wise.”

“but you guys have such a good relationship.”

“Now we do. It took years of work. Sometimes we have to retread old ground, especially when he has a flashback.”

Hugo thought back to Varian, curled up in the cell, blaming himself for what happened.

“Does he get those often?”

“Nowadays no. He’s done a lot of work. But episodes still happen…just be there when they do okay?”

Hugo nodded, quiet. Why did he have to find this out from Eugene of all people?

“He didn’t tell you cause he didn’t want to scare you.” Eugene said, Hugo raised an eyebrow.

“Youre fairly expressive kid. Wasn’t hard to figure out what was going through that head of yours.”

Hugo frowned into his cup.

“I’m not saying this to scare you. I just wanted to warn you.”

Hugo looked at Eugene. “What can I do to help? When he…”

“Has an episode? Mostly pressure helps. Hold him tight until he calms down. Affirming words. Make sure he knows you’re there. There will be sobbing. It might be ugly. You prepared for that?”

Hugo nodded. “I’ve delt with worse. Whatever Varians gone through I can help him with. Because I’ve been through some shit too…done some shit too.”

“Sun above kid. You sure you also don’t need therapy?”

Hugo shrugged.

“…We’ll deal with that later. Just, support each other.” Eugene finished his drink, and noticed Hugo finished his. He picked up both drinks. “Now get some rest. You’ve both been through a lot.”

Hugo made his way back to his bed, just to notice Varian coming out of his bedroom. His eyes were half open, like he was sleep walking.

“Goggles?”

Varian looked up, then tackled Hugo in a hug, crying softly. He was shaking. Rudiger was on Varians heels, looking concerned. Varian clung to Hugo tight.

“Oh goggles….nightmares?”

“………..mhm.”

Hugo wrapped an arm around him and opened the door to his room. “come on, you can stay with me tonight.”

Hugo led Varian in. Varian clung to Hugos shirt, as if he was afraid he would disappear. Hugo knew this feeling well. It was what he felt when his birth family left him.

Hugo sat down on the bed and Varian was on his lap in a second, digging his face into Hugos shirt. Hugo wrapped them both in blankets. Pressure, Eugene had said.

After an hour, Varian finally calmed down, breathing shakily. “Hugo I’m sorry I just…I….”

“Hey. I’ve got you…plus I just had a conversation with Eugene about…everything.”

Varian paused. “Good timing.” He croaked out.

“Yeah sweetcheeks…Do you want to go back to your room?”

Varian shook his head shakily. “I…please don’t…I cant.”

“Okay. Settle in then. Let’s get comfy.”

“Snuggle o’clock coming to the station…”

Hugo chuckled. Rudiger snuggled his way in. They got comfortable. Varian was asleep in a moment.

Hugo put his chin over Varians head. “…I wont stray far.”

< >

Read this on A03!!

[cljordan-imperium]

Tag List

First - for @aziz-reads, @blind-the-winds, and @saltysupercomputer - I know your answer my adorbs friends <3 @raincoffeeandfandoms & @call-sign-shark - I know to tag you on my Peakyverse ones.

For - @writingmaidenwarrior. @pheita, @toribookworm22, @outpost51, @dreaminggoblin, and @thebejeweledwatercat - if you want things changed, just let me know.

NOW....FOR EVERYONE ELSE, DESCRIPTIONS OF MY WIPS ARE BELOW THE CUT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH WIPS, IF ANY, YOU WOULD LIKE TAGGED FOR WHEN POSTED.

You can like this post for all of them, or message/comment to let me know if there are just certain ones that you want tagged on

@theimperiumchronicles - The Four Horsemen have taken over hell with the Horseman of Death as Queen and the Horseman of War as King. Hell has been split into two level, Imperium is the upper where Abriella and Cruz rule and where beings live. Caligo is the lower, the spiraling torture pits. The ousted Princes of Hell want to take back their thrones and are waging war to do so. In addition to dealing with them, a new realm, Uffern, has come into play and how that is going to work out is still undecided.

@the-andromeda-effect - In Greek Mythology Andromeda was sacrificed by her parents to save their kingdom from Poseidon's wrath after her mother offended him, but Perseus saves her from death by a Krackon and takes her to his kingdom to be his Queen. Mircea (Meer-cha) Kalavati wasn't sacrificing his wife to appease a god, or bring peace to his clan, he was doing it to start a war with another. His mistake when he hired Caliban Andros was lying to him about why he wanted her rescued, then killed to look like those who had kidnapped her had done it. Never lie to your hitman. Now, like Perseus to Andromeda, Caliban has rescued Riona Kalavati and something is drawing him to the woman. He will kill to keep her safe, and her husband is going to regret that lie for what remaining life he has left. Now as Adira Andros, she is definitely Caliban's Queen, and his "army" has rallied around her.

@behindthesemasks - Melania LaVeau is a professor at LSU in Baton Rouge. She is also the grandaughter of Ambrose Meyers, one of the most powerful men in the country and the daughter of Marie LaVeau...yes THAT Marie LaVeau! Old money, going back to when the Gautier family came over from France to settle in New Orelans, there isn't much that goes on in Louisiana or Mississippi that they don't have their hands in. Meyers Worldwide, a tech conglomerate is a cover for underworld activities that will eventually come to light. What happens when someone decides to cross the most powerful, and immortal, Queen of Voodo and threaten one of her children? Will New Orleans be left standing? If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, or The LIbrarians, the story is in the same veign. All of the characters are human, but there are supernatural occurrences around them.

@bendingthelaws - Colin Masterson is the Cook Count State's Attorney. He has been on a mission to take down the head of a Chicago crime conglomerate that is headed by Constantin Rakeovich. Now someone has kidnapped his intern and is sending her back to him in tiny pieces. Is it Constantin? Is it another one of the people that Colin has crossed? Now he and those he trusts are going to have to figure it out before someone else disappears or is hurt. Complicating matters is that his brother, Colton Masterson is Constantin's defense attorney. The brothers have never been close, but in this situation, things take a much darker turn. Will Colton stand by his brother or his client? And what happens when something bigger happens and puts everyone Colin cares about in the crosshairs? If you are a fan of Law & Order, or any of those types of shows, this is much in the same vein and will involve more than just the lawyers. All characters are human. There is no supernatural beings or magic. Some places are going to be fictional, but the main setting is the city of Chicago.

@devil-in-the-details-ay - When Lucifer's daughter Yara gets bored and wants to intern for the Lord of Death, Astaroth, her father agrees. After their first meeting, the Devil changes the plans once more. Deciding to make Yara someone else's problem, she is now to be Astaroth's wife. Navigating this challenge, and those who will come against them both will reveal a lot about each other, and themselves. Is the Princess really as spoiled and entitled as she seems? Is Astaroth really the iceberg incarnate that he seems? Is she even who she believes herself to be? And what happens when someone decides to try to interfere in their relationship?

@magical-mistakes-vm - Vollrath, the Master Warlock of the local Coven, encounters Mahala (Mah-HAY-lah) preparing to do a ritual on his land. Her mistakes in not being careful in preparations allowed him to find her, but it also set up events in the future that they will need the help of his best friends Baldur and Elmar to deal with. A witch that has no clue what she is and a Master Warlock who is not used to letting people close have to navigate revelations that will change both their lives, and possibly even the Coven. When his brother, Balor, an equally powerful warlock within the Coven who he has been at odds with for years, also shows up and it is clear will be needed, it just adds one more complexity to the situation. Can they all get along to keep each other safe, or will one of them fall to those who are coming against them?

@princess-of-thieves-id - Princess Inara is set to marry Prince Diyan the next day, a man she has never met or even set eyes on. Ever defiant, that is the last thing she is going to do. Deciding to thwart her father's plans, the Princess slips out of the castle and sets to escape. Little does she know that the Prince's family sent Arik, the Prince's best friend and a trained assassin, to watch over her, fearing more that she would be murdered by enemies rather than escape. One thing that Arik knows is that Diyan doesn't want to marry Inara either, so instead of stopping her, he helps her with a promise to keep her safe if she stays with him. They make it to the next town, which is a port and aboard a vessel that is just preparing to depart in an effort to stay one step ahead of the soldiers now searching for Inara. Unbeknownst them, they have just become stow-aways on a pirate ship. Complicating things further is that Arik and the Captain of the ship are not strangers, and when a romance develops between Inara and Arik and the Captain deciding he would like her for his own, things become even more complicated. Not to mention all three of them are being hunted by multiple kingdoms. Nothing like a quiet day on the sea, right?

@tapperhet-em - When Princess Meeri's father is deposed by his brother, he believes she was part of the coup, and disowns her as his family flees the country. Lucky for her, she is found by one of the knights she befriended in childhood and is still loyal to her, Einar, before her uncle did. A members of nobility, he and three of his friends spirit her off into hiding where they can plan to figure out who set her up, help her rebuild a life apart from royalty, and decide how to bring about justice. Can the seeming unrequited love of Einar for Meeri turn into more? Or will one of his brothers in arms, cut him off from that possibility? And how close was/is the traitor to Meeri? Sometimes safe isn't as safe as you think...and destiny, it's more than just a lofty ideal. She is a bitch sometimes, and she will find you.

*****

Back to The 20's - ongoing story with Rose & Alfie Solomons who belong to @raincoffeeandfandoms

Annabella has been alive for almost 300 years. During a lot of that, the demon Jasper has been her best friend. While on an excursion to London, she had a chance to meet the dashing Tommy Shelby, but she knows a devil in a dress coat when she sees one, and they are nothing but business. However, when she meets the enchanting Rose Solomons, (OC of @raincoffeeandfandoms) the wife of Alfie, it becomes personal. She adores the woman and a friendship blossoms. Her good friend Gynnifer also shows up and has some wonderful ideas on how to make Rose's wonderful projects even better.

Bayou Witches - ongoing story with Heaven & Arthur Shelby who belong to @call-sign-shark

Arthur Shelby served in the military with Melania LaVeau's best friend Alexander. During that time, her fiance', Cade, and some of their old friends also were stationed together. Now dealing with PTSD and recently married, Melania suggests to Cade that he invite his old friends to their estate in the beautiful bayous of Louisiana to help him relax and have some comradery with his old mates. What could not have been predicted is that Arthur's wife, Heaven, is a powerful witch in her own right, who fits right in with Malania's family and instantly adopted. Who better to adopt the beautiful French witch, than the French Creole legacy family of the LaVeaus. Sometimes family is what you make it, not the blood in your veins, and in the bayou, anything is possible...

*****

Still working on 1st chapter ----

@sehnsuchtrising - The kingdom of Sehnsucht has fallen. The former royalty imprisoned. The fate of the kingdom is now in the hands of the five closest friends of the King - A beautiful sorceress (Katarina), a dark elf who has a slight pyromaniac streak (Sebastian), a Princess that tends to be highly overly dramatic (Aoife), a dragon trainer that was still an apprentice (Barkley), and a rogue and lockpick who is a klutz (Taliesin). What could go wrong??

[theimperiumchronicles]

Happy STS! Your characters are invited to a Halloween party; costumes required. Tell me what they're dressing up as and how the night goes. 🙃

Happy STS that tripped and fell over into Monday. ;)

I'm going to skip @theimperiumchronicles and go with some of the others cuz they need love <3

****

@devil-in-the-details-ay

Astaroth - the grim reaper

Yara - A butterfly (at Asti's insistence)

Their night would go lovely because it would not be spent in Hell. They would be on Earth. Where...you'll find out in the story later. ****

@the-andromeda-effect

Caliban - Scrooge (Adira picked it out, everyone else finds it HILARIOUS)

Adira - Aphrodite (Caliban picked it out)

Theron - Toth

Lars - Agent X from Men in Black

Marcin (2nd Bodyguard) - Agent K from Men in Black

The party will be, of course, at the mansion. Adira will have a blast as those around her relax some knowing that all is safe on the estate grounds. There is lots of laughter and fun, not one drop of worry. (this will be vastly different from the Halloween one shot for this storyline)

****

@magical-mistakes-vm

There is a theme here - the whole cast will be dressed up in 1920's attire. Think Magical Mistakes does Peaky Blinders. Of course Vollrath would be Tommy. Balor states that Mahala is NOT Grace (because not dead) or Lizzie (for reasons)...she's some nebulous 3rd female who Tommy doesn't fuck over. *snorts* Balor, being the older brother, is of course Arthur. Baldur grows out his beard to go as Alfie. Elmar does his best to pull a Luca. The party would be hosted by the Coven. No one is going to piss Vollrath or Balor off because...reasons. Mahala would get to meet many of the others from the Coven that she had not already met, which would go very smoothly. The night would be a great success with everyone having a fun time in the 1920's theme.

For funsies, Balor and Elmar both decide once more to try and "steal" Tommy's girl. Now...this goes as expected...but at least this time most of the time they're laughing at the Blinders jokes that go along with it. The only hitch is that afterwards Vollrath and Balor both get teased mercilessly regarding haircuts till they grow out. Definitely season 5...lawd... ****

@princess-of-thieves-id

Diyan/Noar - Capt. Jack Sparrow

Inara/Renisa - Elizabeth Swan

Arik - Will Turner

There will most likely be at some point a sword fight. Someone is going to get slapped, most likely Diyan/Noar. And, just like the movies, Elizabeth Swan will be leaving the party with Will Turner. *laughs*

****

Tapperhet

Meeri - Snow White

Einar - Prince Charming

Lorcan - Huntsman

Elio - King

Thieran - the apple

Hilarity. The night will be pure hilarity. Why did Thieran pick the apple? Because he wasn't damn well going to be the Queen, she was a right bitch. So, instead he wanders around looking like a cast member of an underwear commercial and making way too many jokes involving apples, and fruits, and...it's bad, okay. Just try not to think too hard. That being said, the others all agree he would have slayed in a gown!

****

@behindthesemasks

Melania - her mother. *dies* Who else would be fitting but to go as Marie LaVeau? Marie, coincidentally finds this hilarious and lends her period garments and does her hair and makeup.

Nic - Papa Legba

Alexander - Hamlet

Ambrose - Baron Samedi

Cade - Gede Nibo

Marie - Manman Brigitte

Gabe - Diable Tonnere

Klaus - Baron Criminel

Erik - Guede L'Orage

Dontanion and Francois don't need to dress up, they scare the shit out of people as is.

If you think ANYONE is stupid enough to disrupt a Meirs-LaVeau party on Halloween, of all nights, you would be wrong. Everything will go perfect, because if not...those Loa mentioned...well, they won't just be costumes....

tagging @raincoffeeandfandoms and @call-sign-shark cuz I think you'll find the one for Magical Mistakes a wee bit humorous even if you don't know the characters from that one. (put pics below so you can try to do an imagine)

Also, Sharkey, I can see Heaven partying it up with LaVeaus...

@blind-the-winds - look what our Magical Mistakes babies are doing!!

@saltysupercomputer - Looook at them all, they's all having funsies!!

@aziz-reads @toribookworm22 @pheita @writingmaidenwarrior

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

@lacunasbalustrade OKAY SO this scene is one which I have since deleted and will never happen which is Sad because it has some incredible moments in it character-wise.

so all you really need to know is that in this story, Adira is the main character (who looks like Megan Follows, incidentally), Neil is her adopted uncle (originally a prickly sort of guy who had a marked aversion to his nieces, responsibility and religion, but who warms up to his nieces and religion and figures out how to deal with responsibility without spiraling into a depressive episode ANYWAY-). Neil is also a doctor. Emily is Adira's adopted sister and Neil's actual niece. Tom is Adira's love interest/at that point husband I think. I never fleshed out the scene within the timeline enough to know.

anyway, skipping past lots and lots of exposition, we get to where this scene originally came from.

my dad once had a dream. he's probably forgotten it by now but I remember when he described it to us: very vividly, a dream in which he and others were taking shelter in an old shack, and he saw clouds moving at a tremendous pace. he had just enough time to think 'oh that's gonna be wild wind' before, instead of the wind hitting, he woke up. that's all of the dream, but as he described it i could picture it in a way i still can even though it's years and years later by now. I've had a very similar dream since. it felt apocalyptic.

in this scene, Emily, Adira and Neil are trying to shelter from a violent storm. Adira is waiting for and expecting Tom back, but Neil is casting a very worried eye to the sky and telling her that she needs to shelter. she's terrified for Tom, who will have no or very little shelter. she keeps watching for him.

"you need to come in!" says Neil, because it's getting wild and the storm front is racing towards them. "like, two seconds ago!"

she turns around. "not without Tom," she says.

"you'll be killed!" he says, and without waiting for her to object he straight up grabs her and drags her inside to safety. in the process he is required to hit her to get her to stop fighting him, just on the off chance Tom is there. they shelter while the storm rages. Emily is fuming, and the moment it's deemed safe enough to come out, she snaps and yells at Neil, how dare he strike her sister, &c., and he retorts coldly that it was to save her life. Adira is refusing to contribute to the question, since she fully expects that Tom, who wasn't back in time, has been wiped out by the storm, so she's busy grieving. turns out in the end that he found somewhere else to shelter and wasn't injured, and everything is happy, but I really liked the way Neil and Emily's argument played out. Neil has a tendency to have two sides to him: the warm, loving, deeply feeling side of him, and the cold clinical side, like when he tells Tom things he doesn't want to hear about Adira's health. he's... really not good at combining them, and it's always a fun dynamic when he feels pushed into doctor!Neil for whatever reason. he can be utterly heartless, even though he'll pay for it in the feeling later. he's sabotaged several relationships due to this disparity, including but not limited to an engagement that was broken due to circumstance and he was the one that then kept them apart later. (this is its own post in itself, The Relationship has defined his life in a way and he only gets closure a couple of decades later after some pretty brutal emotional things are said to him by Her.)

anyway i hope i sold this moment to you. i probably didn't, but it's so special to me even though it's never going to happen in the story

tagging @stealingmyplaceinthesun neil mention

[birb-tangleblog]

TTS Brotherhood Ask Game!!! :)))))

9. Who do you think is the most skilled in fighting?

14. Do you think the Brotherhood should continue with new members?

18 What is a cool headcanon that you liked from someone else?

9. Who do you think is the most skilled in fighting?

Ohhh man, this is a tough one- I see them as pretty evenly matched? I can imagine them all countering each other in different ways, and perhaps having favorable/unfavorable matchups- though I think they're all be close enough in skill that any fight would be a tossup.

Honestly, I kinda want to compare them to a starter trio from pkmn? (or rock paper scissors lmao)

Hector -> Quirin -> Adira maybe?

I feel like Hector's win condition against Quirin would be to outmaneuver and take him down before he runs out of stamina. Quirin is a tank, but also slower and the easiest to outspeed- Hector's aggression and decisiveness benefits him here.

Quirin, in turn, would win a war of attrition against Adira- if Adira didn't engage, he wouldn't burn himself out like Hector would. He can play just as defensively and patiently as she can, and out-endure.

And like we saw in the series, Adira has an excellent balance between strength, defense, and dexterity, and leverages each to her advantage. I'm not sure one member of the brotherhood is objectively the most skilled fighter, but of the three, imo she's probably the most reliable.

If we're talking canon/post-series and not hypothetical matchups, I debate on if Hector or Adira would be stronger. Quirin is obviously rusty, so he's out. Hector is isolated, and not necessarily fighting skilled opponents most of the time- but he probably practices and drills himself religiously. Adira's out in the world, so more likely to encounter trouble and test her skills- but she also might avoid fights because it's safe/practical.

We do see Adira beat Hector in a fight in RatGT, buuut I think that could've gone either way.

14. Do you think the Brotherhood should continue with new members?

Honestly, no! I think the Brotherhood, as it was, needed to come to an end. The secrecy, the demand of loyalty to the point of self-destruction and sacrifice, the legacy of the moonstone and the mindtrap talisman… it's better left in the past. (I also tend to HC that the Brotherhood favored recruiting orphans or children who otherwise had nothing, which is another reason the system would need to change in my mind.)

I think the Brotherhood could definitely reform, possibly under a new name, and become more inclusive/healthy- I really like the HC that in a canon-compliant ending, Hector goes on to be a teacher/mentor for the next gen- but part of rebuilding the DK would be starting that part of it anew.

18. What is a cool headcanon that you liked from someone else?

Xannerz has really cool thoughts on the DK and the Brotherhood!! Hard to pick just one w/ all our chatter, but I really like her headcanon that not everyone left the DK in the evacuation and a small handful of the citizens stayed behind. Ones who were older or sick, and just couldn't make the long journey, or maybe who refused to leave out of love/loyalty to their home- Edmund wouldn't have been completely alone, but it's still bleak and tragic in its own way.

Meechatuck's idea that Quirin is actually quite skilled at picking locks and Mo (rainyday-deer)'s old HC that Hector whittles are also both very cute to me!

[the-andromeda-effect]

15

While Caliban is up with Adira, the men are down at the Gatehouse talking.

“Wait, so she really IS Riona Kalavati?” Marcin shook his head slightly, trying to get it to sink in. Lars had brought he and Pietre into the gatehouse to talk privately, after Caliban headed back to the mansion after the status update. That one piece of information was giving Marcin the most problems digesting. No matter who she was, if Caliban wanted her protected, he’d do so, but how Mircea Kalavati’s wife could ever become Caliban’s wife confounded him.

“No, Riona Kalavati died in that house we raided where the Marabioli’s were holding hostages. Remember, we had a hit job there because someone was trying to start a war between the families? That was Riona that wanted to start the war to get out of her marriage, according to Mircea. Adira is the woman you saw who came out with the boss, the one that he was protecting, and put in the line of fire to keep her safe. Didn’t you hear, Lars, they’ve been married since before Riona disappeared? Theron can show you the paperwork and the marriage certificate is framed in the boss’s office. You need to keep up, Marc, or you’re going to get replaced on the security detail.” Pietre elbowed him with a slight smirk, having understood very well what Lars was telling them, and what it meant. “So, Svarog and I are going to stay here, and help Theron figure out who helped that bastard hurt the boss’s wife? Sounds like we’ll also be working out if there is anyone else working against him?”

“That’s the plan. You can understand how in just over twenty-four hours after being freed from the Marabioli house where she was held prisoner, to be drug across the lawn of her own home with a gun to her head might be a bit…stressful.” Lars inclined his head to add emphasis. “Marcin, you’ll be coming with us to Caliban's cabin in the mountains. Caliban wants to take her up there for seclusion and to recover from the trauma. The newly married couple would also like some time alone together, since that has been in short supply lately. You and I will take shifts. Since it’s just going to be the four of us, we are getting the luxury of not having to share a room and getting to stay in the guest rooms that he usually reserves for his friends.” He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "I can tell you that Mrs. Andros is terrified of thunder, but she will do fine as long as the boss is with her if we have a bad storm. Otherwise some hand holding might be in order. That storm we had last night was not a fun experience for her.”

Marcin nodded. He was now understanding what was going on, if still a little confused why Caliban was somehow married to Mircea Kalavati’s wife. That seemed like a good way to start a war with the Kalavati family to him, but he was not going to challenge the boss. “Hand holding I can do. She seems like a very sweet woman.”

“She is. Don't ask me how this all got started, I don’t know. Given Caliban’s temperament at the moment, I wouldn’t go asking him either. It is clear that he cares for her, and I would venture deeply. Theron seems to have affection as well. So our two bosses want this woman looked after.” His lips thinned as Lars smiled. “During the storm Caliban didn’t release her even after she’d fallen asleep. Whoever she started life out as, she is Adira ANDROS now.” His brows rose to add emphasis.

“Is she okay?” Pietre asked. He’d been wondering. Lars hadn’t really said and they knew that she’d been taken out of the gatehouse by Caliban and Theron caging her so that she didn’t have to see the blood and body from the earlier violence.

“As best a woman that lived under routine beatings from Mircea Kalavati, then a kidnapping by the Marabioli clan, and now almost getting shot in the head by her new husband’s guard could be doing. That is to say, physically she is fine, but emotionally I won’t venture a guess. Neither Theron nor Caliban are letting anyone near her. I guess we will know when we leave tonight.” Lars sighed.

“You two take care of her up there with Caliban. We’ll ferret out the traitor or traitors to the boss, so it’s all safe when you get back. There is just something wrong with this whole situation.” Pietre looked between the other two men.

“I don’t disagree. Kondrat was way too confident for him to be acting on his own. He was having help from somewhere and thought that whoever it was, they were going to cover his ass. For him to have pulled her right from behind you, that means he knew he was going against the boss.” Marcin shook his head slightly. "So that means we have at least one other person.”

"Which is why the five of us will be Caliban’s eyes and ears for a while. He needs to focus on Adira. Right now she's clinging to him but she could just as easily get spooked and then we'd have to hunt her down and hope Mircea didn't find her first." Theron joined the other three men. With Adira resting and Caliban packing, he'd decided to see how everyone else was doing.

"Ther, so you think that Cal is in danger too? Do we need to step up security in general when they come back?" Pietre asked, the question having been growing in his mind.

"I don't think there's a threat to Cal, yet. That yet may change. Any leak or someone working for another family is bad news though. It weakens us," was Theron's answer.

"I'm going to address the elephant in the room, so don't shoot me. How did Cal go from entering that house to kill Riona Kalavati to exiting with his new wife?" Marcin knew that he was in dangerous territory but if he was going to unequivocally have Caliban’s back, he wanted to understand. Theron had the answer, he was sure. He only hoped that he didn’t die for his curiosity

Theron chuckled before explaining how absolutely everything the previous day had happened. When Caliban had started feeling attraction to the beautiful brunette, he couldn't say, but the chemistry had been obvious even to him from early on in their meeting. He had no reservations about the arrangement or relationship. If he had, he would have voiced them to Caliban personally..

"I believe she is going to do Cal and the organization a world of good. She seems honest and trustworthy. As you can see, he's a little protective. Truthfully, we both are." Theron chuckled.