#i argued that he coulda just told me to pick it up for him

[catsoupki]

bad day :0

[pretending-ican-write]

Cowboy Up - Pt.2

A/n: I have the first 3 parts of this written and I haven't decided when I want them to get together/how long of a slow burn it's gonna be. These are all many years pre-season and I'm torn between them getting together then, shortly before the show or during the show. If you have any thoughts let me know!

Pairing: Ryan (Yellowstone) x Dutton!reader

WC: 996

Previous part - Next part

---

Later that evening, y/n watched from her seat at the end of the bunkhouse table as the hands squabbled over whether Jake had managed to cheat his hand.  Her arms crossed, she couldn’t help the smile on her face as she watched the scene in front of her unfold.  

As they began the next round one of the hands caught her attention, “you playing Dutton?  Figures you the one with the most money to lose.”

“Call me Dutton again and I’ll take more than just your fuckin’ money,” she threatened, “but if you want to lose your wages to a woman then its your funeral.”

Lloyd called to her, “Beer y/n?”

“She’s fuckin’ 20!” Ryan argued.

He rolled his eyes, “20 and been rodeoing 2 years.  That counts for more than whatever some fool decided was legal.”

“Appreciate the defense but I don’t drink Lloyd.  Seen it ruin just as many people on that damn circuit as drugs, if not more.  Picked my vice and it ain’t that,” y/n explained, “now deal me in.”

As they began the round, Rip came through the door sending silence through the room.  Y/n looked up from her cards to the foreman and the grim look on his face.

“Was hoping to give you some more advance warning than this but word got to your father you’re here,” Rip warned, “reckon you got about 10 minutes.”

She sighed, “you gonna ruin my evening Rip least you can do is play my cards for me.  I’ll take this outside gentlemen.  Apologies for any disturbance to your game I may cause.”

With a tip of her hat, y/n left the table and headed out of the bunkhouse.  She could see her father coming down the track and settled on the steps of the trailer.  Whilst she waited, she pulled a cigarette from her jacket and lit it, exhaling the smoke into the crisp air.

“Having one of you smoke’s bad enough,” John commented.

Y/n rolled her eyes, “Yeah well you gotta have one vice on the circuit and this one kills me the least.  Plus you can still ride straight whilst addicted to it.”

He leant against the barn, observing his daughter who was in front of him for the first time in two years.  She let him sit in the silence as she finished her cigarette, watching as the smoke disappeared into the night air.

“Coulda told your father you were coming home,” he said eventually, breaking the thick silence.

She let out a bitter laugh, “I’m a wrangler.  Rip deals with them.  I’m not here for you, I’m here for me and I ain’t about to be no pawn in your fuckin’ game dad.  I’m a wrangler.  I’ll do what they do and I’ll do anything for this ranch but know it ain’t for you.  It’s for me, it’s for Kayce and it’s for my nephew.”

“At least come back to the house,” John relented.

Y/n shook her head, “It’ll be a long time before we’re there Dad.  Trailer is more than comfortable.”

Her dad nodded and turned on his heels, “just know that the door is always open for you.”

She watched him leave and leant against the trailer, watching the clouds roll over the sky.  The noise from the bunk house radiated out towards her.  The words reached her ears and she laughed at the empty threats that came with poker.  Out of instinct, she reached for another cigarette and placed it in her mouth.  With her lighter in hand she stared out at the vast expanse in front of her, hidden by the darkness the clouds brought.  It was just as vast as when she left, and had just as many conditions.

The door to the bunkhouse opened, spilling the swearing out into the night.  Ryan stepped out into the cold and trained his eyes on her.  The look in her eyes as she took in everything she’d returned to and he pushed the feeling it brought to him deep in to the pit of his stomach.

“Mind if I join you?”

She broke her gaze from the mountains, “lose all your money?”

“Something like that,” he laughed and sat next to her on the steps.  

A comfortable quiet settled over the pair with the noise from the bunkhouse curving around the bubble they were in.  The clouds continued to move over the sky, obscuring the stars from view.  Y/n weren’t much in the mood for starting conversations so she allowed the quiet to stay, letting her eyes close after a few minutes.  Ryan let her, keeping one eye on her and the other on the sky. 

“It’s good to see you back y/n,” he commented after a while.

She opened her eyes to look at him, “it’s good to be back Ryan.”

“You’re all grown up.”

Y/n let out a frustrated groan, “fuck I was grown when I left.  Y’all just never saw it.”

Ryan laughed and pushed the feeling he could feel creeping up back down where he wanted it to stay.

“New hand got an eye for you,” he said, as non-chalantly as he could manage.

She felt something inside her at that, “the one that can’t rope?  He’s cute.”

“Don’t start that shit,” Ryan growled.

Y/n threw her cigarette onto the ground, “you don’t get a say in what I do Ryan.”

“If he touches you I’ll take him to the train station myself,” he threatened.

She stood up, “I don’t need you defending me.  Rest of this damn ranch treats me like a fuckin’ kid so don’t you start.  Be a man or keep your god damn opinions about what I do with my life to yourself.”

 With that, y/n stalked back into the bunkhouse and slammed the door behind her.  Ryan watched her go before resting his head against the cold metal of the trailer.  It was gonna be fucking hard to keep that feeling where it was meant to be.

[knight-already]

For the Snape celebration2023

its a old post though but I thought it was perfect ~ :3

For week one; The Muggle

At the local library in Cokeworth.

A young Severus Snape had gone against his parents wishes and went to listen to the stories they read, he was hiding in the corner out of anyone's way. 

"My Gram use to bring me.” Severus explained, when they noticed he was alone, ”But she died." Usually left him alone after that, Severus was being taught to read by his mother but they didn't have much books home for him to explore. Usually his gram would take him by the library, it was their tradition until she died. Severus had asked his mother to take him but she told him that she was to busy. So, he came on his own.

One day his father comes to find him in a panic as he wasn't playing in the forest as he usually was, with his mother, Eileen trailing behind. Tobias feared the worst, after he couldn’t find his son, Eileen who always told him that nothing could hurt him there was for once feeling just as panicked as him.

There were times Severus would use his magic without a care in the world, for example, he liked to jump off tall trees and either float down or land on a much softer earth, that reached out to catch him faster than his father could. Tobias was always worried that one day someone would see him preform magic and they would take him away.

But when they had finally found him, relief quickly turned to anger.

"Son! " Tobias smacks him behind the head once he was in reach with that trouble maker he called a son. Here he was fearing the worst -- He could even finish that thought, he was just glad his son was safe.

"Ow, Da! Gram said your not suppose to be playing rough with me!" Severus held the back of his head.

"Gram --" Tobias deflated a bit before retaliating, "Well, Gram also said you weren't supposed to run off on your own!"

Severus gasped as he got caught, "I'm sorry.” he bowed his head, “But gram always takes me to hear stories."

"Why,” Tobias asked sounding rather tired, "didn't you ask yer ma?" Tobias eyed his wife

"She said no." Severus kept his head bowed talking softly

" I told you” Eileen says a bit annoyed, "I was busy, and that you should go play."

"I want to listen to stories!"

" it's a long way from home son. It's not like you playing in the forest, something coulda happened. "

“I know how to get here.”

“Ah this kid!” Tobias sighed through clenched teeth, he blows out a breath before saying more calmly, “Let's go now son.”

“I won't go!”

“You stubborn little creature! Acting like I can't just pick you up!”

“No!” Severus protested

“Elaine!” He whisper yells, trying not to draw attention, “He's gone and stuck himself to the floor again!”

“No, I won't go!” Severus crosses his arms across his chest.

“Why?!” Bellows the frustrated father.

“Cause I want to hear the story!”

“You don't hav'ta do nothing!” Tobias said trying to pull him free, “we're going home.”

“No!”

“That is enough!” This was the first input Eileen had added since it started.

“This behavior is unacceptable Severus.” She crossed her arms looking down at him, “We are not staying here, you purposely ran away and you think you should be rewarded? Your smarter than that.”

Severus didn’t pay her any mind, “Da please ~”

“Severus --” Call Eileen again

“Fine,” Surrendered Tobias, “unstick.”

“Tobias!” She said looking over at him betrayed, he was always to soft on him.

“I dunno how.” Severus said looking at his feet.

“Alright...” Tobias drawls, “I guess we have no choice, Da's gonna have to just cut 'em off.” Tobias reaches into his pocket to get his whittling knife. “wont hurt a bit son.”

“No!” Severus in his panic had managed to unstick himself.

“There!” Tobias hulled him off his feet, ”Gottcha you rascal.” and throws him over his shoulder,

“You promised!" Severus said hitting Tobias back with his little fist.

“Fine,” Tobias sighed, the fight leaving his body, he was just so tired, “one story.”

*

After

“You’re to lenient with him!” argued Eileen once they were home, and Severus was put to bed.

“I got him to unstick didn't I?” Tobias was so tired, he just wanted to sleep.

“I would have made him listen if you hadn’t budded in!” Elieen persisted, “its your fault he’s like this!”

“My fault?” Tobias said growing angry, “It wasn't me who lost him! You never know where he is! I’ve asked you to not let him run off in the forest you can’t do that usually -- why would I trust you’d be able to do this?”

“So this is my fault?”

“Yes, it is! You’ve got to watch him he’s only a boy what more its all this magic business!”

“I told you I was busy!”

Tobias laughed humorlessly, “You were busy? doing what? sitting on your arse all day? It couldn't be that you were cleaning, cooking or mending, your rubbish at it all! Look at this place!”

Eileen flushed with shame, “You think its so easy?”

“Oh no, I’m sure you worked hard all day... That’s why the house looks like this --!”

The door creaked and there was the softest gasp.

“Oh great,” Tobias mumbled throwing the covers off of himself, going to get his little ease dropping Severus, “does no one sleep anymore?”

In one swift movement Tobias opened the door caught Severus who was secretly trying to sneak away and grabbed him, “What are you doing outta bed?” He asked maybe more angrily than he meant too, he tried to calm himself.

Severus cringed a bit as his father had grabbed him to roughly, not mindful of his strength and the smaller body, “I’m sorry Da.”

“Its fine son,” he sighed, as Severus put his head on his shoulder “Lets get you back to bed.”

*

Severus is pretty young here but idk how old, maybe six? he hasn't met lily yet if that helps.

[totentnz]

a little something for the AU @bishicat and me have been fucking around with. essentially everything is the same but my v (viper) gets to be unhinged and without a brainworm, making viv's life just a bit more chaotic lmao enjoy!

"i'm not a chair jockey, viv." viper was clearly annoyed at the request for help with this gig. "coulda told me before what you were up to, woulda joined ya." there was a pop up in viv's user interface; access requested. johnny popped into her vision now. "don't."

it had only been a few days since v crawled from the wreck that was the arasaka tower gig and he had watched her stumble and fuck up for long enough. when he said he didnt want her dead anymore, he was telling the truth: he needed her to fix his past mistakes and she wouldnt be able to do any of it with the way things were going right now. she lost all her implants and was now living the life she had given so much to avoid. it was a fucked up stitch and he felt for her, perhaps he even appreciated her unwillingness to lie down with the fallen. they had to get through this together and two heads were better than one, especially if one was filled with hot air and pipe dreams, johnny thought.

he was sitting on a barrel next to her. though she didn't reply to him and her hesitation meant she was willing to hear him out. "don't trust the chick." he lit one of his cigarettes and took a drag. "sides, shouldn't allow any runner into ya system." he watched her, tried to grasp what was going on in her thoughts, was curious to see if she would give his words the time of day, see if she would even consider if what he was saying was true. "she's not any runner though. i trust her." the engram rolled his eyes and adjusted his position to face v. "clearly ya do but that don't mean you should." johnny was getting agitated now, how could she be so blind? within a year she was betrayed twice: first by saka, then by dex and yet she would still a person so blindly; a person going by viper of all things.

"what the fuck are you talking about? you --" their conversation was interrupted by the voice on the holo. "viv? c'mon you said this was time sensitive." this interruption pissed him off even more. she was so full of herself, thought her time was so precious, on her netrunner high horse. "sorry, giving you acess now." viv finally said and johnny would've held his breath if he had any. this could be the end, he was given a second chance at life and it would all end so quickly just because he had to wake up in a gullible gonk's skull. however, nothing did happen, yet.

"a'ight. look up for me, find a camera." viper instructed, the tone in her voice was a bit too playful however. "why are all netrunners fuckin weirdos, control freaks?" he wondered. johnny wasnt surprised when viv looked around like she was told to; what a great employee, following orders without questions.

soon multiple icons depicting a snake bearing it's fangs popped up all around her vision, meaning viper was hacking away already. it was all so fast these days, she didnt even need to be present, didnt need to be physically jacked into any port to fuck with the system. it freaked him out though v being completely unphased by it was somehow worse.

"your funeral." johnny jumped down from the barrel he sat on just to appear on one of the catwalks in the factory a few feet in the air. "you've seen my memories, you know her as well as i do! you know she can be trusted!" viv argued. "yeah, that's what worries me. how long's it been since the two of ya last spoke? 4 years? more? an' she hasnt changed a bit? 's just ready to help ya? pick up exactly where ya left off? after you abandoned her for a corp? doesnt seem likely to me." he paraded, walking up and down the metal walkway, erratically taking a drag from his cigarette after each question. "it's called friendship, johnny, know ya dont trust nobody. doesnt mean i have to." viv ducked behind one of the barrels to hide from the patrol that was making their way back into the hangar and johnny threw the cigarette bud down at them.

"place should be your playground now. doors unlocked, cameras on loop, turrets shut down." there it was again, that chick really thought she was the best runner there is, ridiculous. he was itching to give her a piece of his mind, another downside of not having vocal chords of his own.

"thanks val, owe ya one." viv replied with a smile and johnny stretched out his arms, letting himself fall off the catwalk. "on my way over there now. how're ya doin this?"

johnny appeared right in front of v now, if he had a smell she would be able to make out the cigarettes and tequila from nights past. "ya think saka just let you go? ya think they didnt send someone? after ya stole from them?" it was clear to him: arasaka would never let him go and this was the oldest trick in the book. step one: find someone from your past. step two: replace them or start to control them. step three: you are now under constant surveillance and soon they will control you too. his mind was racing now and he once again wondered how she was unable to see it.

"oh, for fuck's-- think she's a sleeper cell? sent to take me out, soon as i spill some corp secrets?" v's dismissive tone only strenghthened his belief that their friendship was an elaborate con to get to him. it had to be. "clearly your gonk ass still doesnt know what saka is capable of."

"bitch! quit talkin' to ya fuckin' hallucination!" viper yelled from the holo. v just had to tell her so called friend about their sitch huh? and viper was all too eager to believe it. sure it was true but who would believe any of this? someone who is supposed to believe it, gain her trust, clearly.

"plan 's to do this silent." v used to be good at it, doing things quietly, but now without her implants and no eddies to buy new ones things had proven to be more difficult, much to both of their frustration. only reason she called up viper for help was due to her not being able to efficently hack her way into this.

"gotcha, will stay on the call, keep me updated, yeah?" something would go south, it was just their shit luck and even if it didn't happen naturally, the runner had everything she needed to put v into an even bigger debt. "i smell a rat v." johnny said, finally disappearing for good.

[highpriestess-stuff]

So my day started out well i started with self love affirmations which ive been doing for the past 2 days starting off with a spiritual bath and i must admit it has mad quite a difference im excited to see how this will help me i didnt realise how much i truly needed self love i honestly thought i was such a confident person but im starting to realize how harsh iand negative i can be and im starting to see exactly why all these bitches are jealous of me especially the ones that i work with ive never really had a hard time with making friends but ever since me & T broke but damn did it do a number on me.. Getting cheated the first time was just traumatic & left me with anxiety but having such a strong support system and going to the gym almost like everday and letting it out really helped but this break up just left me completely distraught and just made me not want to live life anymore and isolate myself & i didnt realize how it was affecting all my relationships with my friends my family and co workers like damn this narcissistic gas lighting bitch sucked my fucking soul like end all be all and not a single person there to pick up my pieces my like damn had to get myself out of this shit and i feel powerful as fuck never will i let anyone tear me down like that again LESSON LEARNT: Never settle for less. Took 2 years of my life to realize that but hey it coulda been worse.. still trying to see the positivity in this lol coulda gotten married to this bitch ass but thank god he really had to take me off this path this person refused to understand me & the lesson i learnt was that im not for everybody i am simply a Diving Feminine and we aint for everybody if people dont get u then dont waste your time arguing or explaining yourself cause the right people to get you like how did i become so lost and desperate? i just really wanted him to see me for me i just really wanted to make my family happy .. & he wanted to make his the only difference was im not what his family wanted and u know what thats their loss because as soon as i came out i was told i was going to be a motherfuckin champion it truly is his loss lol he fucked up big time and his family is a peice of shit if they really loved him they would want him to be happy but i guess whats what he deserves OH WELL now i see why they dont want the best for him he deserves exactly that shit even the lord dont want the best for him but me i am truly blessed and protected so thank you Jesus!

Going thru that experience really left me feeling emptier then even it felt like people could also see right thru me it left my fuckin boundaries all over the place i allowed people to step all over me cause i constantly thought i was the problem but now im starting to see i was never the problem its this cruel ass world no matter how nice u are to people or how much u just want to help them because u truly see what the can become and u see their potential it doesnt mean that their going to follow that exact path that u want for them it means giving up control letting people have their own experiences and im just trying to be comfortable with that like hey you wanna go fuck up your life go ahead like who am i to control u not like i got super powers cause if i did bruh. People are wylin & then godforbid i wanna do something for myself then they got a problem like what? are yall on. For example Victoria shes so far up my ass but yet cant even be there for me when i need her like bitch step aside and all day at work today she was so sad like what are u sad for... what happend to that advice that u give everytime "Dont Care" like lets see u do that now you dumbass u look fuckin stupid i have completely lost my respect for her like she looks for pathetic how dare she tell me not to care when i share my feelings with her like hows that going for you? keep ur bitch ass advice to yourself the only reason i ever listened to her was cause i actually respected her i thought she was someone i wanted to be like fuck no! i am so much better then her im better then any of these people how dare they show my any fuckin attitude ever like put some motherfuckin respect on my name or get the fuck out of my face and my energy aura cause i aint for everybody you wanna be around me? show some fuckin respect or get the fuck out because i value myself and my opinions and i can find people who do do i dont need you bitch ass people clearly YOU NEED ME like these people need to realise they need me at the end of the day so show respect or get the fuck out. Even will came in with some wack ass attitude but the second i refused to acknowledge him this nigga really started sucking my dick like are you for real why do i need to be rude like is that what turns you people on like is this why im working in this type of environment to learn that i just need to stay away from people who dont respect my energy why because you people cant do the work and become great like me??? ive done the work ive done the time ive earned to be where the fuck i am and if maybe yall put in the work you guys would be on my level but u aint thats why you bitches are so fuckin miserable and just focused on me unfortunatly thats what comes with the fame and i aint leveling down for no fucking body i came a long fuckin way and i deserve this shit put my crown on again & im knock it off * & this bitch shan like i thought she was the nicest girl ever bitch HAD the audacity to show me attitude like girl do u know who ur dealing with ur 20 nothing its actually cute and laughable because she looks like that character from ice age she thinks shes really doing something i cant with these hoes thinking they affect like.. like bruh this is my partime job lol this is your lifetimes career ofcourse u going to be mad lol stay mad cause what im winning? so u think showing me attitude gonna do something um no it just shows me that ur a terrible person ur disgusting and fuckin ugly i was just being nice and now that youve shown ur true colors i no longer need to loook go crawl back in ur dark cave u hoeeeeeeeeeee.. anyways ill be back for more updates byeeee

[poppyseed799]

Okay fellow 3rd life fans I think it’s time I come clean. I have been silent about this the entire time, thinking about staying quiet cuz it seemed the whole fandom disagrees with what I’m about to say but I will stay silent no longer.

I don’t get why people say the Desert was “clearly the bad guys”.

Let’s get this out of the way: I mainly watched Scar’s POV along with Grian’s. I watched a fair amount of Martyn’s episodes as well, a couple from Scott and then random episodes from Skizz, Cleo, Impulse, Jimmy, and probably more. Definitely plot important ones I watched from more POVs than just my main guys Scar and Grian.

I just don’t get why, when people look at all of the different factions, they look at the Desert and go “yes they are clearly in the wrong and the only ones I can easily label as the villains in the overall story” what??? Don’t even get me started on “it’s interesting that the villains won in 3rd life” what??? I always viewed them as the more innocent ones, although the story is very morally grey so it doesn’t say TOO much lmao.

So let me explain why! Well, honestly, I’m more confused as to why y’all say they’re so obviously the villains, so I’m just explaining why I’m confused here lol.

So first of all let’s get the scamming and monopolies out of the way. I have less to say about the monopoly so let’s start with that. THEY NEVER HAD A MONOPOLY… if the idea of making a monopoly is bad enough for you guys, then might I remind y’all of the cow monopoly that was attempted? Everyone was looking for ways to make business… and a SAND monopoly was CLEARLY doomed to fail!! Not to bring Dream SMP into this but if y’all are gonna say OG L’Manberg was innocent because they didn’t succeed in the potion monopoly at all then let’s have that same energy for the Sand People!!!

Now for the scams. “Oooh poppy how are you gonna defend the scamming” BECAUSE IT WASN’T SCAMMING??? Scar made it clear what he wanted and what the person would receive in return. They were told they were going to receive a piece of paper and they agreed to it! Don’t listen to Grian “don’t listen to Scar it’s a scam the papers don’t mean anything” because he was LYING. Not purposely, but he was lying. Scar NEVER said “hey Grian let’s scam people with fRiEnDsHiP” instead he always told Grian that it WAS real and that he WOULD go through with all of the papers. And he did! There were a couple of mishaps but obviously it’s really difficult to control every situation. Plus Scar had a hard time remembering all of the friendship passes lmao. But he really did try, he really did value these trades, it wasn’t scamming just because Grian thought there was no way it was worth it.

The only Scar hater I stan is Skizzleman he had all right to be mad at Scar but that doesn’t mean Scar was the enemy of the whole story lol

Now onto something that I don’t know how to start explaining but is a very big reason why I’m confused about the fandom calling the Desert the bad guys. NOBODY IN THE SMP TOOK THEM SERIOUSLY. I saw SO many posts about how “Scar and Grian seem like fun guys in THEIR POV but in others POV they’re really scary!” Like no? I always thought it was the opposite. Like watching Scar’s POV I was like “ah man they have to kill people cuz red life this is so dramatic they are feared by the server…” BUT THEN I WATCH SOMEONE ELSE’S POV AND THEY LITERALLY SAY STUFF LIKE “lol we don’t have to worry about Scar” “dang all those people just exploded. Anyways Scar is the weakest red life and we have nothing to worry about when it comes to him it’s all the other red lifers that are a problem” “lol there goes those idiots trying to make a monopoly on sand so silly” and I’m like. Oh. The entire server treats them like silly cartoon villains that never achieve anything. And yes they say these things WHILE hunting the Desert People down like what. Basically the server treating the villainous things the Desert did as not very serious made me think the same, which is why I’m so confused that people think they’re the Big Bad Guys.

ANOTHER THING relating to how the server treats the Desert: alliances!! The Desert was very loyal. Scott and Jimmy trusted the Desert, which shocked many people on the server but were they wrong? No! The Desert trusted the Hobbits back fully as well. They were the only alliance they fully trusted, but they didn’t go behind their other allies’ backs just cuz they weren’t so sure about the alliance. Sure there were comments about Impulse, but that idea was fed to them by Impulse’s allies, they had no other information. And yet they STILL gave him stuff and didn’t flinch when alone with him above Dogwarts, because even with him being suspicious he was still their ally and they are loyal as heck!!! Sure there was Impulse’s demise but like. That was endgame, everyone was looking for a reason to kill someone, and the Desert was told that Impulse was sus af and his own allies didn’t trust him so it was an easy pick. Bdubs coulda said no. And yeah Scar betrayed Bdubs in the end but like. Once again, endgame, and also it was “kill the person who stuck with you since the beginning” or “kill the person who is only on your side cuz you gave him a clock a while ago and lied to you about liking watches”. What do you expect? Plus the ending showed how loyal Scar was to Grian, the guy who owed him his first life and stuck with him till the end. Beautiful.

ANYWAYS EVEN MEMBERS OF DOGWARTS WERE LIKE “I have a hard time killing Scar because he hasn’t really wronged me personally in any way, he’s fairly reliable as well” LIKE… bro they were ENEMIES. Scar also didn’t really want to hurt them!!! Also can I just say that the only reason Scar was as bad as he was was because he was the first person to go red? Red lifers are supposed to be like the villains, so I don’t disagree with people saying that at FIRST Scar was a villain cuz he was red (although wtf were some of these guys up to using excuses to kill people while green (not talking about Grian)) but he wasn’t even that bad while he was red. He was just the worst by default since he was red lol. Which was entirely not his fault, and he only wanted to kill Ren pretty much lol. So I guess Scar being the villain depends on if you consider Ren to be the main character of the entire server.

Which is another thing I don’t get… why people see Dogwarts as the good guys. There was a CLEAR corruption arc people. Dogwarts had loyalty, but it was very ride or die, as in “if you don’t ride with us you will die”. You watch these guys call everyone (not just the desert people) “filthy peasants” and not realize they are acting like villains??? Plus the ominous “red winter is coming” like what. Not saying they weren’t good at the start, nor that they were completely and totally bad, just that if you were to frame ANYONE in this MORALLY GREY SERVER as “The Bad Guys” why not the ones that made it their entire thing????? YES they were good at first, they had regrets and cared so much about their people (just not anyone else lololol). It’s a tragic story, and you’re gonna write it off like “no even when they started doing bad things to people who never hurt them it was justified” even when they regret those things towards the end or after death so clearly it was wrong??? Guys.

I don’t want to call anyone the Bad Guys in 3rd life tho. They all did bad things, they all had valid reasons, they all had people they cared about. I just don’t get why people pick the Desert when they try to pick villains. They weren’t totally innocent but I never saw them as THE villains. For me, even while watching Martyn, that was always Dogwarts, and even then I don’t consider them Total Villains because the server is so grey! I loved them I just think that if anyone is the bad guys maybe it’s the self-imposed king that threatens to take ALL of your lives if you don’t show complete and total loyalty to them and wave their banner above your house to show it. Even if that king started out innocent and only went red to protect his friends. Once again tho I don’t like picking Bad Guys for this server. It was a very good story without having a clear right or wrong.

Just wanted to confess that, don’t really feel like arguing about it cuz I see enough people calling the Desert the Villains just scrolling thru the main tag lmao.

[arrowflier]

What if Debbie made them have a Halloween party with costumes. What would they all be?

In retrospect, they should have known it was a bad idea to go along with Debbie’s plan.

“Come on guys,” she had begged them. “Franny wants to do a family costume, and it won’t work if it’s just the two of us!”

“No way,” Mickey said, but Ian was already speaking over him.

“Sure, whatever,” Ian agreed, and Mickey smacked him on the arm.

“What?” Ian asked innocently. “It’s for Franny.”

Mickey relented almost immediately, even if he did keep scowling.

“Fucking fine, then,” he grumbled. “But only cause it’s for little red.”

“Thank you Mickey!” Debbie said, trying to hug him, but he hid behind Ian’s larger frame.

“Didn’t mean you,” he muttered into Ian’s back, gripping Ian’s shoulders and spinning him bodily to keep a barrier between himself and Debbie.

“You would have done it for her, too, Mick,” Ian laughed, and Mickey whacked the back of his head as Debbie beamed.

“Keep your thoughts to your self, asshole,” Mickey ordered, then sighed as both redheads snickered at him.

---

Now, standing in the living room of the Gallagher house and looking at the costumes Debbie had laid out for them, Mickey wished he wasn’t such a sucker for red haired Gallaghers. Because right there in front of him was the gaudiest outfit he had ever seen.

It was a deep blue, at least, but the color was the only thing Mickey could get behind. The rest of it was a complete travesty, with three-dimensional silver piping, shiny buttons, and leggings—fucking leggings—meant to be tucked into the silver boots currently laying on the floor.

“No,” he stated immediately. “Nuh-uh, not wearing that.”

“Mickey, it’s just for one night,” Ian tried to reason with him.

That was all well and good for him. Ian was the lucky one—his costume was mostly grey and black, with cool patterning and thin plastic bits meant to make it look like armor. It even had a helmet, and, best of all, a plastic sword.

“Why do you get to be the knight?” Mickey complained. “I could beat your ass any day, man.”

Ian just raised his eyebrows.

“Will you shut up and get dressed already?” Debbie demanded, wandering into the room with Franny. She was holding up an outfit similar in taste to Mickey’s, but pink and glittery and child-sized.

“Franny won’t wear her princess dress unless you guys do it with her, come on," Debbie pressed, and Mickey scowled at her.

“Should’ve known you were up to something,” Mickey groused. “No way the kid picked this shit out.”

Debbie sighed.

“Will you please just wear the damn costume?” she asked. “It’s too late to find another one, Lip and Tami will be here any minute.”

Ian took one look at Mickey’s sour face, and decided to try a more diplomatic approach.

“Don’t you want your me to be your prince?” Ian asked, kneeling down next to Franny and tugging on a lock of her red hair. “We could match, how about that?”

Franny pulled back, stomping her foot.

“No!” she insisted. “I can’t marry you silly, it has to be Uncle Mickey!”

“You can’t marry Uncle Mickey either…” Ian tried to reason, but one look from his niece stopped the words in his throat and he coughed.

“Yeah, okay, sound logic,” he agreed instead. “Sorry Mick, guess you gotta be royalty tonight.”

Mickey wants to argue some more. Franny never even liked this shit, why should he have to play along? If she was gonna be a princess, her mom could have at least let her be Xena or somethin'. Now that was royalty he could get behind.

But Debbie was glaring at him, and Ian and Franny were both watching him with their damned big eyes, blue and green and faintly wet.

"Whatever," he finally said, and grabbed the offending outfit from off the sofa. "But if I get a single comment about this tonight, we're leavin', got that?"

"Sure Mickey," Ian and Debbie both agreed, and he frowned harder.

Liars, the both of them.

---

An hour later, Mickey was crammed into the corner of a booth at the Alibi, nursing his third beer of the night. If one more person had anything to say about his costume--Tommy had called him a fucking pillow prince, that fucker--he was gonna take Ian's fake sword and stab them with it.

"Doin' okay over here?" Ian asked as he sat down beside him. Mickey just grunted in response, and took another sip.

"It's not that bad," Ian tried to say, but Mickey's glare cut him off short.

"At least you're not the jester?" he tried again, nodding his head toward Carl, whose multicolored, belled hat could be heard across the room.

"Fuck off," Mickey told him, flipping him off with the hand not holding his beer. "Never thought I'd be wishing I was with your asshole brother instead of you."

"What, Carl?" Ian asked, confused, but Mickey shuddered.

"Fuck no," he asserted. "The one with the badass family costume, you moron."

Ian looked around, still unsure, then spotted Lip and Tami a few tables over. Lip had on homemade Mandalorian regalia, complete with a helmet that Mickey had earlier said was a brilliant choice for hiding his ugly-ass face. Tami was dressed as a blonde Cara Dune, the fake tat on her arm on prominent display as she held Fred in his little Grogu costume.

"What," Ian asked with a smile, "you wanted to dress up like a woman?"

Mickey snorted. "A fucking badass woman," he corrected, "but no. I coulda been Boba Fett or something, man. Instead of this...," he paused to wave down at himself, almost spilling his beer in the process.

"This gay-ass thing," he finished, and Ian smirked and scooted closer.

"But you are gay," he pointed out, forcing an arm around Mickey's shoulders and ignoring the responding eye-roll.

“And besides,” Ian murmured in his ear, “your gay ass looks amazing in those tights.”

Mickey flushed.

"Yeah, well," he muttered back. "Better stay close, Mr. knight in plastic armor." He leaned closer to Ian, letting his husband tighten his hold.

"Nobody better look at my fine ass but you."

[hawks-supremacy]

Yakitori Lunch - Baked Goods

a/n: hello i am back! i finished moving and got settled in so now i can continue writing! i don't particularly like how this part ended but i wanted to get something out after not being on here for over a month. sorry i was gone!

warnings: none

words: 1.3k

Masterlist

Knocking on the door to the Miya household you held a container full of a batch of green tea cookies you made last night. You always felt bad showing up to other people’s houses for meals empty handed, so typically you brought desserts. Maybe that was just ingrained into your brain from always seeing your grandma show up to other people’s houses with food or desserts in hand, either way it's a habit you have now.

You stood at the door for a few minutes hearing some crashing noises coming from the inside, before an out of breath Osamu answered the door. You looked past him and saw a groaning Atsumu laying on the floor, “You asshole!” Atsumu yelled slowly getting off the floor. Osamu shrugged, looking unbothered. “You coulda broke my arm or killed me! Then I wouldn’t be able to play volleyball!” Atsumu huffed, his hands on his knees. Osamu rolled his eyes in response and waved him off. Shortly after Atsumu charged and tackled Osamu, all the while you just stood there blinking and holding your cookies.

“Would you two knock it off and invite them in? I swear you children are going to be the death of me.” Mrs. Miya said, coming to the door. “Come in dear, I am so sorry for them. They’ve actually mellowed out since they were kids if you can believe that.” She laughed as she let you into the house, “You didn’t need to bring anything, I invited you.”

You shrugged as you followed her into the kitchen, “I was taught it was rude to show up empty handed. Where can I set these down?” She motioned to the counter and said that anywhere is fine. After setting the cookies down you offered help if she needed any to which she waved you off and said to have fun. You nodded and walked into the living room where Atsumu and Osamu were still arguing and fighting. You stood there watching for a few seconds before clearing your throat. Osamu stood up straight, shoving Atsumu back one last time as Atsumu pushed his shoulder. “Do I get a tour?” You asked after they finally stopped fighting.

“Yeah come on, I’ll show you around.” Osamu said, starting to walk away. You quickly caught up with him as he began the house tour. Obviously you already knew the kitchen and the living room. He gave brief descriptions and tidbits about each room as you came across them, like how when he and Atsumu were kids Atsumu pushed him off of their bunk beds and he broke his arm. Or how the space underneath the cabinets in the bathroom was his favorite hiding space when they played hide and seek as kids.

By the time Osamu was done showing you around and talking about the house his mom was calling everyone to eat. Upon entering the kitchen you saw Atsumu talking with his mom, which wasn’t suspicious until Atsumu looked at you with a shit eating grin. You sat down at the table as their mom brought over yakitori for lunch. “Sorry it’s nothing fancy. Osamu is the cook of the house, but I wouldn’t let him.” She apologized as she sat down. You shook your head, dismissing the statement. “Don’t worry about it, I love yakitori. I would prefer it over something fancy anyday, Miya-san.” You said as the plate of food was passed to you.

She smiled as you passed her the plate, “Please you can call me mom.” Coughing Osamu whipped his head towards his mom with wide eyes, “MA!” He yelled. “First of all Darling, don’t talk with your mouth full and don’t yell at the dinner table. Second of all, what? Suna calls me mom, why can’t your partner? How long have you two been dating and you haven’t told me?” She asked nonchalantly before she took a bite of her food. This time it was your turn to cough as you processed what she said. You and Osamu stumbled over your words as you tried to explain that you weren’t in fact dating, but were just close friends. She looked at you both confused, “But Atsumu told me earlier that you two were dating.” She looked at Atsumu who looked back sheepishly as he left out a few laughs before she narrowed her eyes at him, “Miya Atsumu you are in so much trouble. How dare ya make a fool out of your own mother?” She scolded as she smacked the back of his head.

“It’s fine really, just a misunderstanding.” You said waving your hands trying to dismiss the whole situation and move past it. “It’s not fine, I’m so sorry for just assuming my own son was telling the truth. I wouldn’t have thought he was a liar.” She ignored Atsumu and he tried to apologize. “Regardless, you can still call me mom if you want, as I said before Suna does so you can as well.”

“Suna does it more as a joke Ma.” Atsumu said as he stuffed his mouth with food. “He still does it ‘Tsumu.” Osamu said in return. “Shut yer face idiot, I wasn’t talking to ya.” They went back and forth like this for a while before their mom interrupted them telling them to stop fighting in front of the guest.

“So what happened yesterday at the mall?” Miya-san asked as she finished up her food. You shook your head at the thought of the store employee. “We were trying to leave one of the sports stores when an employee stopped us all and accused us of stealing. One of my friends was trying on this god awful bag as a joke and left it on and forgot about it, he tried giving it back saying it was an accident but the employee just got an attitude about it. He called mall security when I tried sticking up for my friend. It was a stupid situation that shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry you had to come pick us up.” You explained the situation and Miya-san started laughing.

She waved her hand as she continued to laugh. “I’m sorry dear, I’m not laughing at you or anything. It’s just not the first time I’ve had to pick up the boys from that mall holding cell is all. The first time it happened they were fighting in a store and they knocked over and broke some things and were refusing to pay for it because they didn’t have any money. I had to come and pay for it and pick them up.” She explained, still laughing a little at the situation.

You guys finished lunch talking about different subjects, like if you knew what you wanted to do after school or how your classes were going. You, Osamu and Atsumu moved to the living room while Miya-san cleaned up the kitchen. You had an hour before Shinsuke would be back to pick you up and take you home so you all were just going to sit down and talk. You had suggested you play a game of some sort but their mom shut that down saying that games were temporarily banned after the twins had broken a lamp last time.

Once Miya-san was done cleaning up she came into the living room where you guys were laughing at a story that Atsumu had told. She told stories about the boys and you told stories from when you and Shinsuke were kids. You all had fun laughing at and with each other and before you knew it an hour had passed and Shin was knocking on the door ready to take you home. You told everyone goodbye and gave everyone hugs and Miya-san told you to come back soon. “Did you have fun?” Shin asked as you got in the car. “Yeah, I really did.” You smiled in response as you drove back home.

Tag List:

@officialfictionalwreck @tetsuhoes @chloji @halesandy @elianetsantana @kaleidoscopekai @browneyespinkhair @rinsangel @marvel-ing-at-it-all @writersandroses @lilith412426 @noodlenerd101 @bakugouswh0r3 @redheadedpineapple @chantalkate16 @confusedturtle @yqshirov @kazewo @kit-kat428

If your name is crossed out I can't tag you

[mulletcal]

be mine - a cake fluff fic

a/n: hello  welcome to this single dad!luke x cal fic, i blame @blackbutterfliescal​​ but also thank u brooke cause i never would have written it without the encouragement

words: 2.8k

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, food, heartbreak, lots of fluff, dad!sos, uncle!sos

Luke had never been sure how he would make it the first few months without Sophie’s mom around, let alone the first few years.  Sophie’s mom had decided 6 months into her pregnancy that she didn’t want to raise the child - she felt no connection to her, nor did she believe she was going to.  The idea hurt Luke, but he remained convinced that if she could just look into their baby girl’s eyes for the first time, she would realize; she would feel all the love Luke already felt just from hearing her tiny, rapid heartbeat.  But she never did- Once she had been cleared from the hospital, she headed back to their place, packed her things and left.

It had been almost four years since that moment.  Luke never thought he’d see the day where he could think of Sophie’s mother and not feel pain or anger, but he did.  Sophie made it easier, as every part of her resembled Luke; her blonde curls, her bright, curious blue eyes, even down to the dimples, and her personality.  The love Luke had for his daughter oozed out of him every single day, and you could tell how much Sophie loved him, too.

Something else that helped Luke through were his friends, or even more specifically, Calum.  The day Sophie’s mom had left, Calum was already there with his bag packed, ready to help him however he could.  Calum would stay up late into the night trying to soothe Sophie, while Luke tried to get some semblance of sleep.  When Luke was feeding Sophie, Calum would be doing the laundry, knowing that if he didn’t, Luke would wear the same sweats for a week straight.

“No baby wants to smell you wearing those sweats another day,” Calum had argued.

“My baby loves me just fine!”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t love you, I said she wouldn’t want to smell you.”

As Sophie grew, Calum wasn’t around as often.  He would come over whenever she or Luke asked, but he wanted to make sure that he gave them their space so that Sophie would learn to be social, branching out to make new friends instead of hiding in his or her dad’s leg when someone tried to talk to her.

One brisk February morning, his phone rang, indicating a FaceTime call.  The screen read Luke, but he knew at that hour it had to have been Sophie.  His suspicions were confirmed when he accepted the call, the top half of Sophie’s face appearing on the screen.

“Hi munchkin, what are you doin’ up so early?” Calum asked groggily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.

“I need your hewp,” She whispered into the phone, looking around the room with wide blue eyes.

Calum grew concerned at the word ‘help’, and automatically became more alert, “Is everything okay? Is your dad okay?”

“Yes, yes.  I otay.  Daddy’s otay.  I want you to hewp me make him a Vawentine,” She whispered again.  

Calum chuckled softly, running his hand over his face, “You called me at 5:30 to help you make a Valentine? Is this so I’ll get the supplies?” His question was met with a nod, which made him laugh again, “Okay bub, I’ll ask your dad if you can come over to have a playdate with me and Duke and we can make it then, yeah?”

Calum couldn’t see her smile with the way she was holding the phone, but the way her eyes lit up told him that she was smiling, “Okay! Wove you Uncle Cal!”

“Love you too angel, I’ll see you later.”

It truly wasn’t hard to convince Luke to let Sophie have a playdate at Calum’s place, citing he needed to go grocery shopping anyways and it was much easier and much cheaper when Sophie was otherwise occupied.

Calum kept the supplies hidden away until Luke was officially gone, just in case he came into the kitchen and saw the bag of red and pink materials.  Everything started off good, Calum was mostly helping her cut shapes so she could make a bunch of hearts for Luke.  

“Daddy aways say ask a grown up for hewp cutting,” Sophie explained, gesturing to Calum.  He wasn’t sure exactly why she decided to bring that up, but he’d roll with it anyways.

“He’s absolutely right.  You don’t want to accidentally cut your little finger, Daddy would need to put a bandage on it and kiss it better.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment, colouring in one of the hearts, “Why wouldn’t you kiss it?”

Calum laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair, “I could kiss it better, but did you know Daddy’s kisses have healing powers?”

Sophie’s eyes widened, looking over at Calum as if he revealed all of the magicians secrets.

“It’s true! Think about it, when you get a booboo, does your Dad kiss it better?” Calum asked, leaning forward with a smile on his face, only growing bigger when Sophie nodded, “And doesn’t it always feel better right after?”

Sophie’s giggle in response was Calum’s answer, going back to cutting the paper for her.  The conversation between them was nonexistent for a few moments until Sophie piped up again.

“Does that mean you have to hewp me with the gwitter?”

Calum looked up, thinking for a moment, “Are you going to try and pick your nose with your hand covered in glitter again?”

Sophie placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense far too well for a three-and-a-half year old, “My nose was itchy!”

Calum laughed softly, grabbing the glitter from the bag so they could get to work finishing the Valentine before Luke got there.

Although Valentines Day was still a couple days away, the moment Luke walked through the door Sophie shoved the Valentine into his hands with a giddy smile on her face.

“What’s this my love?” Luke spoke softly, leaning down to Sophie’s height so he could read it.  Calum could tell by the way Luke’s face shifted how much that card meant to him, watching as he hugged Sophie tightly, “Of course I’ll be your Valentine, only if you’ll be mine though.”

Sophie enthusiastically replied with a yes and Luke scooped her up, resting her on his hip.

“Hey Soph, I have a surprise for you back at home but I think Uncle Cal would like to see it too.  Do you wanna ask him if he wants to come over for pizza?” Luke stage whispered to her, his eyes darting over to Calum.

The way he looked at Calum always made his heart stop, though he’d never admit it.  Calum was likely reading too far into it, but there was always something more to the way Luke spoke to him, and the way he looked at him.  A hint of softness, and a sprinkle of mischievous nature.

“Pizza?” Was all Sophie said, extending her hand to Calum as if that was his formal invitation.

“I’d love to join you.  Let me just get Duke fed and let out and I’ll let Roy know I’m headed out.”

It wasn’t long before Calum arrived at Luke’s doorstep, ending up meeting the pizza delivery person at the door as well. Paying for the pizza, he stepped inside Luke’s house like he had done many times before.

“Oh honey, I’m home,” Calum teased, being met by a small shriek as Sophie ran towards him at the door, “Y’know Lu, if you wanted me to buy the pizza, you coulda just asked me to pick it up on the way.”

Luke narrowed his eyes at Calum, taking the pizza from him carefully and turning to head towards the kitchen, “You know I never let you pay for food.”

He was right and Calum knew it; Luke always felt like he owed Calum for all he’s done for them- the long nights, the tears (from both Sophie and Luke)- Calum had been there through it all, so now Luke felt one of his only options was to never let him pay for a meal they shared ever again, which Calum of course didn’t agree with.

Looking down, Calum saw silver glitter all in Sophie’s hair, giving her a puzzled look, “This glitter wasn’t there earlier, was it?”

“Don’t ask,” Luke huffed as he brought out three plates with pizza on them, “She decided arts n crafts time wasn’t over.”

Calum chuckled, scooping Sophie up so they could sit on the couch and eat their pizza together.  Once dinner was over, Luke showed Calum and Sophie his surprise for her.  It was a bookshelf that Luke had built, that was from floor to ceiling and Sophie was absolutely in love.  Her love of reading outweighed any other passion she had developed growing up, and Luke slightly blamed (and thanked) Calum for it, as he had always read her to sleep, and as she got older that seemed to be the only thing to calm her.  Even if Calum wasn’t there, if Sophie was having a rough night Luke would FaceTime Calum and he would read to her from the stack of childrens books he kept at his house; it never failed to make Sophie fall asleep, and Luke shortly after, leaving Calum to be the one to hang up the call after muttering a quiet ‘Love you’ to the two of them.

“When you’re older, I’ll give you a ladder in here so you can reach the top shelf.  I don’t want you getting any bright ideas about trying to fly, ya hear me?” Luke said, pinching Sophie’s cheek as they stood near her new bookshelf.

“But what about the books up thewe,” Sophie argued back, swatting Luke’s hand away.

“Then me or Uncle Cal can reach up and get them for you cause we’re big and tall, yeah?” He scooped her up, lifting her as high as the tallest shelf so she could see, “No books up there right now right?”

“No books.”

“Guess Daddy is gonna have to get you more, huh?” Calum chimed in, tickling Sophie’s belly while Luke still had her held up.  Her loud giggle echoed through her room, little legs kicking frantically as she asked him to stop.  Calum listened, and once her fit of giggles calmed down, Luke set her down so she could explore the books on her new bookshelf.

“I’m sure she’ll ask you to stay and read to her tonight, just a heads up,” Luke nudged Calum, giving him a smirk, “Plan your escape now.”

“I would never,” Calum gasped, nudging him back, “It’s my favourite thing to do.  Don’t know anyone else who cares to listen to me read to them.”

“I do,” Came Luke’s whisper, causing Calum’s heart to skip a beat, “When she’s having a rough night, it’s definitely hard on me too.  Your voice is soothing.”

“Is that why you usually fall asleep too?”

“Honestly? Yeah, it feels safe so I just pass right out.  Not the best for my neck cause her bed is so small,” Luke chuckled, shifting his gaze to meet Calum’s, “But I love listening to you talk.”

Calum was sure Luke could hear his heart beating rapidly now, and he may have kissed him if his daughter wasn’t standing right there; judging by the way Luke’s eyes darted to Calum’s lips, he may have returned the favor, but they were pulled from their world by a loud yawn falling from Sophie’s lips.

“Getting tired, my love?” Luke asked, turning his attention to his daughter.  When she nodded, Luke cooed softly, wrapping his arms around her and letting her bury her face in his shoulder, “Let’s get your jammies on, okay?”

“Will Uncle Cal wead me stowy?” She asked in a quiet voice, big blue eyes looking up at Calum.

“You know the answer is always yes angel.  I’ll be just outside, once you’re settled in your jammies you can pick a story.”

Sophie called Calum back in once she had gotten changed, and Luke made sure to tuck her in and give her a kiss, letting Calum take over with the storytime.  Before Calum dove into the book, Sophie pulled a folded red piece of paper out of her pocket.

“What’s this, lovie?” He asked with a smile, taking it as she handed it to him.

“You give to Daddy,” She said, encouraging him to unfold it.

“Didn’t your Daddy already get a Valentine from you?” Calum chuckled, unfolding the paper to see it covered with silver glitter and shakily drawn hearts.  The silver glitter in her hair makes sense now.

“You give to him,” She repeated, pointing at the ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ written in Luke’s handwriting left blank.  Luke must have assumed Sophie wanted to give it to him, so he wrote on the card for her and was going to let her attempt to write Calum’s name.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead and setting it on her bedside table, “I promise I will.”

Calum proceeded to read to her until she fell asleep, which wasn’t very long after he started the book.  He smiled down at her when he realized she was fully asleep, pressing one more gentle kiss to the top of her head before he slid off the bed, carefully placing the book on the shelf.  Once he dimmed her light into the nightlight she liked, he picked up the Valentine and headed out of her room and down the hall to where Luke’s room was.

“Hey,” Calum called out softly, “She’s out, I dimmed her lights and left her door cracked just in case.  I should head out before it gets too late.”

Luke said a small thank you, before calling out to Calum again, “Tell me a story.”

With a small smile on his lips, Calum leaned against the doorframe, “Sophie really is your twin huh.”

Luke pulled the covers back, patting the spot next to him so Calum could crawl in, “What’s so bad about that? Aren’t I a delight?”

“You’re somethin’ alright.”

Calum just barely caught the pillow that was thrown at him, bursting out in a fit of laughter as he did so.  Crawling into the spot next to Luke, he laid on his side facing him and propped himself up on his elbow, “What kind of story do you wanna hear?”

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, tell me a love story.”

Calum thought for a moment, an idea coming to mind as he chewed on his lower lip, “Once upon a time there were two boys… Well, four technically, but this story is about the two of them,” he began nervously.  “They formed a band with two of their other friends, and got to tour the world, seeing the sights.”

“Sounds like a fun story.”

“Sh, Sophie never interrupts,” He scolded, poking his finger against Luke’s chest, “As they got older, and became men, they all began to find love.  The two band members found forever love, while the two men in our story only found temporary love.  That is, until an angel arrived, and she showed the men that forever love isn’t always romantic.  Time went on, and the angel no longer needed one of the men as much, so he carried on with his life outside of them.  But one thing he always thought about was the man caring for the angel, and how much he missed spending every waking hour with him, and the angel too.  Slowly, he began to realize that his forever love was right there all along, they both were just caught up in protecting the angel that he was too blind to see it.”

Luke wasn’t breathing, and Calum was nervous that he was taking it the wrong way, until he met Luke’s eyes and saw them brimming with tears, then he really knew he fucked up.  “I’m sorry, fuck Luke I’m sorry.  I should have just told you, not like this-”

He was cut off by Luke’s lips meeting his in a sweet, delicate kiss, “Shut up.  What happens next in the story,” he whispered against Calum’s lips.

“Once they admitted their feelings, they shared a kiss… and lived happily ever after,” Calum smiled, pressing another chaste kiss to Luke’s lips, “I love you.  I think I always have, but I wanted to give you space to heal.”

“Both you and Sophie healed me.  I’ve known for a long time I loved you, but I was scared that I was just in love with the idea of having someone else around.  That’s not the case, though, because I want you, as well as want you to be around.  And I’m sure Sophie wouldn’t complain about you being around longer.”

Pulling the folded Valentine out of his pocket, he handed it to Luke, “Wanna be my Valentine?”

Luke’s mouth fell open, a laugh escaping his lips, “I thought she wanted to give that to you!”

Calum shook his head, “Nope.  She wanted me to give it to you.”

Luke shook his head, squeezing Calum closer, “I’ll be yours if you be mine.”

tag list:  @talkfastromance4​ @calmlftv​ @notinthesameguey​ @loveroflrh​ @mantlereid​ @irwinkitten​ @n-ctarinenga​ @ashtonlftv​ @blackbutterfliescal​ @monimickell​ @treatallwithkindness​ @castaway-cashton​ @tea4sykes​ @begluketostay​ @wheniminouterspace​ @another-lonely-heart​ @myfavfanficsever​ @xsongxbirdx​ @stardust-galaxies​ @karajaynetoday​ @bestyearssos​ @cheekysos​ @suchalonelysunflower​ @aquarius-hood1996​ @wildflower-cth​​ @youngblood199456​​ @uh-huhh-honey​​ @myloverboyash​ @cakelftv​ @f-mu​ @thatscooibaby​ @hoodhoran​ @sexgodashton​ @wildflower-cth​ @becihadshawn

[tommodirection]

Galway Girl

Louis Tomlinson x reader

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: swearing, fiddles, smoking, drinking, wasn’t proofread, written in thirty minutes

A/N: Heylo! This is my first fic for One Direction, so please don’t be mean! This is based off of the song Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran, and for the purpose of this fic, the some writers have been changed! Thank you, and have a nice day!

—

“Mate, listen, I know you’re gunna love it!” Niall assured Louis, gently hitting his shoulder.

Louis sighed, shaking his head, “Niall, I really don’t feel like going out,” he argued, and Niall shook his head.

“This is the one time we get to spend together, in years, and you want to sit around all day? This is Ireland! The best country in the world!” Niall threw his hands up in the air as Louis cringed.

“It is definitely not the best country in the world,” Louis grumbled.

Niall seemed to ignore him, and continued talking. “They have the best beer at this place I wanna go to, it’s just down the street! Karaoke is open too!”

Louis stared at Niall, “You really expect me to sing karaoke?”

Niall shrugged, “I don’t know, if not, there’s a buncha games and there’s an amazing band there, some of the best Irish jig music I’ve ever heard,” he reached his hand out to Louis.

Louis stared at his hand for a moment. He glanced up at the hopeful Niall, and sighed. “Fine,” he grabbed Niall’s hand and he pulled him up.

“This is gunna be great!”

—

You laughed as one of your band mates made a joke regarding the upcoming show. You were going over your notes again, nervous despite having played this hundreds of times.

You grabbed your bow and fiddle, and began playing as the band continued to joke. You moved gracefully, as you did every time you played. Your normal show would normally contain mostly slow songs, so your fiddle sounded more like a violin, but tonight, it was all upbeat.

Word had gotten round that Niall Horan was coming to the pub tonight. Another thing adding to your nerves. All of you wanted to impress him, which is why you were surprised the others weren’t practicing.

“Ey! Y/N! What are ya doing that for?” Fiona, the lead singer, called out to you. “You’re the best fiddler I know, you don’t ‘ave to worry bout it!” She complimented and you set your fiddle down, wiping your hands on your thighs.

“I’m just a little nervous,” you admitted and she shook her head.

“You’ve got nothin’ to be worried bout, love,” Fiona was a bit intimidating. Her accent was the thickest in the bands. You had only recently moved to Ireland a few years ago, you’d barely developed an accent, although you had certainly developed a taste for Guinness.

“Yeah, I guess I just need something to drink,” you paused. “Jamie, will you get me something to drink?” You asked your brother, and he nodded, setting down his guitar.

While you had joined the band, he continued on as a solo act. He was playing after you guys were finished, and you had invited him to join you before the show.

He left the room, leaving you and your band alone. Nancy and Eli began a quiet conversation, leaving you and Fiona.

“Are ya nervous cause of the famous singer comin’ down tonight?” She asked, sitting down across from you.

You nodded, brushing hair out of your face. You were only a little older than Niall, about a year. You were a fan of One Direction from the start. Despite living in Ireland when the band was formed, your favorite wasn’t Niall. It was Louis.

You had been infatuated with his accent, his humor making you fall even deeper. He has a certain air to him, and seeing him become more and more exhausted over the years hurt you. He wasn’t as flamboyant as he used to be, you had a feeling Simon Cowell had something to do with it.

“Well,” Fiona interrupted your thoughts, “I ‘eard that he’s bringin’ a mate with ‘im,” you squinted at her, trying to figure out where she was going with it. “Look at it this way. “E’ll be chatting’ it up with ‘is mate, ‘e won’t even be listenin’,” she finished, leaning back in her chair.

Your brother walked in seconds later, handing you your pint. Maybe Fiona was right. Sure, a part of you didn’t want her to be right, but it did calm your nerves a little.

You took a big swing out of your pint, swallowing it down in seconds.

Fiona stood and made her way across the room, peeking behind the makeshift curtain. Her eyes locked on something, and she quickly turned to the rest of you, giving a thumbs up. Showtime.

You gave your brother a quick hug, and grabbed your fiddle, making your way onstage with the others. Nancy counted you into, and you began to play.

Typically when you were playing, you’d go into a trace, focusing on your music, and nothing else. It was your zone. It made it seem as there was no one else in the room.

You finished the first set of two, and gave a content chuckle, looking at Fiona do a mocking catwalk up and down the stage.

You glanced around the crowd, trying to see if you could get a glimpse of the brunette singer, but it was hard to seem with the lights in your face.

Not even considering the front row, you began smiling at each person who was sitting there, and as Fiona talked, you sat on the edge of the small stage, waving at some people in the audience. Your eyes scammed over the audience again, and this time, your heart stopped.

Niall Horan was clapping, smiling as Fiona told the crowds some jokes. That wasn’t the most shocking part though.

Fucking Louis Tomlinson was sat behind him.

You get your cheeks heat up, your heart racing. There was no fucking way.

Yet there he was, a small smile settled on his lips as he watched the stage. His eyes ran over each member, before settling on you. You felt your breath hitch, and you gave a small little wave, although your hand was slightly trembling, so it probably looked pathetic.

It shocked you even more when he waved back, your mouth dropped and you sat for a few more moments, looking directly into his eyes. They were the most delicate shade of blue.

A gentle nudge to your side threw your out of your trance. You broke eye contact with Louis and looked up quickly. Fiona was looking down at you, a small smirk on her face.

“‘Ow bout we finish up now, yeah?” She teased and you stood up abruptly, racing over to pick up your fiddle.

This was the song you were most nervous about.

After catching wind that Niall was going to be here, your band decided to play a One Direction song. The only song that could easily fit a fiddle in it, was Act My Age, one you knew to be one of Niall’s favorites.

Within the first few seconds of the song, you saw Niall’s face light up.

Your first solo came up, the classic Irish jig, and Niall stood up, and began doing his dance. He motioned for Louis to join him.

Louis was laughing his ass off, holding a hand to his stomach. He continuously shook his head, until Niall hauled him to his feet.

He kept laughing and you found it hard to focus, being able to hear his laugh despite the adrenaline pulsing through your ears.

On your second to last solo, Louis finally caved, and he and Niall both were dancing, Louis’s moves a bit clumsy. Niall was nailing it though, although you had assumed he had a lot of practice, and Louis had very little.

Soon after the song, your performance ended, earning a standing ovation from the crowd. The band bowed and made their way behind the curtain again.

Fiona turned to the group, squealing and opening her arms for a group hug. You all were squished in and shortly after the hug, the teasing began.

Eli looked you up and down, chucking. “I’m surprised she didn’t drop her panties right then and there,” he poked your side and you gasped.

“Eli!” You scolded and he shrugged.

“‘E has a point, love. I coulda sworn ya were gunna mess up yer solo when you were watchin’ the other one dancin’,” she chided and you groaned, throwing your head in your hands.

“You guys are ridiculous,” you stood, grabbing an empty glass, “I’m gunna go get a drink.” You swiftly exited the room, not wanting any more embarrassment.

You stood at the bar, placing the empty pint down. You flagged down the bartender and asked for another, and you felt someone slide in next to you.

“Put it on our tab,” he told the bartender, and he nodded, quickly going to fix another drink.

You turned to the stranger who had just bought your drink, and your knees almost gave out.

“I-I, uhm, Louis, hi!” You exclaimed, sticking your hand out. He took it and gave it a little squeeze.

“You put on quite an amazing show, loved every second of it,” he smiled at you, a genuine smile.

You glanced down at your feet, and looked back into his eyes quickly. They were admiring your face, and you felt yourself blush under his gaze.

“Thank you, it means a lot,” you gave him a bashful smile and drummed your fingers on the table. “What was your favorite song?” These were typical questions you’d ask a normal person after your show, but Louis was far from normal.

He paused to think, tapping his finger against his chin, “I really loved Act My Age, but I did love the original song,” he squinted, trying to remember , “I think it said something like, ‘I wanna be mature, I wanna grow some more’ or something like that?” He suggested and your heart fluttered.

“Yeah, that’s one that I wrote a while ago called ‘Mature’. Fiona really loves it, and it’s one of my favorite songs to perform,” you admitted shyly, and he nodded.

“Yeah, it’s always nice to perform something you wrote, gives you a sense of pride, I guess,” he agreed and you nodded.

You heard a song come on over the jukebox. And your eyes lit up. (Yes, a jukebox. They’d play that music in between shows so they’d last all night). “I love this song!” You laughed and began humming along.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before,” you watched him try and rack his brain.

“It’s an old Gaelic song, one my mum used to sing to me,” you commented and continued humming.

“This might sound like an odd suggestion, but do you maybe wanna play some games?”

And that’s how you ended up where you were. You had just beaten him at darts, you weren’t at all surprised.

He got to choose the next game to play, and he chose pool, a game you had gotten pretty good at over the years. You decided not to say anything, and let the game play out.

That game ended pretty quickly, the same result as the last one.

“Damn,” Louis chuckled, and put his pool stick back in its holder. “You’re pretty good at these games.”

You shrugged nonchalantly, “Well when you play here every weekend, you learn the bar pretty well. And getting to know the bar, means getting to know the games.

He laughed lightly, pulling a box out of his pocket, “I’ve got to go take a smoke quick, you wanna come?” He offered, and you happily obliged, following him out of the bar, your brother’s music playing lightly in the background.

You both stepped out into the crisp night air, inhaling at the breath of fresh air. Louis pulled a lighter out of his pocket, lighting his cigarette and pulling it to his lips, taking a long drag from it.

As he breathed out, it vaporized into the air, the scent already sticking to your clothing.

He offered you the cigarette, and you took a small drag, holding back a cough as you let it out. You only smoked when you were stressed, a habit you’d been trying to break, but you figured you could make an exception for Louis Tomlinson.

After he had finished his cigarette, he allowed you to crush it, putting it out on the sidewalk. You both eyed the door, before looking back at each other.

“I don’t really wanna go back in,” you hinted. And he nodded.

“Me neither.”

“Will Niall notice you’re gone?” You asked, wanting to get away from here with him.

Louis chuckled lowly, “No, he’ll be preoccupied with that little blonde friend of yours.”

You knew Fiona was going home with someone tonight, it wasn’t surprising.

“My place is just down the road. If you wanna head there,” you nodded your head down the road towards your flat.

Louis grinned, “You lead the way, love.”

You grabbed his hand and began running down the street, passing though little crowds and trying to not fall on the road.

You stopped outside of your place, and turned to face Louis, only seeing he was inches away from your face.

You slowly wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him closer to you. He placed his hands on your waist, leaning down to connect your lips.

It was soft, sensual, sweet, it tasted a little smoky, but you didn’t mind. You ran your fingers through each other’s hair, oblivious to the people walking around you. You were in the zone again. No one existed but you two.

You pulled away, and bit your lip, Louis pressed a kiss to your forehead, wrapping you up in a hug. You sat for a few minutes, swaying under the streetlight.

“I’ve got Doritos upstairs,” you said, and you felt his chest shake with laughter.

“I’m in.”

You led him upstairs, never letting go of his hand. You entered your flat, finally letting go of his hand in order to find the promised Doritos. Your eyes caught the bottle of wine you’d be saving for a special occasion, and brought it out, along with two wine glasses.

You poured two glasses for you and Louis, and took a seat on the couch, legs intertwined.

“So, where are you from?” He asked, shoving a Dorito in his mouth.

“Galway, just moved there a few years ago,” you answered taking a small sip of wine.

“Galway,” he repeated, studying your face again, “My little Galway girl.”

You giggled. “How bout you?” You already knew the answer, but you wanted him to say it.

“Doncaster, born and raised,” he smiled, looking down at his wine. “It’s a beautiful place.”

“I’m sure it is,” you added, and Louis laughed airily.

You spent the next few hours talking about yourselves, talking into the early hours of the morning, both finally passing out, however, before you passed out, you had heard Louis mumble something to you.

“I’m gonna write a song about you, my little Galway girl and a perfect night,” he said, his voice slurring from exhaustion.

“Whatever you say,” you whispered, passing out moments later. The next morning you woke up alone, and all that was there was an apology note.

You didn’t believe what he had said about the song, until about a year later.

You were driving on your way to another gig, a solo one this time. You had turned up the radio. Almost crashing when you heard the opening chorus of the song.

“She played the fiddle in an Irish band,

But she fell in love with an English man,

Kissed her on the neck and

Said “baby I just wanna dance.”

It had to be coincidence, but as you continued listening, you knew that Louis was telling the truth that night. He had kept his word. You quickly jotted down the name of the song and the artist who sang it, Ed Sheeran. You were quite familiar with his work, and knew he didn’t normally write upbeat songs.

When you reached your gig, you quickly Googled who had written the song, and right at the top of the results, was Louis’s name.

—

When you arrived home that night, you decided to DM him. You didn’t expect an answer, but it was worth a try.

y/n:l/n - You really fucking did it, Doncaster.

You got a reply seconds later.

louist91 - what can I say, Galway girl? I keep my word

Tagging @everything-is-alrightt bc I asked her on anon if she wanted to be tagged and she said yes... so... 😂

[knight-already]

At the local library.

Severus came to listen, hiding in the corner. He wasn't suppose to be here.

"My Gram use to bring me. But she died." Severus explained, when they noticed he was alone.

One day his father comes to find him in a panic as he wasn't playing in the forest as he usually did, with his mother trailing behind.

"Son! " Tobias  Smacks him behind the head, once he was in reach with his trouble maker he called a son. Here he was fearing the worst -- He could even finish that thought, he was just glad his son was safe.

"Ow, Da! Gram said your not suppose to playing rough with me!" Severus held the back of his head.

"Gram --" Tobias deflated a bit before retaliating, "Well, Gram also said you weren't supposed to run off on your own!"

Severus gasped as he got caught, "I'm sorry.” he bowed his head, “But gram always takes me to hear stories."

"Why,” Tobias asked sounding rather tired, "didn't you ask yer ma?" Tobias eyed his wife

"She said no." Severus kept his head bowed talking softly

" I told you” Eileen says a bit annoyed, "I was busy, and that you should go play."

"I want to listen to stories!"

" it's a long way from home son. It's not like you playing in the forest, something coulda happened. "

“I know how to get here.” 

“Ah this kid!” Tobias sighed through clenched teeth, he blows out a breath before saying more calmly, “Let's go now son.”

“I won't go!”

“You stubborn little creature! Acting like I can't just pick you up!”

“No!” Severus protested

“Elaine!” He whisper yells, trying not to draw attention, “He's gone and stuck himself to the floor again!”

“No, I won't go!” Severus crosses his arms across his chest.

“Why?!” Bellows the frustrated father.

“Cause I want to hear the story!”

“You don't hav'ta do nothing!” Tobias said trying to pull him free, “we're going home.”

“No!” 

“That is enough!” This was the first input Eileen had added since it started.

“This behavior is unacceptable Severus.” She crossed her arms looking down at him, “We are not staying here, you purposely ran away and you think you should be rewarded? Your smarter than that.”

Severus didn’t pay her any mind, “Da please ~”

“Severus --” Call Eileen again

“Fine,” Surrendered Tobias, “unstick.”

“Tobias!” She said looking over at him betrayed, he was always to soft on him.

“I dunno how.”

“Alright... I guess we have no choice, Da's gonna have to just cut 'em off.” Tobias reaches into his pocket to get his whittling knife. “wont hurt a bit son”

“No!” Severus in his panic had managed to unstick himself.

“There!” Tobias hulled him off his feet, ”Gottcha you rascal.” and throws him over his shoulder,

“You promised!" Severus said hitting Tobias back with his little fist.

“Fine,” Tobias sighed, the fight leaving his body, he was just so tired, “one story.”

*

after***“

“You’re to lenient with him!” argued Eileen once they were home, and Severus was put to bed.

“I got him to unstick didn't I?” Tobias was so tired, he just wanted to sleep.

“I would have made him listen if you hadn’t budded in!” Elieen persisted, “its your fault he’s like this!”

“My fault?” Tobias said growing angry, “It wasn't me who lost him! You never know where he is! I’ve asked you to not let him run off in the forest you can’t do that usually why would I trust you’d be able to do this?”

“So this is my fault?” 

“Yes, it is! You’ve got to watch him he’s only a boy what more its all this magic business!”

“I told you I was busy!”

Tobias laughed humourlessly, “You were busy? doing what? sitting on your arse all day? It couldn't be that you were cleaning, cooking or mending, your rubbish at it all! Look at this place!”

Eileen flushed with shame, “You think its so easy?”

“Oh no, I’m sure you worked hard all day... That’s why the house looks like this --!”

The door creaked and there was the softest gasp.

“Oh great.” Tobias mumbled throwing the covers off of himself, going to get his little ease dropping Severus. “does no one sleep anymore?”

in one swift movement Tobias opened the door caught Severus who was secretly trying to sneak away and grabbed him, “What are you doing outta bed?” He asked maybe more angrily than he meant too.

Severus cringed a bit as his father had grabbed him to roughly, not mindful of his strength and the smaller body, “I’m sorry Da.”

“Its fine son.” he sighed, as Severus put his head on his shoulder “Lets get you back to bed.”

*

Severus is pretty young here but idk how old, maybe six? he hasnt met lily yetif that helps.

[platypanthewriter]

Popsicles

Harringrove April day 17, Popsicles.  Tews commits crimes, and Steve and Billy work some things out because of them.

It started the day Dustin’s cat was convicted of theft.  

They held a trial, with Mrs. Henderson crying on the couch, Mike arguing for the prosecution, Lucas for the defense, and Max as the expert witness, pointing out that a wedding ring was much too large to fit into the mouth of a small cat.

Will presided over the trial and declared her guilty, on the grounds that she had been the one to smack it around the counter when Mrs. Henderson sat it next to the sink while she fixed a leak in the pipes.  It took her all day, and the handles turned the wrong way now, but the sink worked again, and in her triumph, she’d gone to take a shower.

Tews had given in to temptation and the call of the One Ring, and leaped up to pat it into, they all suspected, the Mount Doom of the kitchen, the crack between the counter and the stove.  Dustin was also sentenced, as the one who had seen a small cat succumb to the call of Sauron, and done nothing to save her from his influence.  

They’d all tried to pull it out for hours, with coathangers, the mop handle, and even the feather duster, with no success, and Tews had compounded her crimes by pouncing on all their weaponry.  El tried last, glowering into the depths, but no ring had emerged.

Tews was convicted of grand feline theft for stealing Sauron’s one ring, which they assessed at over one thousand dollars.

“It’s not as though Sauron made more,” Mike pointed out, and Will nodded, his lips thinning grimly.  “And it says here,” Mike said, hefting the law book he’d snagged from the library, “—that burglarizing someone’s house while they’re home heightens the offense.”  

“She also tried to pretend she was actually playing with a potato chip,” Dustin sighed.  “Wasting the investigation’s time, and perverting the course of justice.”

“And jumped on my head,” Will pointed out.

“Assaulting a respected and valued member of the court,” Mike said.

“Tews,” Dustin sighed, holding her up.  “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.”  She squirmed, meowing, and batted at his nose, and Lucas grimaced.  

“Harsh, man,” he said.

“I’m gonna have to say guilty,” Will said, shaking his head.  

“Let’s go light on the sentencing, though,” said Max, distracting the defendant with a piece of string.  “—you don’t want her coming out a more hardened criminal than she went in.”

“She’s showing no remorse,” Mike said, as Tews wriggled on the carpet, batting at their pant legs.  “I recommend house arrest to the jury.”  He picked her up and presented her to El.  “Don’t let pity sway you,” he said.  “If some innocent creature finds the One Ring where it fell, their heart will be darkened.”

“She played with powers she did not understand,” Dustin agreed.

El blinked at them, and then at Tews, dangling resignedly from Mike’s hands.  “Uh,” she said.  

 In the kitchen, a trickle from Mrs. Henderson’s homemade popsicles ran from the freezer down into the fridge.

 A week later, Billy walked in and slid his arms around Steve’s waist while Steve was brushing his teeth.  In the mirror, he had a weird look on his face.  “...Harrington,” he muttered.

“F’meah?” Steve asked, his mouth full of toothpaste, and Billy raised his eyebrows.  

“...just ate a popsicle…” he said, dragging it out, like Steve was supposed to make something of that.

“Hngmm?” he asked, intelligently.

“From the freezer,” Billy said, widening his eyes further, like that was helpful info.

Steve spit, and rinsed his mouth.  “That’s where we keep ‘em,” he said, staring back, because he could be just as unhelpful, if he tried.  He’d learned from the best.

Billy turned his head, groaning against Steve’s neck.  Billy’s face was red, Steve realized, and he turned in Billy’s arms—narrowly avoiding elbowing him in the face—and gave him a kiss—minty from his toothpaste, and cherry-flavored, because Billy’s lips and tongue were still red from Mrs. Henderson’s homemade popsicles.  Billy’s face was hot against Steve’s hands, and he was a little shaky, his eyes shiny and teary, and Steve wiped a thumb under Billy’s thick lashes.  

Billy wrapped his arms around Steve’s ribs and hauled him out of the bathroom, tossing him on the bed, and sat on his chest, glowering down.  “Why’re you playing innocent about this,” he hissed, grabbing Steve’s hands.  “I ate a fucking popsicle, okay, it’s hot here at fucking eight o’clock in the morning.”

There was a different kind of heat on Steve’s mind, with Billy’s weight on his ribcage, and Billy’s chest and face filling Steve’s vision, but he cleared his throat, opening his mouth, as Billy whipped a wedding ring out of nowhere and waved it in his face.

“...you want to get married,” Steve whispered, his face heating as fast as Billy’s, like the blood tap in his chest had been turned entirely to ‘hot’.  “Y-you want to marry me?”

“We can’t just walk into a church—” Billy growled, his fingers tightening on Steve’s wrists, and Steve started giggling, smiling so wide his face hurt.  

“You want to, though,” he breathed.  

“...I don’t wanna walk into a fucking church,” Billy groaned, letting Steve reach up and touch his face.  “Rent some...shitty tux.  Make invitations.”

“But you do wanna be married to me,” Steve told him, beaming.  “You want me wearing your ring.  You want everybody to know I’m yours.” 

“Fuck yeah I want that,” Billy said softly, sighing.  “Too bad we can’t have—”

“I can wear a ring,” Steve pointed out.  “We can have a party.  We can—we can make Hopper say vows.”

“...I’m just picturing it like him saying grace, that time,” Billy said, grimacing, and Steve burst into snickers.

“Good men, nice bed, well done, be wed,” he offered, and Billy cracked up, leaning in to kiss him, softly, and then lie on top of him, sighing.  He was hot, and suddenly Steve wanted a popsicle, so he kissed Billy again, tasting the cherry on his lips.  “...I want a popsicle too,” he realized.  “For breakfast.”

“...anything more we’re gonna find in there?” Billy asked, raising his eyebrows.  He didn’t shift, so instead of getting up, Steve ran his fingers over Billy’s side, and then squeezed him, at the thought that Billy Hargrove wanted to marry him.  It was weird, and Steve couldn’t help snickering again, and kissing Billy’s hair.  “...didn’t even know we had a popsicle making...thing,” Billy mumbled, squirming even though he couldn’t get closer.  “...they’re pretty good, though.  You’re such a freak, jesus.”

Steve opened his mouth, closed it, and considered his sudden memory of Dustin bringing over a casserole, and the bag of homemade popsicles.  He remembered, additionally, Dustin saying they’d held a trial for his cat, and started laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe.

 When Billy could get Steve to speak in sentences again, instead of gasping, he stared.  “You—you’re saying…” he said, clenching the wedding ring in a white-knuckled hand.  

“We have to give it back,” Steve told him, kissing his face.  “We’ll get one that fits you, babe.  We’ll go pick it out.”

“I thought you were asking me,” Billy said, his shoulder blades hitting the wall as he backed away.  “I—I thought—”

“I’ve wanted to, I would’ve,” Steve lied, remorselessly, because he hadn’t thought Billy had the same dumb fantasies he did, and he wouldn’t have asked, for fear of Billy laughing him off.  “I want to, I do, we’ll—look,” he said, setting his shoulders.  “I’ll take off work.  We’ll go today, and give Dustin’s mom her ring back on the way home.”

“Make an honest man of me, Harrington,” Billy said, smirking over at him, but he didn’t let go of the ring he’d found in his popsicle until he had another one sized for his finger, and Steve had pulled the car over, and slid it on Billy’s hand with an accompanying kiss.

“Think it’d take more than this,” Steve said, as Billy slid Steve’s onto his finger.

“...we coulda got cockrings instead,” Billy whispered against Steve’s lips, and Steve snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, but if the idea is you want the bank teller to know I’m yours, d’you really want me arrested?”

 Tews was cleared of grand feline theft, though not of the various cat crimes of jumping on the head of the judge, and interfering with an active investigation.  Dustin apologized to her, though, and gave her most of a can of tuna, after running back to his mom’s room with the ring.  

“It was my mother’s,” she said, when she came out to feed them more popsicles.  Steve and Billy eyed each other over them, holding them up to the light to survey for more valuables, or spiders, possibly, Steve thought.  He half expected to find a LEGO man fighting a toy dragon, but all he could see was red, so he bit carefully, and looked up to see Billy watching his mouth, and swallowing.  

“We’ll get on planning you a ceremony right away,” Dustin told Steve and Billy, his eyes on their matching rings, and they shook their heads rapidly, but Dustin stood, waving his fist at the sky.  “Lord of the Rings themed!”

 Steve threw a piece of tuna to make Tews climb up Dustin’s leg, and they escaped.

The other Harringrove April prompts I’ve done

[littlekatleaf]

Love's perfect ache

Well look at that, I am alive and I come bearing fic! This takes place after "Offer me my deathless death".

But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake. ~ Hozier, Arsonist’s Lullaby

When Roadhog slides out from under the covers, off to do his usual early morning routine - tea, meditation, some sorta martial arts practice with Hanzo - Junkrat doesn’t complain, just rolls over, curling closer to Lúcio. Shivers a little, but Lú wraps an arm around him and he slides back down into sleep, grounded and warm.

Chills wake him the second time, shivering hard enough to rattle teeth. Sun’s higher now, though still not a reasonable time to wake. Mystery as to why both Roadie and Lú are morning people. Be funny, weren’t so annoying. Least Roadie has the sense to grumble about it until he’s caffeinated. Not Lúcio. Bright and cheerful at the asscrack of dawn as he is midday. Or midnight. Where’d he go, anyway? Junkrat pries his eyes open, blinking against a rising need to sneeze and catches sight of Lúcio picking his shorts up off the floor. “Oi Lú, ya ain’t need to clean up after me,” he blurts, but too late.

The necklace, forgotten until just this second, slides from his pocket and onto the floor where it lays, glittering. Lúcio frowns, scoops it up. Silent as Roadie. Not like his usual self.

“I can explain.” Maybe starting to talk’ll jumpstart his brain because at the moment it’s empty and dry as the middle of the Outback. “Found it during your set last night. Just walkin’ through the crowd an’ accidentally bumped into this sheila when I sneezed. She dropped it an’ before I could catch her attention to give it back she disappeared. Ain’t no way to find out who she was.”

“She dropped it.”

Junkrat shrugs. “Guess I surprised her.” Staying closer to truth needs less creativity. Still feeling fuzzy headed.

“Really.”

“Would I lie to ya?”

“I didn’t think so.” There’s an odd note in Lúcio’s voice. He doesn’t meet Junkrat’s eyes as he drops the necklace into his hand.

Makes a sickness rise in Junkrat’s stomach that has nothing to do with the cold. Doesn’t even want the damn thing anymore. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. “All right, fine. I took it. What ya lookin’ like that for though, mate? Reckon ya know what I do. No need to be a fuckin’ prig about it.”

“I thought I knew what you did, Junkrat.” Lúcio’s still quiet. Too quiet. Junkrat prefers yellin’ and cussin’ - get it all out and over with.

“Look, ain’t like the loss is gonna hurt her. Stupid rich cunt. Reckon she got plenty more where that came from.” Clenches his fingers so tight around the fucking necklace that the stones cut into his skin. Keeps feeling like he’s gonna sneeze, and it’s got him off his game.

Lúcio shakes his head. He's gathering up his stuff - more than just the clothes he’d shed the night before. Headphones, holopad, handheld game, toothbrush. A mug. A buddha. Everything he’d brought to their room.

“Come on, what d’ya want me to do? Turn myself in? Throw myself on Morrison’s mercy?” Even as he’s trying to keep his tone arch, a pit is widening in his stomach. Gotta be something he can say, something he can do to make this right. Throat’s dry and aching and he coughs a little to clear it. Doesn’t help, still tight.

Lúcio doesn’t even look up from his backpack. Just slides in his notebook and a scarf Roadhog made him.

“Come on, Lú. She’s some suit, not even anyone we know. Ain’t no love lost between you and the suits. You really telling me ya give a flying fuck about one tiny necklace, after all the shit they done?”

Lúcio shoulders the backpack and gives Junkrat a long measuring look.

His gaze is so piercing that Rat squirms under the scrutiny. Luckily the feathery tickle that’s been bothering him suddenly spikes into a need. Almost grins but catches himself in time. He wrenches forward with a sneeze, quickly followed by two more. “Huh Iiiishew! Tsh! Isshew! Ugh. Sorry, I…”

Lúcio cuts off the apology. “Save it. I can't believe you’d use that against me. That’s a low move, even for you.”

“Wait, what?” The words hit like a fist to the stomach. Hurts enough that he actually folds his arms over his middle. He blinks, confused at the unexpected attack. “What do you mean, even for me?”

“You fight dirty, Junkrat.” Lúcio sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look. I knew what you and Roadhog did before you joined Overwatch. I’m not naive.”

“Might beg to differ,” Junkrat mumbles, unable to help himself.

Lúcio doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the interruption. “I just thought you’d changed. Thought… I don’t know… maybe that being around us, getting to know who we are and what we stand for… I guess I hoped that you’d actually changed. Guess you were just using us to stay out of prison. Mei warned me, but I assumed she was being cynical.”

Junkrat opens his mouth to argue but before he can even get a word out, he sneezes. Hadn’t even felt it coming. The usual triplicate. “Heh-Iiishh! Issh! T’issh!” Just finishes one set when another hits. “Heh T’chew! Ishh! Ah-Rrishh!” Only gets a breath or two before another washes over him. “Hih… uh’shhh! Isshew! Huh-Ashhhuh!” Rubs his nose. “Jesus, that coulda killed…” looks up over his sleeve; realizes he’s alone. “Me,” he finishes in a mutter. Lúcio’d gone somewhere in the middle of the sneezing and Junkrat hadn’t even heard the door close. Well fuck.

He should follow, confront Lúcio. Have a proper row instead of this… whatever this is. But he’s tired, still. Not sure where Lú’s gone and the thought of having to traipse all over the fucking Watchpoint to find him feels like too much work. Considers searching out coffee, breakfast, something to soothe the edgy sensation making him want to climb out of his skin. Instead he ends up sitting on the sofa, just sorta staring aimlessly at the spot where Lúcio usually kept his Buddha.

Doesn’t know how much time passes before the door creaks open and Roadhog steps in.

“You’d better fucking apologize to Lúcio, Rat.” He’s got his arms crossed over his chest, doing his best enforcer impression.

“Not so much as a ‘good mornin’, how ya feelin’?” Junkrat snaps back.

Roadhog shrugs, clearly unconcerned. “Afternoon now, and you sound like shit, so you probably feel like shit. Doesn’t make any difference.”

“You’re my bodyguard. Why’s he got you in here fighting his battles for him?” The edge of his own tone pisses him off more. “What, exactly, deserves an apology anyway? So I stole one single, solitary fuckin’ necklace, ain’t from no one he knows, ain’t none of his business.”

Roadhog just stares at him, with his fucking blank-faced mask. Times like these Junkrat wants to rip the leather from his face. Instead he clenches his fists in his pockets.

“Ain’t the necklace,” Roadhog says finally. “You tried to turn him on to get out of an argument.”

“Fuckin’ well didn’t,” Rat protests. “That’s what he thinks of me? That’s what you think of me?” Both of them. Both of them think he’s fucking selfish, that he’d use anything to his advantage, even if it hurt someone else. The understanding is worse than the headache pounding his temples. Worse than the fact that Lúcio left in the first place.

Roadhog’s still stone. And Junkrat’s nose is tickling. Because of course it is. Scrubs at it with rough knuckles, but instead of backing off like it did the night before, it just increased the intensity of the sensation. Ducks away from Roadhog, tries to hide the sneezes in the collar of his shirt.

It’s another interminable round of sneezing. When he finally catches his breath, realizes Roadhog is right in front of him. Feels Roadie’s frown, even behind the mask. Suddenly he reaches out and presses a hand to Junkrat’s forehead.

Huffs a small surprised breath. “Got a fever.”

Junkrat’s turn to shrug. “Told ya last night I was gettin’ sick.”

“Thought you were… exaggerating for effect.” Roadhog has the grace to sound contrite.

“A little, maybe.” Junkrat coughs.

“Not much, apparently.” Roadhog sighs, sits next to him and puts an arm around his shoulders, drawing him close.

Junkrat leans into his warmth, his solidity. “Didn’t want to piss him off,” he says. “Just took the necklace without thinkin’. An’ maybe I was trying to get out of trouble - don’t like to have him mad at me.”

“Not the one who needs your apology, Rat. He’s in his room.” Roadhog squeezes his shoulders once, presses a kiss to the top of his head and stands up.

Junkrat sighs and looks wistfully at the bed. Absolutely bloody knackered, but knows he won’t be able to sleep with Lúcio angry. With one last longing sigh, he heads across the Watchpoint to find Lúcio.

At first there’s no response to his knock. The ache in his stomach’s back, and he clears his throat nervously. Pitches his voice loud enough to carry through the door, but hopefully not loud enough for Mei to hear him. “Oi, Lúcio? Open up, mate.”

Still nothing. Jesus, had he really fucked it up this badly, that he won’t even answer the door? Knocks again, louder. “Come on, Lú, least let me apologize.” Shoulda brought tissues, he realizes as his nose runs. He sniffles, and as he does the door finally slides back.

To Rat’s surprise, Lúcio can pull off a look almost as forbidding as Roadhog. Might be a good bit shorter, and half Roadie’s weight, but he’s channeling the largeness of his stage presence and it sends Rat back a step.

“What do you want?” No welcome in his voice or his posture. He stands in the center of the doorway and crosses his arms.

“Said I wanted to apologize,” Junkrat says, biting off the words. Then reconsiders. “Wait, no. Ain’t how I mean it.” He tries to collect his thoughts, to say the right thing for once. “I am sorry, Lú. For stealin’ the necklace. An’ for tryin’ to take advantage of a situation…” to his utter dismay he realizes he needs to sneeze again. This time he’s got enough advanced warning to actually step back away from the doorway and turn fully away.

Starts slow, just a weirdly spaced out triple. “Huhtshh!... Tssh!.. Huh… ihhh... Tshhhuh!” They do nothing to clear the tickle, he just keeps sneezing. He loses count after nine and by the end of it his throat’s gone raw.

“Saúde, Rat, Jesus. You okay?” Lúcio’s resting a hand in the center of his back, warmth radiates out from the touch, and it steadies him. Luckily Lúcio’s also more prepared, passing tissues over his shoulder.

Junkrat blows his nose, tries to clean up a bit. “Been better. Really am crook. Ain’t makin’ that up.”

Lúcio pulls him into a hug. “Yeah, no shit. I’m sorry for saying that, I know you wouldn’t. I was just so pissed. Come on, come inside. I felt like I got hit by a truck when I was down with the cold.” Draws him into the room. The lights are dimmed, soft music playing, and when Lúcio urges him to lay down in his bed he has to resist the urge to immediately curl up and sleep.

To his surprise, Lúcio lays next to him. They both stare at the ceiling, rather than at each other.

“You lied to me, Junkrat,” Lúcio says quietly. His voice is firm. Won’t take no shit.

“I didn’t…”

“You said she dropped the necklace.”

Fuck. He did. “Just… didn’t want ya lookin’ at me like that. Like you was disappointed in me. Like you was judging me. For takin’ something from a suit. A suit who has more than enough and…” “You have more than enough now, don’t you?”

The question stops him cold.

“You work for Overwatch, you get paid, you get room and board. You aren’t in Junkertown. You aren’t alone. You don’t have to do that anymore.”

For a minute wishes he’d sneeze again, just to have something to break the silence. “And when Overwatch is done with me,” he asks, just above a whisper, “what then?”

Lúcio pauses before he answers. “That’s up to you, isn’t it? Up to you how much you change, and how real that change is.”

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 76: Interlocking Horns

Chapters: 76/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: pg

Relationships: Loki x Reader

Characters: Loki (Marvel),

Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Culture Clash Imminent, Protective Dad

Summary:  You and your father discuss your living situation, and you mull over your thoughts on Buridag.

Loki was agitated when he lay beside you that night. You'd spent most of the evening showing Tara and your father around to all the places you spent your time. The library, the training grounds, the courtyards, the banquet halls, the common rooms, and even the throne room, which was empty at the time. Over dinner, you told sanitized versions of your adventures; the battle with the Huldra and the Frost Giant, The magical illusion lessons, and the magic you were also capable of, how you had exploded a plate, and met the legendary Sleipnir, whom Tara demanded to see as soon as possible. You showed them your knife, and told them about your armor, and your glorious helmet.

Your father was not terribly impressed by the food. “Not enough seasonings.” he declared, and you told him about the time you'd pranked Loki by putting chili pepper in his meal. He got a good laugh out of your description of the composed prince turning purple, and trying to pretend to all onlookers that everything was just fine.

“Hope he didn't get mad at you.” Tara said.

“Nah. The thing about Loki is that he actually appreciates it when you get the best of him. He likes getting legitimately got. I get the feeling he had to deal with a lot of sycophants growing up, while at the same time being overshadowed in everything he did. Loki can sense lies, did you know that? He can just tell when you're lying. Imagine growing up surrounded by people who don't even like you, but will constantly lie to your face about it. And keep doing it even after they know you can tell they're lying. And they're still doing it! It's wild! Some of these aristocrats are stupidly bigoted, and they keep trying to fool Thor or Loki into making laws that exclude humans from things, but both of them have personal reasons not to do that, as well as political reasons. I mean, there's seven billion of us, we're not gonna be excluded from anything on this planet, and it's ludicrous to even try. But I guess they've been at this for so long, that they can't even think of doing things any differently.

That's part of where I come in. Loki says I represent an inevitability. That humans like us will come to be a part of Asgard, just like the Vanir and Alfar did before us. Some of these nobles want to put that off as long as possible, but I think Loki and Thor are right; better get that integration started early.”

“Then why is there only you?” your father pointed out, “Why not integrate more humans in a group? Why not those people in the weird lodges outside the city?”

“Couple reasons.” you said, “first off, I think they wanted to make sure humans and Asgardians could be culturally compatible. Like, that we could stand to live with one another.”

“Yeah, saw some of that cultural compatibility just a little while ago.” your father grumbled.

“We used to do stuff like that too, you know. And until recently, too. I think there's still some places that do dowries and such, just not us. But if you think about it, Asgardians live to be thousands of years old, and they used to visit Earth a lot. There was cultural exchange for sure. It's just that we change and evolve culturally at the speed of light compared to them. He really should have asked me about it though, I coulda told him it didn't work that way. He does love surprises, and he wants to preserve his culture, but we could have at least discussed it.”

“You discuss things with him? And he listens?”

“Sometimes. That's a part of my job too; advising, on human matters especially. That's why he should have asked, but I think he just really wanted to impress you.”

Your father rolled his eyes. You sighed. This was going to be difficult.

“Dad, this is so important. Doing this for me is unprecedented. I know it doesn't look like it, but we've been working hard, and dealing with some tough situations, but we've come through them all, and kept going. He's proud of me, I'm proud of me, and I am okay with my life here. I'm happy with it even. I miss you, and I know you miss me, but I like my work here.”

“You've almost died three times! In one year! Three times! Keeping you alive is the most basic possible thing, and he's almost failed three times!” he exclaimed.

“His only fault is not seeing the future, then!” You exclaimed back. “Who could predict that a crazy man would come all the way out here to try and assassinate literally anyone he saw? Who could expect that one of their own people would be so monumentally stupid as to hit me right in front of him? Why would anyone ever think that there were giants sleeping under our feet for a thousand years? How could anyone plan for any of that?”

“You're starting to talk like them, you know.” Tara pointed out. “You're picking up the accent. Your vocabulary's changed.”

“I've been studying a lot. I hadn't noticed the accent though. Is it very obvious?”

“Eh, it's no big deal. If you'd just moved here on your own, you'd probably sound kinda Icelandic anyway. I just think it's cute, you sounding like all these high-falutin', fancy alien folks.”

You wanted to thank her. For years and years, when you and your father had started arguing, she would brazenly interrupt with something completely off topic, and completely derail the dispute. Your father was as passionate an individual as you were, which was probably where you got it in the first place, but Tara had always known when to interject.

“The point is,” you said, much more calmly, “is that the world has gotten weird. And since I've been studying, I've been finding out that it was weird in the past too. We've just been coasting by on a short period of relative calm, but it's not going to last forever. In fact, it's over. There is an entire alien species  living on Earth now. Nobody has to like them, but they are here. Loki can't demand forgiveness, and he's told me he's prepared to accept that there may be people who never accept him, no matter what he does. But he is doing things. He's doing good for his people; he knows how to do that. He's trying to do his best by me, and I'm helping him to know how to do that. I clearly need to communicate with him a bit more about that. He doesn't have to do any of this, but he chose to. From the beginning, he chose to do this. I mean, don't get me wrong, he sucked at it in the beginning; he had no idea what he was doing.  He was kind of an overbearing creep, and when I got hurt the first time, I swear, he was inches away from locking me away in a closet somewhere so no one else could hurt me.”

Your father raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he totally freaked out. I had to convince him that there was no way he could protect me from everything, but he sure wanted to. I wasn't gonna let that happen though. Maybe I can't leave, but I haven't let this place become a prison either.”

“Baby girl, I'm proud of you, don't ever think I'm not, but a father really never cares for a man who takes his daughter away.” your father said, “I don't think he deserves your defense. But you seem happy, and that's what I'm supposed to care most about right? I'm not gonna be his friend, but I'm not gonna cause trouble while I'm here, for your sake, and also because I gotta represent humanity, right? I love you, and I'm not trying to ride your case, I just don't like that guy. I'm not as forgiving as you are. But I'm not gonna get into a public fight with him or anything.”

“Thanks. And hey, I'm not gonna demand that you be friends with all my friends, I just have a really big day looming over me, and I'm already stressed. But, like, if you have any questions, now is probably the best time.”

“Oh, I got a few!” Tara said. “What actually is wrong with you?”

“Uh, loaded question.”

“No, no. I mean, yeah, but no. I mean, you said these guys were taking care of your medical problems, but you never actually said what they were. Have they figured out what's going on?”

“Ehhh, kinda. It's not exactly a medical problem. It's this.” You held out your hand, showing the mark. “You know how we couldn't figure out what caused this? It's magical in nature.”

“You told me you got drunk and got a tattoo!” your father accused.

“What was I supposed to say? I didn't know what had happened at the time! I didn't even know it was Loki I had grabbed, I didn't find that out until later. Tara saw: I took his hand to get his attention, and this shape burned into my palm. It did the same to him, I found out. It made us both sick. But when we're close together, we heal. Even when I got hurt, being close heals me faster. This is also what woke up my magic. It was always there, but this was what made it accessible. The whole thing is just magic. The only thing we don't really know is why it happened.”

“Magic. It's so weird.” your father said. “It just doesn't make any sense. What is magic? How do you do it?”

“It's a kind of energy manipulation. Like electricity or solar power, but it's less generalized. Like, some things are actual spells that always work the same way, but I haven't learned much of that yet. Gotta get my specific magic under control first. I'm getting pretty good at it. I do it by...well, it feels a certain way. So I concentrate on feeling like that...”

A bowl of apples disappeared from the end of the table, and reappeared in your hands. Both Tara and your father leaned away in surprise as you set the bowl back on the table.

“I move things from one place to another. I don't know the upper limit on size or distance yet. Maybe someday I will move mountains.”

“Does that scare you?” your father asked. “All this magic stuff?”

“Sometimes. It's so strange to think that it's me doing this, and not some woman in a book, or a movie. That it's really real. Even after everything that's happened over the past few years, it's still hard to really understand that all this is real. That every single person you've seen here is hundreds of years older than you, and was born light years away, in space, on a whole other world. That they have millions of years of history that I'm learning about. Some of these people remember a time before the language we are speaking even existed.”

“That's freaky.” Tara said.

“Don't I know it. But somehow, they manage to live in the moment in a way I find kinda enviable. They're looking to the future, but they aren't worried about it like I used to be. It's so liberating not to have to worry about that. About rent, or healthcare, or who's gonna take care of me when I get old, or if I'm even gonna get old. All of that has been lifted off of me, and I'm free to study and learn, and be something unique, and I actually really like it.”

“I'm glad for you.” Tara said. “So who's your tailor?”

You giggled. “I'm super fashionable, for someone a thousand years ago, aren't I? This isn't actually Asgardian fashion, exactly. It's more of a fusion. Isn't it fancy?”

“It's freakin' gorgeous. Is it some kind of uniform?”

“It didn't start out that way, but it sorta became that. The seamstresses hadn't visited Earth in like, a thousand years, so all the illustrations and memories they had were from then or before. So at first they thought that must be how I was supposed to be dressed, and then it just became my signature. It's really comfy, and pretty, and most importantly, it's warm. I mean, I know the place is called Iceland, but I was still surprised at how cold it gets. If you want, I bet I could get you some.”

Tara went to bed happy, and your father went to bed grumpy, but quiet. Then you went to bed, and Loki slunk under the thick blankets with you, holding you uneasily.

He got like this occasionally, cradling you as if he feared you would disappear in the night. It wasn't any real surprise, when you thought about some of the things he'd been through, the abandonment, the loss. You knew he wasn't, and would never be perfect, but you were still prepared to defend him to all comers. You weren't going to vanish from his arms, but you'd probably have to prove it every night. You could do that. You were more than willing to; there hadn't been another man in your life that had made you feel so safe and comfortable when sleeping, and you wanted to keep that feeling.

Tomorrow was the first day of Buridag festivities. Loki said it would start out with a parade that would lead to the site of the new courthouse. There would be traditional poetry and song, and everyone would perform the building task that had been assigned to them weeks ago. Then there would be the First Feast; a meal composed of worker's foods, prettied up for the nobles palettes. You'd seen the menu; it was grain salads and porridges, hearty soups and rustic breads with eggs, jams, young cheeses, winter vegetables, dried fruit, and herbs and spices in approximation with traditional Asgardian flavors. It was a reminder that, in Buri's day, Asgard's prosperity had not been assured, and many of the working class had to make do with rougher fare. Supposedly, the First Feast was meant to rebuke those who took workers for granted, and remind everyone whose hands had built their world.

Personally you thought that was a little patronizing, but you also didn't come from a monarchical culture. Perhaps this was something like an Asgardian Saturnalia, a festival of transformation. A celebration of something being built from nothing, Asgard being built by Asgardian hands.

And yours. Loki and Thor would be laying the foundations and blessing them with some of their more ephemeral power, the thing that awoke the primordial fear in you, made you instinctively cower and search for a tree to hide in when Loki became truly angry. The power that was beyond magic, that reached into the divine.

You, however, had been assigned a brick. It was a decorative brick, that would line a window, and it lay in a stack of other window-bricks at the site. Just one piece of a huge community project. You rather liked that. You knew for sure that the aristocracy did not engage with the common Asgardian nearly often enough before the tragedy of Ragnarok, but now both Loki and Thor went out among their people often, nobles and commoners mingled every day, and the community was becoming less and less divided. There were people who resisted that, of course. People who wanted to claw back every ounce of their perceived power, who tried to pass deliberately discriminatory legislation, people who simply hadn't yet come to accept that their lives had changed.

You were change. Loki was very approving about it. You represented the New, the Necessary Change, the Social Upheaval that led to a Bright Future. You couldn't help but wonder if that was too big for you to carry all by yourself. On the one hand, you weren't exactly alone; Loki was beside you all the way, Andsvarr, Saldis and the Valkyries supported you, even down to the twins. Saga, and even the strange Lofn approved of you.

On the other hand, your father was right; you were still the only human who actually lived here. The first and only human with Asgardian citizenship. A trial run, essentially alone, to see if you, as a stand-in for all humankind, could make it. It was heavy.

But you were doing it. In a little less than a year, you had learned a great deal of Asgardian history and law, had helped actual royalty with things like resource management and policy reform, learned knifework, learned actual magic! You had met several of Earth's greatest heroes, were going to be titled, were becoming a liaison between Asgard and the human settlements growing next door. You had learned some Asgardian, become a prince's lover, and even learned how to play a drum. You yourself were becoming something new. Embodying the Necessary Change.

And maybe that was what you had needed in the first place. For so long, it seemed like you had been trying to let go of an old self, let go of everything you'd gone through. Shed your old skin and emerge, clean and soft into the light of a new day. And so you were. You just hadn't realized that once you started, it would happen again and again, skin after skin, quivering and raw. But you felt new. Despite the pressure, you felt new.

[anon-e-miss]

Instransigence 9

There had been no movement on any of Mirage’s cameras, and Jazz could not decide if this was a positive or a negative. Perhaps it was a mix of both. Barricade would not be talking for a long time, if ever. In the mean time Jazz had questions he wanted answered. Nightstalker was dead, and the mnemosurgeons had not found much. The rusting processor of a dead mechanism was not a treasure trove that could be simply picked clean. It was generally only the last moments of a life that could be pulled out. All they had pulled out of Nightstalker was the thrill of the chase, and some deeply dark desires. There was no doubt in Jazz’s processor that Prowl’s attackers, at least that one, had intended on raping him before they killed him. He thought better of sharing that bit of information with Smokescreen.

He did not caution Smokescreen to watch his speed as they drove to the base in the early joors of the light-cycle. Jazz kept pace with his rookie, driving just a few kilometres over the speed limit. They did not come across any enforcers looking to fill their quota of tickets. Their number were probably in chaos. The Autobot Security Force had descended upon the Enforcer Command and were digging through every workstation and every vault in search of any evidence of a Decepticon infiltration. Ironhide would give his report to Prime and Prime would forward it to Jazz, and Jazz would pick it clean. That was not the only thing Jazz wanted to pick clean. He was certain there was something stashed in Prowl’s memory banks that could be of use. Likely many somethings, but with a recall like Prowl’s the small things and the subtle things could be easily... not so much forgotten as overlooked.

That would probably have to wait until Prowl was off the blockers. Jazz had an almost fond memory of Smokescreen. The dislocation had been an accident, just one of those things that happened during basic training. Though they had only been halfway through the second quartex of basic training, Jazz had already mentally tapped Smokescreen for Spec Ops during his observations. He had been there when an overly excited Tagonian had knocked a minibot recruit off the platform. Smokescreen had performed a wicked dive to catch him before he toppled off the edge. Jazz had been impressed by his moves. He had been less impressed by the Tagonian who had knocked Smokescreen and Volks both over the side as Smokescreen had been pulling the minibot up. One thing was for certain, that mech was not going near one of Jazz’s operations with a ten metre pole.

The dive had confirmed for Jazz that he had wanted Smokescreen for Spec Ops, and he had gone to see  Smokescreen in the medbay only to find the young mech out of his Primus damned mind. Had his medic been any but Ratchet, Jazz would have been reasonable to accuse them of overdosing the Praxian, but it had been Ratchet had he had explained that Smokescreen systems were sensitive to blockers. More sensitive that Ratchet had expected, though Smokescreen had warned him. Jazz had stuck around with the young mech until he had been called away by Hound. By the time he had gotten back, Smokescreen had been picked up by the friend he had commed when he had been dosed out of his helm. Someone designated Ore... Not Ore, Jazz realized now. Origin. Prowl.

Smokescreen had not returned to training until his doorwing had fully healed, a full quartex. Though he had returned to the parade grounds with his unit he had only stayed long enough for Jazz to come and fetch him. When Jazz had taken him back to his office, he had realized quickly that Smokescreen had assumed he was in trouble. Completely by accident Jazz had discovered the identity of the base’s betting ring’s founder. In just one quartex it had taken off. New recruits and seasoned soldiers all enjoyed the underground pool, and recognizing the value of a little distraction, Jazz had left it be. With that discovery and with a look and Smokescreen’s grades, Jazz had adopted Smokescreen as his personal project, rather than shunting him off to one of his seasoned agents. The Praxian was a special talent. He would serve Spec Ops well with a little time and training, and Jazz would be sure he got both.

“He’s groggy,” Ratchet declared when the pair arrived and found the medic waiting. “And grumpy. He woke up in the dark-cycle with some pain so I gave him another small dose. You don’t burn through them as fast, Mechling.”

“No,” Smokescreen replied. “They hit Origin hard but he burns through them fast. They hit me hard too but then they keep me on my aft for mega-cycles. Can I sit with him?”

“Sure, Smokescreen. I’ll give you a few breams before I come in to do another exam.”

“Shouldn’t you recharge?” Smokescreen asked. The tone suggested to Jazz that this was a question Smokescreen had asked before, though not of this mech.

“You just fuss over your Origin,” Ratchet replied. “Go be a pain in his neck.”

Jazz chuckled as Smokescreen scampered off to Prowl’s room. Ratchet had not requested to see the energon he had brought. Maybe Ratchet did not actually care, but Jazz doubted it. Smokescreen had merely distracted him with that sassy observation. From the cant of his doorwings, the young mech was plenty pleased with himself. He definitely had the makings of an operative, though Jazz had somewhat more complex plans in mind for Smokescreen. His rookie was studying psychology at the Academy of Science and Tech here in Iacon. When he had finished his degree he would have a whole different perspective to their operations, to their enemies. He had a two more vorns yet of studying to go before he finished his Bachelor’s. Smokescreen had suggested he was interested in getting his Masters, even a  Doctorate, if he could get the scholarships. There would be no need of that, not of the degree but of the scholarship. Jazz had tapped Optimus for a little bump to his department. Though he did not know it yet, Smokescreen’s education was now covered. Jazz had no doubt this expense would pay the Autobots rich dividends in the end.

“Ya didn’t comm Smokey,” Jazz said as he lingered with Ratchet as the medic polished a wrench.

“There was nothing to comm about,” Ratchet replied. “When I checked in on him he was online. He refused a blocker and I left him to stew. When I came back a joor later he took the blocker.”

“Don’t suppose he mentioned what he was stewin’ on?”

“No. I’m hoping he’s considering what I said about that mnemosurgeon. You’re probably hoping he was stewing on your investigation.”

“I’d take either,” Jazz replied. “Apart from the wiring, what’d that fragger hit?”

“Memory banks, the slash and smash has long healed,” Ratchet replied. “I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish. The base of the helm isn’t a conventional route for that surgery.”

“Wasn’t a surgery,” Jazz said. Ratchet stiffened and he slowly set the wrench down. There was fury in his optics.

“What did the mechling tell you?”

“His origin came home and claimed to be overcharged. He was stumblin’. Smokey mighta gone to his berth believin’ it but he saw the energon drippin’ down Prowl’s neck.”

“It would have been a sight,” Ratchet hissed. “He should have gone to the medicentre. He was stumbling because that wiring relates to his motor relays. If his self repair systems hadn’t grounded the wires, if they’d shorted, it would have been catastrophic.”

“Fatal?”

“Probably.”

“Don’t suppose ya told ‘m that.”

“We had a talk. I’d have had better luck trying to reason with a rock.”

“Smokey said Prowl told’m neither o’em behaved well that dark-cycle.”

“What do you think he meant by that?”

“Don’t know. Date gone wrong. Coulda been anythin’.”

“A date?”

“I told ya it wasn’t surgery.”

“Frag.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s worse, you know,” Ratchet said as he lifted his abandoned wrench back off the counter and set to polishing it again. “There’s no arguing the fragger had the best of intentions. It couldn’t be anything but straight up rape.”

“He told Smokey neither o’ them behaved well.”

“At least on some level he blames himself for it. The fact that he’s an enforcer...”

“Probably figures he shoulda been able to stop it,” Jazz guessed what Ratchet was thinking. He remembered what Smokescreen had said. Worrying what else the fragger had done to his origin. Smokescreen was still worrying. “Probably felt too embarrassed to sit down wit another enforcer to file a complaint.”

“Could it have been another enforcer?” Ratchet wondered out loud.

“That would fit. Smokey didn’t know the fragger’s designation. Don’t sound like he ever got serious wit anyone after his ‘genitor.”

“It’s been three vorns. He’s had three vorns to convince himself he had some part to play in what happened to him. Three vorns for it to fester. I doubt he’s going to give us a designation.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, ‘m thinkin’ the same thing.”

[dragynkeep]

Weiss is best girl. Let's ruin that too. Ironwood makes more sense than the heroes. Let's turn him into a cartoon villain. Let's give Cinder a backstory and explain Ruby's semblance far too late to matter or in ways that contradict previous lore. Hey RT hire me as a writer. This stuff is too easy :)

The biggest problem with RWBY now, along with the inconsistencies and CRWBY’s insistence on interacting with the same FNDM that doxxes people for shipping and attacks crew members for just saying a song isn’t canon, is that hardly any of the characters are likeable anymore.

Ruby was an adorable teen who wanted to make the world better because of the stories read to her in her childhood, and while somewhat flat, she was at least enjoyable to watch. Now she’s a hypocritical little brat who contradicts herself every other sentence (Ozpin lied to us and that’s bad, but I’m gonna lie to Ironwood and it’s good cause it’s somehow different/Penny going to Amity keeps her out of Salem’s reach and that’s good, but we won’t let Atlas lift itself up because Salem will still somehow get them).

Weiss was a racist rich bitch but learned to let go of her prejudice through the help of her friend, becoming the character that most people agree has the best character development. Now she’s content with lying to not only the guy who stood up for her when no one did in Atlas, but even her own sister who told her secrets she didn’t need to know. On top of pointing a weapon in her own brother’s face and then sending him to his room, further isolating him while singing 50 songs about how lonely she was.

Blake is... Blake. 

Ironwood was a morally grey man who wanted to help his kingdom but thought that short term suffering was worth it for ridding the world of the grimm witch that wanted to kill them all. Now he’s a trigger happy asshole who willingly works with villains and shoots people just for disagreeing with him.

None of these characters are likeable. I don’t care what happens to them now, and it’s entirely the writers’ fault. Bringing Eddy and Kiersi on was not such a great idea since they weren’t there from the beginning, Eddy can’t even be trusted to be a lore keeper since he knows jack shit, and now entire episodes are written by different people so the tones and characterisation are all over the place. 

Also, Ruby’s Semblance makes no sense. They coulda just kept it at super speed, they didn’t need to go into science when they obviously don’t know what they’re talking about. No mass means no inertia, meaning that you can’t break out of solid metal doors or be kicked out of the air by Chad Mercury. 

You can’t even argue Semblance evolution since there has been nothing with Ruby training her Semblance outside of one training montage that didn’t even bother to suggest mass alteration. It was just blob Ruby flying around in a circle.

And Ruby not knowing how her Semblance works is dumb af. She already knew she could pick people up, and she was the one shown to know other people’s Semblances. She was the one to explain Yang’s to Blake back in V2. So, you’re telling me she knows how her sister’s works but not her own? Sure.