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kendrixtermina · 5 years ago

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Further reactions to "The book of lost tales":

I appreciate that Idril canonically wears armor and does swordfighting.

I feel like I can actually imagine adult!Idril much better now like in armor and with open hair, distraught but ready to fight while babby Earendil does not yet realize the danger...

My first thought is that Earendil was probably cute in that baby chainmail. My second thought is OUCH, Idril and Tuor always made sure their growing baby had fitting chainmail cause they felt the apocalypse might get them at any moment. Imagine that, imagine them having the baby armor fitted every year or so :(

Its fun how much of the basic structure already exists but most of what you'd consider the main characters doesn't exist or is scattered across various minor roles The only Prince anywhere in sight is Turgon - Except for Team Doriath, theyre all accounted for. I suppose Maeglin is kinda there in name only with vaguely the same role & motivation, but looks personality and background all did a 180 since. Luthien is still pretty much "princesd classic" at this point, not quite the fearless go-getter from the final version - markedly this version tells Beren that she doesnt want to wander in the wilderness with him whereas the final one says she doesnt care and its Beren still wants to get the shiny so as not to ask this of her and also for his honor.

I mean in the finished version Id consider the 3rd and 4th gen royals to be the main characters (well, alobgside Team Doriath and the varioud human heroes) and theyre hardly here. Imagine the silm with no Finrod!

Feanor had no affiliation with the royal family whatsoever, and is also generally less super. He's just the guy who won the jewelsmithing competition, not the inventor of the whole discipline. Still seems to have been envisionad as a respected member of the community who gets called to the palace for crisis meetings and is listened to when he stsrts giving speeches. From the first he already has the backstory of going off the deep end (or at least growing disillusioned with Valinor) after a family member is killed by Melkor and theyre still the first to die, but its just some other rando unrelated to the royals

The situation regarding the humans is different - instead of Melkor leaking their existence, its Manwe who explains that the other continents were supposed to be for them eventually. So Feanor goes off on a tirade about weak puny mortals comes off as a more of a jerk unlike in the final version where Melkor barely knew about the humans and described them to the Noldor as a threat. On the other hand in this one, also very much unlike in the finished product, Melkor dupes even Manwe into being unfair to the elves as a whole. In this the final version is a definite improvement, both Feanor and the Valar come off as a lot more sympathetic and though still deceived he's partially right in some things at least, so you have more of a genuine tragedy rather than a simple feud

There is something to the idea of Commoner!Feanor tho. I guess some of this survived in his nomadic explorer lifestyle and how both his wife and mother (who arent mentioned here) eventually were the ones to get that background of being not especially pretty ladies who are not from the nobility but got renown, respect and acclaim for their unique talent and contribution to society, with each having invented things and Nerdanel also being renowed for her wisdom. Hes sort of an odysseus-like Figure in that sense. I suppose later developements necesitated that Maedhros & co. have an army not just a band of thieves, which means they needed to be nobles/lords. That said this being a society where artisans are very respected and half the lords have scholarly/artistic pursuits going, the gap was probably not as big to begin with as it might have been in say, medieval England. Esoecially since Nerdanel's father had been given special honor by one of the local deities and that the social order might have been a very recent thing in Miriel's time. One might speculate that the first generation of Lords started out as warriors during the great journey, or perhaps just Finwe's friend group.

Also found that bit intetesting where the Valar have to deal with the remaining political tensions and effects of Melkor's lies on the remaining population in Valinor... - i guess with the change of framing device it was less likely for news of something like this to reach Beleriand. That, or the existence of Finarfin and his repentance made this go smoother this over in later cannon

Turgon's go-down-with-the-ship moment reaaly got to me. Im half tempted to write a fic where his wife, siblings and dad glomp him on arrival in Mandos. I dont care that none of them exists yet in this continuity i want Turgon to get hugs

I love all the additional Detail that got compressed out in the shift from fairytale-ish to pseudohistoric style especially all the various Valinor magic insofofar as it is compatible with the final version - particularly love the idea of the connection between the lamps and the trees that is now integrated into my headcanon forever

Its actually explained what the doors of night are

If I had not already read unfinished tales or volumes X to XII where this is also apparent, this is where I would say: Ah so the Valar were supposed to be flawed characters. Manwe has an actual arc; by the time he sends Gandalf he finally "got" it. I think in the published silm the little arcs of Ulmo and Manwe are mostly just lost in compression/ less apparent when only some of the relevant scenes got in but not all

It occurred to me way too late that the "BG" chars are the most consistent because theyre at the start and most stories are written from beginning to end. Finwe doesnt get a dedicated paragraph of explicit description until HoME X but my takeaway was that he's described pretty much like I always imagined him anyways/ same vibe I always got from him... charismatic, thoughtful, enthusiastic, sanguine temperament, brave in a pinch but at times lets his judgement be clouded by personal sentiment (though that last bit is more apparent/salient as a character flaw once he became the father of a certain Problem Child) ...i guess this would be a result of jrrt having had a consistent idea of him in his head for a long time.

This means Finwe's still alive at the time of the exodus which is just fun to see/interesting to know... Interestingly he sort of gets what later would be Finarfin's part of ineffectually telling everxone to please chill and think it over first while Feanor simply shouts louder (which is consistent with his actions before the sword incident in later canon where he initially spoke out against the suspiciozs regarding the Valar) - but its not exactly the same, he's more active than Finarfin later in that when "chillax" availed nothing he said that then at least they should talk with the other Kings and Manwe to leave with their blessing and get help leaving (This seems like it would have been the clusterfuck preventing million dollar suggestion in the universe where Feanor is related to him and values him) but when even that falls on death ears he decides that he "would not be parted from his people" and went to run the preparations. I find it interesting that the motivation is sentiment/attachment (even phrased as "he would not be parted from [his people]" same words/ expression as is later used for the formenos situation), not explicitly obligation as it later is for Fingolfin (who had promised to follow Feanor and didnt want to leave his subjects at the mercy of Feanor's recklessness )

Speaking of problem children. It seems the sons of Feanor were the Kaworu Nagisa of the Silmarillion in that originally all they do is show up at some point and kill Dior as an episodic villain-of-the-week. And then, it seems their role got bigger in each continuity/rewrite... probably has something to do with the Silmarils ending up in the title later making it in the sense their story that ends and begins with them. They have zero characterization beyond "fierce and wild" at this point, though in what teetsy bits there is we already have the idea that Maedhros is the leader and Curufin is the smart one/shemer/sweet-talker, though not the bit where Maedhros (or Maglor, or anyone really) is "the nice one". Which I guess explains why "Maglor" sounds like such a stereotypical villain name.

"The Ruin of Doriath" was purportedly the patchworkiest bit of the finished product, but I never noticed and it actually left quite an impression of me upon first reading, the visual of Melian sitting there with Thingol's corpse in her arms contemplating everything thinking back to how they met... she had the knowledge to warn him not to doom himself but couldnt get him to understand it because he doesnt see the world as she does.... After reading this though I wish there was a 'dynamic' rendition that combined all the best bits like, youd have to adapt it to the later canon's rendition of the dwarves, have Nargothrond exist etc. But i mean that just makes Finrod another dead/doomed relative of Thingol's whom bling cannot truly replace, like Luthien and Turin. In the Silmarillion you could easily read it as just an "honoured guest treatment" but here and in unfinished tales I get the impression that Thingol actually did see Turin as a son.

Already you see the idea of trying to make the stories all interconnected but there is less than there will be (the human heroes aren't related yet and there is basically no Nargothrond, which is later a common thread for many of the stories - a prototype shows up in the 'Tale of Turambar' tho complete with half baked prototypes of Orodreth and Finduillas

O boi im not even through yet

#silmarillion #the book of lost tales #history of middle earth #baby reads HoMe

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slusheeduck · 6 years ago

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The Maldonian Language!*

*at least according to Slush.

So when I was a babby in high school and writing PatF fanfic, I had set rules for the Maldonian I used because that’s how I roll. Not too long ago, @ibrithir-was-here asked for a few of the rules for her super cute fanfic “Las Penas Vienan y Van” and I went overboard. Anyway, I figured it’d be more fun to put it out in the open than to keep it in a Google doc (even though Tumblr DIDN’T WANT IT TO WORK) so here we are.

Obviously everything in this is based in my own headcanon, so there’s no right or wrong way to Maldonian, but if you need help Maldonianing, feel free to use these rules!

General Overview

Maldonian is a Romance Language.

Meaning it’s Latin-based and has a similar sentence structure and conjugation style as French, Spanish, etc.

Most of the language is made from smashing together Spanish, French, and Italian words, with a sprinkle of Portuguese and Romanian when the mood strikes

Since I don’t have a full language developed, the typical way I achieve this is with words is writing out a sentence in French, Spanish, and Italian and combining the words into something that sounds halfway decent. If I don’t like the way it sounds, I’ll go to Portuguese and Romanian. (And then they’re added to the dictionary.)

For example: “The boy ran to the dog.”

Fr. - “Le garçon court au chien.”

Sp. - “El niño corre al perro.”

It. - “Il ragazzo corre al cane.”

Mal. - “Di ragaño couro a canero.”

Grammar

I haven’t had to conjugate yet, but conjugations are a thing that happens. It would look something like this.

Verb: couret (to run)

E couro/a (I run)

Te couros/as (You run)

In couro (He runs)

Ini coura (She runs)

Ei couris (You (plural) run)

Nem couros (We run)

Em courin (They run)

Maldonian is also has gendered verbs. Ex. “Di ragaño couro” vs “Di fiña coura”.

[verb form]+o = masc, [verb form]+a = fem.

Does not apply to plural nouns, only singular.

Singular “the” is always “di,” regardless of noun. Plural “the” is always “dis”.

Di canero vs. dis caneros

Possessives follow the same rule; only a singular and plural.

Me canero/Mes caneros (My dog(s))

Ti canero/Tis caneros (Your dog(s))

Se canero/Ses caneros (His dog(s))

Sa canero/Sae caneros (Her dog(s))

Eir canero/Eis caneros (Your (plural) dog(s))

Ne canero/Nei caneros (Our dog(s))

Eme canero/Emes caneros (Their dog(s))

Grammar notes

Unlike most Romance languages, in Maldonian the adjectives always come before the noun.

Di Fraggi Pruto (The Frog Prince)

Di Soiréda Éstoila (The Evening Star)

Di Hermeau Jevon (The Handsome Youth)

Affectionate titles have different endings depending on the gender and status/respect/affection

Fromo (brother)

Fromanno (big brother)

Fromanni (little brother)

Sorma (sister)

Sormanna (big sister)

Sormanni (little sister)

Buonama (sweetheart-lit. “Good love”)

Buonamadi (Pet name, often shortened to Amadi by younger Maldonians)

Names

Most Maldonian surnames are based in Romanian, which means that there are set endings for native names.

Common endings are -inu/-anu (descriptive), -escu (location), and -an (occupation)

For example, the Maldonian Royal Family’s surname (in my headcanon) is Adaruinu (based on the Romanian phrase a dărui, roughly meaning “an act of giving that is accompanied by a genuine desire to make the other person happy.”)

Given names are almost always Indian names for boys and Portuguese names for girls.

Maldonian names do have diminutives! The general rule is that it’s a shortened form of the name + im (for boys) or imi (for girls).

Note: pronounced ihm and eemee respectively.

Ex. Ravim, Navim, Luzimi, Irimi.

Can also be used on non-Maldonian names, if name structure permits

I.e. Timi (pron. Teemee) for Tiana, Rodim (pron. Roh-dihm) for Rodrigo.

Some names, like Esteban and Keith, unfortunately don’t work as well for diminutives. In that case, native nicknames (like Teban) are more widely used.

Vocabulary

As mentioned above, most Maldonian words are a mishmash of whatever sounds right when you smash words from different Romance languages together. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of Google translate, but it winds up working pretty well.

That said, there are loan words and words derived from English peppered through Maldonian

I.e. di jazz (jazz), di telifo (telephone), di tibi (television)

There are also some words I (and Disney) have already come up with for the Maldonian vocabulary. Here’s a selection of them:

Family

Madri/Madimi/Mamai - Mother/Mom/Mama

Padri/Padim/Papai - Father/Dad/Papa

Fromo - Brother

Sorma - Sister

Vovo - grandparent (either gender)

Teo - uncle

Tanti - aunt

Greetings

Buono dios - good morning/day

Buono soiréda - good evening

Buono nuitte - good night

Chilo - Hi/Hello

Abinaza - Bye/See you later

Exclamations

Faldi Faldonza - Oh my god!

Achedanza - Amazing!/Wow!

Chie Pelize - How annoying (rude)

D’escha - Okay

Misc.

Pruto - Prince

Prutia - Princess

Rei - king

Reyeni - Queen

Maldonescu - Maldonian/of Maldonia

Bianturnu - Maldonian capitol

Please - Porfavo

So this is obviously a super bare-bones language guide, but I figure it gives a little bit of structure for the odd sprinkling of Maldonian. A lot of it is trial and error, but if you’re a language nerd like me, I’m sure you’ll have fun playing around, too!

#princess and the frog #patf #Maldonian #fake language #IT POSTED #NOW I CAN TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE LANGUAGES

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mosylufanfic · 6 years ago

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Out of the Nest

Y'all I am So Intrigued by the icy way that Nora is treating Iris as of 5x02 (and of course, poor Iris not knowing why). Here's my exploration of a possibility, with future Killervibe and Killervibe babby because you know. It's me.

Apologies for the terrible title, I just can’t seem to find one. I’ll probably figure one out the moment I post.

Out of the Nest

Slamming doors were unfortunately not a new sound in the Snow-Ramon household these days. So when the crash reverberated through the ground floor and echoed down into the basement workroom, Caitlin looked up from her microscope and prepared herself to play umpire.

But only Cisco came storming down the stairs, muttering under his breath in Spanish. "And you're grounded!" he yelled back up the stairs.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" their daughter shrieked back. Another door slammed, and footsteps thundered up the stairs one floor above.

"Motherf -" Cisco breached away, and a proximity alarm went off. Caitlin checked it, and just sighed when she saw it was the one on the roof.

Cisco breached back a moment later, red in the face. "She left from the roof. Broad goddamn daylight, not even wearing her sky camo."

"Imagine that," Caitlin said. "A sixteen-year-old girl, behaving recklessly."

Cisco was exaggerating somewhat. It was almost dark out, far less risky for Rebecca to be in the sky. And if Caitlin knew her daughter, she was headed out to sea, where nobody would see her but a few random boats and fish.

Of course, it wasn't totally risk-free. But then, nothing was.

"Do you know what your daughter did?"

"Oh, so she's my daughter now?" she asked, adjusting her magnification and checking her sample again.

"She was walking around Freedom Park at dusk, all cute little girl texting and ignoring the world, with her purse open. The only thing missing was a holo flashing over her head saying MUG ME!"

Caitlin jerked away from the microscope. "She what?"

"Yeah, thought that would get your attention." He crossed his arms.

The last time Rebecca had provoked muggers on purpose, pictures of the "Angel of Coast City" had spread all over social media. Thankfully, nobody had gotten a clear shot of her face, but a teenage girl with a five-foot wingspan was distinctive enough.

It had required half a day of feverish hacking and trolling on Cisco's part to make everyone think it was a hoax or a publicity stunt, while Rebecca sulked in her room and Caitlin tried to talk sense into her.

"You always take Dad's side!" their daughter had stormed. "Don't you even trust me?"

"This isn't about sides or trust, sweetheart, this is about your safety. You're sixteen!"

"I'm not a normal kid, but you never let me do anything! Why do I have these powers if you're never going to let me do anything?"

"We're not saying never, we're saying not yet. Maybe next year - "

"You said that last year!"

She wasn't wrong, but the memory of the messes they'd gotten into with their own powers at the beginning chilled Caitlin's blood. And they'd been grown adults with the fully formed pre-frontal cortices to show for it. Rebecca was impulsive, arrogant, and reckless - in other words, a normal teenage girl with extraordinary powers.

And she'd done it again?

"Oh, she's so grounded," Caitlin growled now.

"Not only is she grounded," Cisco said, pawing through a drawer, "I'm locking this on her wrist when she's asleep tonight." He held up a power dampening cuff.

"No," Caitlin said.

"But she - "

"I said no." Grounding was fine. Locking her own powers away without her consent was not. She was their daughter, not some criminal they were dropping off at the police station.

Cisco opened his mouth, saw the look on her face, and set the cuff back in the drawer. He dropped onto the couch with a groan. "She's giving me grey hair," he moaned, putting his hand over his eyes.

Caitlin rolled her chair over next to the couch and ran her fingers through his hair. It still fell in lush waves to his shoulders, but now the waves were streaked liberally with silver. "It makes you look distinguished," she said affectionately.

He caught her hand pulled it over his shoulder, and kissed it. "This kid of ours," he said. "What the hell are we going to do with her?"

She rested her chin on the high arm of the couch. "Maybe next year we really should - "

"Nuh-uh."

"You didn't even hear me out!"

"I know what you were going to say, and she's way too young."

"I'm not proposing that we send her into the Corners on her own, I'm just saying maybe we should consider some training."

"She's sixteen!"

"And she's had her powers for three years. It did me far more harm than good to not use my powers."

"She's not you. She has wings, not frost. And when that happened, you were an adult."

"I know all that, but she's getting frustrated, honey. For her entire life, we've been helping people, and we've taught her to do the same. She wants to help people."

"And wear a badass suit and see her hero name in the papers." He scowled. "Angel," he muttered.

"You're just annoyed you didn't think of it," Caitlin said.

He huffed and looked away, unable to deny it.

Caitlin had just opened her mouth to argue some more when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other.

"You expecting anyone?" Cisco asked.

"No," Caitlin said. "Maybe it's one of Rebecca's friends?"

"House, screen," he said, touching the wall above the couch. "Front door." A screen popped up on the wall, showing a twirling hourglass for a split second as the house system searched for the front-door cameras. "Her friends would just ping her, they - Caitlin."

At the sound of his voice, she looked up and the figure she saw on the wall made her suck in her breath. "It can't be."

"Looks like it can," Cisco said.

"After all this time," Caitlin said. "What is she doing here?"

He swung his legs to the floor and hopped up. "We'd better find out."

They were halfway up the basement stairs when the bell rang again. The sound of the third chime was just dying away as Caitlin pulled their front door open.

"Hi, guys," said Iris West-Allen.

There was a lump in her throat. "Iris," she managed.

Cisco didn't say anything.

She had changed her hair, was the first thing Caitlin noticed. It was a short bob, cut just below her ears. There was a frosting of gray at her temples, and lines around her eyes, but otherwise she looked like the woman who'd been one of their closest friends for eight years.

And a virtual stranger ever since.

She cleared her throat. "So," she said. "Ah. Can I come in?"

Caitlin snapped awake. "Of course! Please."

Cisco grumbled in his throat, and she elbowed him. "I didn't realize you had our new address," she said.

"I have two Pulitzers and access to the Internet," Iris said. "It really wasn't that hard."

"So why did it take twenty-four years?" Cisco snapped.

Iris looked away and didn't answer.

Caitlin led them into the living room, grabbing a handheld game and one of Rebecca's shoes, and sweeping the coffee table clear of her medical journals and a PalmerTech drive that Cisco had brought home from work. She dumped it all onto an out-of-the-way chair. "Would you like a seat?"

"I'm all right." She drifted around the room, aimless as a dandelion on a windy day.

Behind her back, Cisco gave Caitlin a goggle-eyed look. She could only return it with the same amount of bafflement.

What was Iris doing here?

She paused in front of the photo collage projected onto the wall. "So this is Rebecca?" she asked, watching as a family selfie at Pride a few years ago faded into their daughter's most current school picture.

"That's her. Yes."

"I got the birth announcement," Iris said, her face still turned away. "I'm sorry I didn't - " Her fingers moved restlessly on her arms. "That I didn't send anything."

Caitlin couldn't bring herself to say anything like that's okay or we understood. Because honestly, they hadn't. The radio silence from Iris had hurt immeasurably.

“So you adopted after all?” she asked.

“We were thinking about it,” Caitlin said. “But then I was throwing up and just feeling very run down, and Cisco took me to the ER.”

“Dragged her,” he said. “And they were like, congratulations, have a cigar, papa.”

She looked around, wide-eyed. "But the doctors said it was impossible."

She should know. She'd held Caitlin's hand through all the crying jags, all the cursing at God and her own body, all the long slow path to acceptance.

"They did," Caitlin said. "And yet here we are." She managed a smile. "Barry always did say we'd become the impossible."

At the name, a heavy silence fell.

It wasn't that she and Cisco never said his name. They talked about him sometimes, between themselves. They couldn't help it. Pretending he'd never existed would be like amputating ten years.

But Iris had fallen to pieces on the day he'd disappeared into the speedforce. April 25, 2024, the day that was foretold since the beginning. Despair had visibly eaten away at her for months, until the day that she'd stood in front of them at Star Labs and said, "I got a job at the Daily Planet. I'm taking the baby and moving to Metropolis. I can't stay. I just can't."

Once she'd left, contact grew ever more sporadic until by the time she'd been gone a year, emails went unanswered, texts unread, voicemail messages never returned.

By then, Central City had become unbearable enough that when Cisco said, "I got a job in Coast City," Caitlin had simply said, "When do we leave?"

Maybe it was their own fault for letting Barry become the center of their lives, to the point that when they lost him, those lives collapsed. Looking at Iris now, Caitlin awoke to a fresh sense of her own good fortune, that she'd had Cisco with her as they sought a new life together. Iris had been alone in Metropolis except for a little girl who only knew that her whole world had been upended.

Cisco broken the leaden silence. "What do you want, Iris? Why are you here, after all this time?"

She turned to face them, her face set. "I didn't know where else to go."

The hard expression on Cisco's face softened. "What happened?"

"Nora's gone."

She felt her throat go cold and her stomach twist. "Gone?"

"Not dead!" Iris said. "Not - I don't think - " She shut her eyes, pressing her lips together. "She lives in Central City now. She's a CSI with the CCPD."

"Just like Barry," Cisco breathed.

"I thought that would be enough for her. But when I talked to Ralph a couple of months ago, he told me she's been patrolling. She has a mask and a suit - she calls herself XS."

Cisco made a face. "Like, Extra Small?”

"Like Excess, honey," Caitlin said. "Right?"

"When she was little, I used to tell her she couldn't do everything to excess. Apparently she decided to prove me wrong."

"Where did she get the suit?" Cisco looked vaguely insulted that Nora hadn’t called on him, for suit or name.

"The Flash museum," Iris said. "The suit I wore for one day. You remember?”

“Oh right!” Caitlin said. “I do.”

“Yeah. Except the display case is empty, and when I asked them about it, they gave me a whole load of excuses about how it needed restoring."

"Excuse me," Cisco said. "It barely got a day of wear and every one of Barry's suits looks fresh as a goddamn daisy - "

"I know what bullshit smells like. Obviously, they gave it to her."

"So she has a name and a suit," Caitlin said. "Following in Barry's footsteps in every way."

"Seems like it," Iris said. "But now she's - I haven't heard from her in weeks."

"Weeks?"

Iris had gotten wildly overprotective after Barry's disappearance, as if the speed force might reach out and snatch Nora, too. She'd needed to know where her daughter was every minute. How had that relationship devolved to the point where it took weeks of no-contact for Iris to get worried?

"We don't talk much anymore," Iris said, her eyes sliding away again. "She blames me. For taking her away from Central City. From her father."

Caitlin shook her head disbelievingly. "You didn't take her away from her father. The speed force took him from all of us."

"But we never went back. I couldn't. Not even when she moved there. That whole town is a memorial to him. It's horrific."

"The Flash museum is quite something," Caitlin allowed.

"It's not just the museum," Iris said. "There are statues, did you know that? The park was renamed, I think there's a couple of streets - "

"Every time you turned around, he was there," Caitlin said.

Iris nodded mutely.

While Caitlin wouldn't have called it horrific, Central City had still been a tsunami of memories the few times they'd gone back. While it was hard, it was nice in a way, too. Caitlin couldn't fathom the depth of pain that must have kept Iris away from her childhood home and the family that still lived there.

Iris cleared her throat. "Anyway," she said. "When I realized how long it had been, I tried to get in touch, but I couldn't raise her. When I checked with him, Ralph said he hadn't seen her around lately. She took a sabbatical from work, her social media is dead silent, and her place looks - well, abandoned is the only word."

"You have a key?" Maybe Iris's relationship with her daughter wasn't as grim as all that.

Iris snorted, sounding for a moment like her old self. "The day I can't sweet-talk some underappreciated building super into letting me into an apartment is the day I hang up my press pass."

Caitlin found herself smiling.

"Anyway, he probably would have opened the door for anyone who promised to pay her back rent. She was two months late." She twisted her necklace in her fingers.

"Did you find anything in her apartment?"

"Besides dust and a disgusting refrigerator? She had information on her dad everywhere. Timelines in chalk, articles all over the wall - it looked like Barry's murder board. You know, the one he had for his mom? She was obsessed."

"What do you think happened to her?"

She shook her head. "I don't know anything for sure. But she had a bunch of calculations on time travel."

"You think she went back," Cisco said, getting it before Caitlin did. "To see her dad."

"I hope she did," Iris said. "The other options are - they don't bear thinking about."

The same things Caitlin feared for Rebecca rose up again in her head, with the happy little girl they’d known long ago at the center of the nightmare scenarios.

Tangled with the wrong meta. Captured by traffickers. Kept prisoner somewhere.

And one more, specific to speedsters: Caught in the speedforce, next to Barry.

Cisco’s face had fallen into somber lines. "If she went back, maybe we saw her back then. Do you have a picture?"

Iris tapped her watch and held out her wrist. A holo sprang to life of a pretty young woman with a big smile. There was something in the curve of her cheek like Iris, something in the tilt of her head like Barry. "This is the most recent. From her FaceGram. Do either of you guys remember ever encountering her in the old days? Even once?"

Caitlin had to shake her head. "No."

"Maybe she watched us from afar," Cisco offered. "I mean, time travel does screw things up, and her research would have told her that. Maybe she was careful, trying to minimize her impact, and we didn't notice her."

"She might have tried. But I know my girl." Iris's chin trembled. "Eventually, she would have given in to temptation and wanted to meet Barry face-to-face. And he never would have kept that from me."

"You got anything of hers?" Cisco asked. "Let's rule out some possibilities first."

Iris reached in her purse and pulled out an earring, passing it over. He took it out of the ziploc baggie and sat on the arm of the couch, concentrating.

After three decades of practice, he was very good at it. His eyes popped open within a minute or so, and he looked at Iris. "She's not anywhere in this time or this universe," he said.

"Oh my god," Iris said.

"That's actually better news than it sounds like."

"How?"

"Well, first-off, it actually confirms she did go back in time." He got to his feet and tapped the wall. "House, screen."

A screen popped up on the wall, several dancing Pokemon frolicking around to a blast of peppy music. He blushed. "Ha-ha, Rebecca must have left her game running, the little stinker."

While his back was turned, Caitlin shook her head. Iris raised her brows and pointed surreptitiously at Cisco, and Caitlin laughed silently and nodded. Iris put her hand over her mouth to hide the smile.

For a moment it felt like no time had passed at all.

Cisco shut down the Pokemon game and brought up a whiteboard app that he wrote on with the tip of his finger. "So, we know new universes are created when a timeline diverges." He drew a line, then made it fork, sending one upward and one downwards. "We're here." He indicated the top line, then ran his finger back to where it forked. "This is where Nora jumped back to."

"When is it?" Iris asked, leaning forward.

"No idea," Cisco said. "But her being there created this divergence."

Caitlin nodded, catching his drift. "No matter how careful she was, she would've changed things just by her presence. Maybe she got in line at Jitters and made someone behind her miss the train they would have caught. Maybe she crossed against the light and forced someone to brake, where if they hadn't slowed down, they would have had a fatal accident at the next intersection. There's so many little things that we do every day and we don't even know how they change the world."

"And by changing the world, she created a new one." He traced the lower fork to the end. "So that universe is here, running parallel to this one. That's why I can't find her."

Iris blinked. "Yeah," she said. "That makes . . . sense. Okay."

"I can jump to other universes easy peasy, but it's a lot harder to jump back and forth along the timeline," Cisco said. "I'll do my best, but I don't know if I can go back to retrieve her."

"It's not about retrieval," Iris said. "I just want to know that she's safe. And not caught somewhere in time, or in - " Her face twisted with anger. "In the speed force. If she's with Barry in the past, he'll take care of her, but she doesn't know what she's doing."

"Well, none of us ever did when it came to time travel," Cisco said, narrowing his eyes at the forking timelines.

"No, I mean as a speedster."

Caitlin whipped her head around so fast her neck popped. "What do you mean? Didn't her powers come in with puberty?" That was what they saw with most second and even now third-generation metas, who inherited a metagene rather than having it change them after they were grown.

"They did," Iris said. "Around thirteen or fourteen. But I would never let her use them."

Cisco gaped at her. "She's - what, twenty-five?"

"Twenty-six, honey," Caitlin said. "Her birthday is the month before Rebecca's."

"Right, right. That's like half her life.”

“I know that,” Iris said defensively. “But there's plenty of heroes now. You two, and Ralph, and others. It's not like when the accelerator first exploded. Nora didn't need to put on a suit and risk her skin every day. She could have had a normal life."

"Is that what she wanted?"

"She was a kid. She didn't know what it could be like. The secrets and the lies and the danger - Anyway, there was plenty of time. There was always plenty of time. I kept telling her, next year. Next year."

It sounded a little too familiar for Caitlin’s comfort. "You must've given in at some point," she said. "You said she was patrolling now."

"No,” Iris said. “I didn’t. I think she's trying to figure it out on her own. From displays at the Flash museum and home experimentation."

Cisco opened his mouth, then rethought whatever he'd been about to say.

Iris knew that was dangerous. She knew how hard it had been for Barry to master his powers even with their support and the technology at Star Labs. A rogue speedster trying to teach herself - what kind of catastrophes could she embroil herself in?

And how had Iris let it get to that point?

Their old friend touched her watch again, looking sadly at the beaming girl. "I couldn't lose her," she said in a cracking voice. "I'd already lost Barry. If Nora never developed her powers, then the speed force couldn't get her. I guess that's really what I thought."

Cisco met Caitlin's eyes again, then looked away.

"And then the day after she graduated high school, she packed everything she owned into her car and moved to CCU." She put her hand over her eyes. "You know what's funny? The speed force didn't do anything. It didn't have to. I lost her before she ever started running."

"Iris," Caitlin whispered. "Oh, Iris." She got to her feet and crossed the room to put her hand on Iris's shaking shoulder.

At her touch, Iris dropped her hand. Her eyes were red and wet. "If she's with her dad, she's finally getting all the support and training that I could never bring myself to give her. I don't want to drag her back. I just need to know she's okay."

"Of course," Caitlin said.

Two and a half decades ago, she would have reached out to hug the other woman. But that had been a long time ago. So she just rubbed Iris's shoulder a little bit and dropped her hand.

"We'll do everything we can," Cisco said. "But Iris, can I be honest with you?"

"Please," she said.

"This isn't a ten minute job. Basically what I have to do is sort through all the multiverses until I figure out which one she created, then vibe backwards along the timeline to figure out when she went back to." He frowned. "Or maybe the other way around?"

"I knew it was a big ask when I came. I'm just grateful that you're willing to try."

"What are friends for?"

Iris managed a smile and checked her watch. "I think I've missed the last train back to Metropolis," she said. "Do you know any good hotels around here that I can stay the night?"

"You can stay here," Caitlin said immediately.

"Oh, god, no, I couldn't do that. Just turn up on your doorstep and expect you to put me up?"

"You're not imposing, I promise. We want you here. It's been so long. We can catch up a little. You can meet our daughter."

"Honestly," Cisco said. "We'd love to have you. Please."

She looked between the two of them. "Well," she said. "In that case - I'd love to stay."

"Great," Caitlin said. "I'll show you the guest bedroom. Let you get settled in."

"And I'll get to work," Cisco said. "Have you got access to any of her research? Any of her cloud passwords?"

"Oh, this might help," Iris said, reaching in her purse and pulling out a box about the size of the old smartphones they all used to carry around. "Nora's home computer. The password is Bartholomew."

Cisco whistled, reaching out to take it. "Damn, girl, you earned those Pulitzers."

"You bet I did," Iris said.

"We were so proud," Caitlin said, leading the way up the stairs. "When we heard."

"I've been hearing about you," Iris said, following her. "Frost and Vibe, Coast City's very own superhero power couple."

Caitlin laughed a little. "We try." She suddenly realized something. "Do you have any bags or anything? I can't believe I forgot to ask."

"No, nothing," Iris said. "When I realized what she'd done, I went right to the train station."

"Well, I can loan you something." Although they'd never been the same size, or for that matter, the same style. "Or Amazon DroneDrop knows this house pretty well. You can use our account if you need."

"Oh, it's fine, I've got one. I think I'll do that."

"Okay," Caitlin said. "So, this is the guest room, that's the house wifi password on the chalkboard there, and we haven't eaten dinner yet, so that should be maybe an hour? Do you have any dietary restrictions? Cisco does most of the cooking, he can work around just about anything."

"No," Iris said, looking a little dazed at the sudden rush of hospitality. "No, I'll eat anything. It's fine. Thank you." She set her purse on the bed, looking around the neat, bright room.

"Okay," Caitlin said. "Well. I - " She twisted her wedding ring. "I'll leave you to get settled. The bathroom is right down the hall."

Iris said softly, "Thank you so much, Caitlin. For everything."

She wasn't sure how to answer that, so she went with the truth. "It really is so good to see you again."

"You too."

She started to leave, then paused and came back in. "If you hear thumping on the roof," she said, "it's - " She paused, trying to think how to explain. "It's okay, it's fine."

Iris, already pulling up Amazon on her wrist screen, looked up, brows lifted. "Rebecca?" she said.

"Yeah."

She nodded once, the nod of a woman who'd seen a lot of metahumans in her lifetime and wasn't particularly surprised at anything anymore.

Caitlin went downstairs again and found Cisco swiping through screens. He'd clearly gotten into Nora's computer and hooked it up to the house wifi. "Damn, she's got a lot of stuff in here," he said by way of greeting. "But I think I might have found something with this 2017 folder."

She glanced at the documents spread out on the wall. "It does look promising," she said. "But we can get back to it. We need to talk about our daughter right now."

He paused, then minimized the screen with a swipe of his finger and turned in his chair. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, we do."

The proximity alarm on the roof went off half an hour later. Cisco and Caitlin glanced at each other, then both got up and headed up the stairs. This called for a family meeting.

Rebecca didn't notice them until she'd climbed back in her open window and folded her wings. They went translucent and sank into her skin until they looked like a large, elaborate linework tattoo spread across her shoulder blades.

She hadn't been allowed to wear tank tops since they had appeared, but she'd bought some on the sly and hid them under her mattress, which had successfully fooled Caitlin for all of ten minutes. She wore one now, a white racerback tank with ample room for her wings to flex. Between that, the wing marks, and the thick dark hair that she wore buzzed close to her scalp, she looked tough and punky, powerful and indomitable.

Caitlin could remember all the times she'd come sobbing to her with some small injury. Mama fix it, fix it Mama.

She looked up and jumped. "God! You guys! I told you not to come in my room when I'm not here."

"First off," Cisco said, leaning ostentatiously on the wall just outside her door, "we're not in your room. And second of all, you're not exactly in a position to be making demands, traviesa."

"Since you are here," Caitlin said, "we're coming in."

Rebecca started to protest, but Caitlin just leveled her most no-nonsense look, and her daughter folded, grumbling. She climbed onto the end of her bed and sat scowling.

Cisco leaned back against the window, looking thunderous. When she caught his expression, Rebecca narrowed her eyes and folded her arms.

Caitlin bit back a sigh.

It was hard to see them like this. Rebecca had always been a daddy's girl, giggling and conspiring with Cisco. But the first day she'd leapt into the air and done a loop-de-loop over their heads, then landed to see the look of horror on his face, their relationship had started to crumble.

But they had to get through this first. Then maybe they could start patching things up. So she said, "Would you like to explain what happened, young lady?"

"Nothing happened," she muttered.

"Right, because I got there," Cisco said.

"I thought we were clear the last time," Caitlin said. "You are not to go out looking for trouble."

"I was taking a shortcut!"

"Oh, and your shortcut just happened to include the park with the highest crime rate in the city? Try again," Cisco invited.

"You never said I couldn't go there."

"We never said you couldn't put on a raw-meat bikini and go swimming with sharks, either, because we didn't think we had to!"

Caitlin felt they were in danger of spiraling into another father-daughter shouting match. "Enough," she said. "You went out today hoping to use your powers, which you know we don't want you to do. And we know you're frustrated and you want to flex your wings and you want to help. But that's not the way."

"But - " Rebecca started.

"Because we also know who else is out there," Cisco said. "And what they're capable of. And believe me, sweetheart, there's not a single one of them who would take it easy on you because you're still in high school."

Rebecca's chin jutted. "I don't want them to take it easy on me. I'm not a baby."

Caitlin went and sat next to her, pulling her close. Rebecca's body was rigid and unyielding in the circle of her arm. "No," she said. "You're not. But, mijita, you're not an adult, either. You're still young, you're still coming into your powers, and you're more vulnerable than you think."

Rebecca gave her a little sideways look. Caitlin wondered if she'd had the time to get scared in that park before Cisco had swooped in and given her someone to shout at.

Cisco went down on his knees in front of her, looking up into her face. "And if anything happened to you, your mom and I couldn't bear it. We've lost a lot of people in our lives, but you - that would be worse than all of the others combined."

She kept her face turned away from her dad, her hand lifting to fiddle with Caitlin's necklace the way she'd done since she was a baby. "You always tell me to be proud of who I am, but you won't let me be who I am."

The words hit Caitlin in the chest like a punch. For a moment she couldn't breathe, much less reply. Cisco looked just as devastated as she felt.

"We're trying," he said finally. "We know you want to use your powers, but we want you to learn how safely and gradually."

Not like either of us, Caitlin added ruefully, in her head.

"When am I going to get to do that, though?" she asked.

She clearly hadn't expected an answer, but Caitlin said, "Your dad and I did some talking, and we've come up with a plan that might work for all of us."

Rebecca lifted her head, looking cautious. "Wait, really?"

"First of all," she said, holding up her finger, "for today's little stunt, you're grounded. For a month."

"How does that work for me?"

"It works because it's not two months," Caitlin said.

Rebecca started to say something, saw the look in her eyes, and clearly reconsidered. She shut her mouth, her lower lip sliding out just a touch.

"During your grounding, you're going to be training with your powers. And afterwards, you're going to start patrolling."

She sat up straight. "Training? Patrolling? You mean it?" She gave Cisco a quick look.

"This is against my better judgement," Cisco said, scowling. "But you need to learn sometime, and clearly if we don't teach you, you'll teach yourself."

Rebecca let out a squeak and rocked forward to hug him. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you, Daddy."

His arms came around her, holding tight, his face full of emotion.

She pulled away to hug Caitlin around the neck. "Thank you, Mama. This is so ultra-schway!"

Caitlin pressed her cheek to her daughter's duckling-fuzz head. They didn't get hugs like this very much anymore.

"Ground rules," she said, straightening up and looking into her daughter's face. "You're with one of us at all times until we decide you're ready to be on your own."

Her face fell a little bit, but she nodded.

"School comes first," Cisco said. "No patrolling on school nights, your grades stay at B or above, all your homework and studying gets finished before you go out."

"And no patrolling during finals," Caitlin added.

"But Mama, what if - "

"None," Caitlin said.

"Nada," Cisco reiterated. "And finally, you're going to take a martial arts class. Hand-to-hand of some kind, we'll figure one out."

"Wait," Rebecca said. "Like, a class with other kids?"

"Other kids, maybe adults. Which means no wings."

"What's the point of that?"

"You can't fly away from every attacker, angelita. There's always going to be one who brings you down, so you need to learn to fight on the ground too."

"Okay," she said reluctantly. "I guess. Can we start training tonight? I have suit ideas. I want to show you my suit ideas." She grabbed her computer off her desk and was pulling up a folder on the wall when Caitlin held up a hand.

"Tomorrow's soon enough. We've got a house guest."

She looked like they'd suddenly started speaking Greek. "A what?"

"Not a what, a who. An old friend who dropped in unexpectedly. So you've got your choice tonight. You can either help me clean up the living room and set the table, or you'll help Dad with dinner."

Rebecca chewed her lip. "I can help Dad with dinner," she said.

Cisco blinked, then rallied. "All right. It's chicken enchilada night, so get downstairs and pull four - " He paused, eying her. Whenever she flew, her appetite doubled. "Make that five chicken breasts out of the freezer to thaw."

Rebeca reached for the hoodie hanging from her bedpost, and Caitlin said, "You don't have to wear that tonight if you don't want to."

She paused, her eyes going big. "But - my - " She touched her shoulder where the tip of a black feather showed on her skin.

"Iris West-Allen is an old friend," Caitlin said. "She's known us a long time. All about us. We'd like her to get to know you, too."

"Oh," Rebecca said, eyes still wide. She considered her hoodie, then picked it up, tying it around her waist, where she could pull it on easily if she didn't feel like showing her shoulders and back.

She slid out of her room, pausing for the briefest second at the open door of the guest room to glance in. Then she was gone down the stairs.

Cisco let out his breath. "You sure about this?" he asked, sliding his arm around Caitlin's waist.

She rested her head against his. "Honestly? No. But she's got to start somewhere."

He nuzzled her hairline. "I still don't know what we're going to do with this kid of ours."

She kissed him. "Right now? You're going to go make chicken enchiladas together."

FINIS

#Caitlin Snow #Cisco Ramon #Iris West #killervibe #mosylufanfic lives up to her damn name #fanfiction #probably has about 24 hours to be jossed #shrug #the flash

31 notes · View notes

cavitycandy · 6 years ago

Note

1, 2, 8, 12, 14, 24, 30, 34 ,35 ,36 ,40 ,54,, 92 for sweetheart asks uwu

OH SHIT! BITCH!

1. First love

OISDJG OSIDJGSdg OH BOY ugh ok so disclaimer she ended up being straight so :/ but uh

Ok so she was in my pe in 8th grade and GOD she was so pretty!!!!! and TAll too! I just,,, i really liked her and yknow,,,i felt kinda crushed! when she was like “oh i’d never date a girl!” and i mean like! I still loved being her friend and sometimes i wonder what would happen if she was,,yknow, bi or gay or some shit,,AH

2. Most Beautiful Songs

Uhhh hhh. So Gus Dapperton songs in general are really nice. also Mother Mother is pretty nice. Uh also Of Monsters and Men

Songs are like “Of Lacking Spectacle” by Gus,,uhh “Get Up” by Mother Mother and “king and lionheart” by OmAm are really pretty

Also “Soul In My Body” by Pinc Louds is nice! “Lavender Blood” by Fox Academy is also pretty! And “Paradise Valley” by Honey and the Sting. Also “Don’t Graduate Senpai!” oh and uh “1950″ by King Princess

8. Best Trip

So when i was 13, my family went on a weekend trip to San Diego (it was like a 2 hour drive, not too long). We stayed in this little hotel, and the place was really nice! It had separate rooms and bedrooms n shit. It was a super,,,calming experience and I’d really just wanna go there with my really close friends on day! Fuck eyah!

12. Who do you look up to?

Hayley Kiyoko lsakdgjlkasdg. I love how open she is and how bright she always is like,,,i strive to be like that when i’m older. And i want to sort of,,,,BE that role model for young lesbians like how she is yknow alskjglkasg

14. Songs that make you feel good/Happy

Oh boy! uhh “Too Much Time Together” by San Cisco,, “Dont Stop/Color on the Walls” by Foster the People,, this is gonna sound weird but uh “Changing My Major” from Fun Home (just cus like,,this is a lesbian being proud of herself!!! wow!!!) “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga,, “Back in your Head” by The Regrettes,, “Buttercup” by Jack Stauber, “Hit and Run” by Hayley Kiyoko,, yeah!

24. Ya got a crush, dumb fuck??

Uhh yeah, kinda! However, my dumb bitch brain has come BACK and convinced me that they hate me but also they invited me to do this thing with them so!! haha! But like,,yeah so uh,,,,they’re in my asl class and they sit near me and like!!! i really like them!! They make me laugh and feel pretty comfortable and like!!! Gotdamb!!! i cant really put it in words yknow!! Like!! Fuck mate i wanna,,fuckin love you!!! damb!

30. The most beautiful thing in life?

JUst like!! THose times where idk, you like,,come back from school or some shit and just,,,lay in bed for a little while??? I just like looking at the clouds and just,,,laying down! Ideally would lay down on a blanket in a field of flowers with gf however! on bed is next best thing!

34. Who makes you happy?

Oh damb ok so uh,,,my friends, like! Gotdamb yall are like,,,closer to me than my family????? i fucking love yall so much!! GOt damb!!!

35. What Makes you happy?

When my palms arent fukcing SWEATy?? like, the fuck bithc/???? i need to draw???

But also jsut like,,,drawing in general,,especially when i’ve got an idea!! THats the shit!!!!

36. Ideal Life??

OOOOH BABEY

Ok so,,i’ve cut off ties with my mom (shes homophobic and overall a really shitty person) and i got to pursue my dream job as an animator! and got damb! Im successful! And like,,,i create a show about this superhero i made,,and she’s indian and gay, like me,cus fuck mate i wanna see a girl like that in a TV show! And i’ve married a pretty gal and we got! a home! and adopted kids and some fucking CATs cus YEAH babee!!!

40. Who’s you’re closest friend? What do you love about them?

MAte i shall not choose! I am too close!! damb

so uh

Nick - honestly hes just,,really fun to talk to and like! i always feel so happy when i talk with him? Like when he moved away i was sad as fuck! But like! Yeah i love that funky comrade!

May - slkdjg lskdgaH S hE,,,shes really rational and she cares so much about us,,shes so great i love her lkasdgjalksjgd

Liv - My babby girl!!!! I swear to god the moment i found out she was a year younger i instantly became her mother. She such a sweetheart alksdjglksag i love her so muchs ssagks

Lillly - Ok so we met after i criticized her art in 7th grade without knowing,,and im so greatful for her??? Like i love how much our relationships grown n shit! yeah! love that hoe!

54. Most romantic thing someone’s done for you?

LKSJDGOIJSDOGI JSDGISDGS?????/?/????? WHOMT??????LSDG KSJDGLk

ook so either thats yet to happen or someone HAS done it and im a clueless dumbass

92. Last Time you felt calm, with no worries?

Uhhh LKSJDLKGJSLKDG

probably during like

the weekends n shit cus like,,i really aint got shit to do, so i’ll just fucking! sleep!

big thank uwu

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lurkerdelima · 7 years ago

Note

Idk if anyone's prompted you that Silverflint kidfic thing yet, so if they haven't? *raises hand* ;D I am a sucker for kidfic. So how about... Silver singing 'dance to your daddy' to a wee babby they can't quite bring themselves to leave at an orphanage. Pretty please with cake on top?

Thank you so much for this! ❤️ I will take all the kidfic prompts that you or anyone else wants to send me, honestly. I deviated from the prompt just a little but I think it's still good. This might end up cross-posted to my AO3 later; for now I'm so eager to post it I'm just putting it here.

Tentatively entitled “these three remain” from the Corinthians verse - and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.

To say things have not gone quite according to plan would be a very large understatement.

Through a series of events this narrator should not like to waste time on, Flint and Silver have found themselves proprietors of a smallish inn on the coast called The Boat & Bird, living in the back rooms under a flimsy ruse of being business partners.

There are two adjoining bedrooms at the back of the inn; one sits entirely unused.

On an otherwise unremarkable rainy, dreary day a harried young woman comes to stay at their inn. She brings with her a baby girl no older than perhaps eight months, a green-eyed sweetling with soft dark curls and a dimpled smile.

She seems an easy enough baby to Silver, who never does learn her name - her mother is called Madeleine. Still, despite the baby’s sweet disposition, the mother has difficulty with her. Madeleine has a short temper and tends to yell at the babe when she fusses for too long. More and more Silver helps with her child, because he's got a way with babies (always has). He can feel Flint watching him while he dandles the girl on his knee or takes her on an educational tour of the kitchen. He doesn't know what it means, that Flint watches him so closely when he's got the baby.

One morning, Silver wakes to the sound of Madeleine’s baby wailing piteously. They've been staying at the inn for nigh on six weeks, so Silver's gotten more than used to the sound of the baby crying. He frowns, though, at how frantic and miserable she sounds - why isn't Madeleine soothing her? Surely she can hear how upset the baby is. Perhaps she needs help.

“Madeleine,” Silver calls as he gets up from the bed in just his breeches, wandering out into the hall toward the young mother’s room and pulling his nightshirt on over his head as he goes. “I can take the baby if-- oh, dear.”

He's just pushed open the (unlocked, not even fully shut) door of Madeleine’s room and found nobody but the baby. Madeleine is long gone, with all her possessions. Meanwhile her baby sits up in the blanket-lined box where she's been sleeping, red-faced and howling at the world at large. She reaches for Silver, opening and closing her hands in an obvious request. He crosses to her and scoops her up immediately, resting her on his right hip.

“Where has your mummy gone, hm?” he asks as he carries her from the chilly, barren room. “Do you suppose she's coming back?” he asks, knowing in his gut that she won't, that she's left the baby on purpose. Unwanted. Abandoned.

It feels very familiar, to Silver.

He carries the baby to his and Flint’s bedroom, sitting down on the bed with the sniffling infant in his lap.

“Nice of you to help her mother,” Flint mumbles, obviously still half-asleep.

“Her mother left,” Silver says flatly as the baby reaches out for his hair, tangling her fat fingers in his curls.

“When will she be back?” Flint asks, cracking one eye open and peering up at Silver.

“I don't think she will be back at all. She took everything with her except this,” Silver says, gesturing to the baby in his lap.

“What?” Flint gasps, suddenly fully awake, sitting up in bed and staring dumbfounded at Silver.

“She left the baby here. I don't think she's going to come back for her, James,” Silver says quietly, looking down at the little girl in his lap. She's calmed considerably and is contenting herself with pulling Silver's hair and chewing one of his fingers.

“We have to-- do something,” Flint says, rubbing his face with both hands. “We have to take her to the authorities, or an orphanage or...something,” he says, clearly at a loss.

“I'm not giving her to strangers,” Silver says with calm certainty. He's already made up his mind; he's just waiting for Flint to understand that this is the right thing to do.

“We're strangers!” Flint protests. “You can't seriously be making a case for keeping someone else's baby,” he says, sounding aghast.

“Her mother took everything else with her. Everything!” Silver hisses, trying to keep his voice down so he won't startle the baby. “Every last hairpin, every gown and stocking and earring. All she left was the girl. She meant to leave her here, James. With me. With us.”

“We can't be parents,” Flint says quietly. “You have to understand that we--”

“We what?” Silver challenges him. “We would be worse for her than an angry, neglectful mother who didn't want her in the first place? Worse than a nonexistent father? Worse than no parents at all, growing up in a dismal orphanage or alone on the street? You can't really believe that,” he says. “I'm keeping her, James. If you don't care to live with the terrible burden of a loving partner and a darling baby girl, you're free to leave whenever the mood strikes,” he says. He gets up from the bed and stalks irritably down the hall to the kitchen with Baby (he's starting to think of her that way, as though it's her given name) on his hip, tucked up under his right arm.

They don't really speak to each other for three full days after that. Silver takes care of Baby on his own, while Flint stalks around and scowls and mutters.

But he doesn't leave.

When at last they do speak again, it's late and Silver is getting the girl ready for bed, chatting away to her as is his wont. “Come now, Baby,” he coos, wrapping her in a blanket and smiling down at her as he settles her gently into her makeshift crib in their room. Someday soon he'll have to get her a bed that's not a box.

Flint looks up from where he's sitting in bed, rereading Cervantes. “You can't just keep calling her that.”

“What, Baby?” Silver asks as he pulls his shirt off over his head and joins Flint in their bed. “It's what she is, is it not?” he asks, trying not to feel overly giddy that he and Flint are talking.

“Yeah, b-- well. I was about to say that I don't call you Pain In My Arse or Bloody Idiot or Unfathomable Nuisance, but I do,” Flint says, closing his book softly and studying Silver with obvious affection. “However, point is she won't be a baby someday, and she'll need a real name. Since neither you nor I ever thought to ask her mother what she called her, I suppose it falls to us to choose a new one.”

Silver eyes the book in Flint's lap. “Dulcinea.”

Flint snorts. “Ridiculous. No,” he says.

“Araminta?” Silver suggests, folding his arms behind his head and turning slightly to watch Baby's chest rising and falling. She's already deep asleep, bless her.

“Are we naming a child or a long-haired cat? Christ, John. She'll be a grown woman one day and she'll have to live with whatever we name her,” Flint says.

“Ophelia. Desdemona,” Silver murmurs, wanting a name for his - their - daughter that evokes a certain feeling, that carries a decent amount of weight.

“Far too tragic, both of them,” Flint says, a frown creasing his forehead.

“Scheherazade?” Silver asks, grinning, just to hear Flint groan at him in frustration.

He does. “Go to sleep. Don't suggest any more names until you've had a few hours’ sleep at least, I think you're delirious,” Flint mutters, rolling over and putting his back to Silver, who laughs.

He falls asleep soon after and wakes a few hours later to the pitter-pat of rain on the windows and Baby's fussy snuffling. He rises from the bed and gathers Baby in his arms, managing to pace the length of the bedroom with both crutch and infant, his loping stride slowly lulling his daughter back to sleep.

He sings to her softly as he paces. “Dance to your daddy, my little lassie. Dance to your daddy, my little lamb. Thou shalt have a fish and thou shalt have a fin, thou shalt have a haddock when the boat comes in,” he sings, and by the time he reaches the last line, she's asleep again. He dares to kiss her forehead, as light as he can so he won't wake her, then tucks her into the box and eases back into bed next to Flint. He can tell he's awake, without looking.

“Hope,” he whispers to him, reaching for his hand in the darkness.

Flint takes it, squeezes. “Her name?”

“Yes,” Silver says, swallowing past a sudden lump in his throat.

“Finally, a decent suggestion,” Flint murmurs. He leans in and Silver feels his lips, warm and soft, press to his cheek. “Hope, then.”

#prompt a lurker why not #prompt fills #scrapbullet #silverflint #kidfic #my fic #black sails fic

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niklii · 7 years ago

Text

Another Round

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people. (Thanks @augmentedampharos ! And yay for body positivity. Your “tmi” answer to that question made me smile haha.)

LAST

Drink: milk with some concentrated coffee Mio. Also water cos I have a slight headache

Phone call: Trying! To! Make! A! Damn! Gynecologist! Appointment!!! I need a new health care clinic. :( For this one you can only make appts one day in advance and they always run out.. Gonna try again at 9:00.

Text message: My friend at work texted me “Kanchan wants to know if you can get her some mustard” lol

Song you listened to: Some random song on the radio.

Time you cried: Watching “War for the Planet of the Apes” last Sunday! haha

HAVE YOU

Dated someone twice: um.. not sure how to answer this. I’ve only been in one relationship and there were no official breaks.

Kissed someone and regretted it: yes! not my boyfriend though

Been cheated on: ehm.. sorta? but no? some weird stuff happened in middle school and also last year but at the same time, we had agreed to some open relationship type stuff.. it just came out of nowhere and i didn’t find out about it til later.

Lost someone special: Yes :( Johnny (DJ Nackt) in the Oakland fire last November, and my piano teacher from cancer last January. But no one in my family or anyone I have been extremely close with yet.

Been depressed: Yes but never longer for a day.

Gotten drunk and thrown up: nope!! this one I’m proud of. Never threw up from drugs or alcohol, only food poisoning and the flu...

Made new friends: yes :) (s/o to @augmentedampharos for rekindling our friendship)

Fallen out of love: from time to time but it never lasted.

Laughed until you cried: yes!

Found out someone was talking about you: probably? i try not to remember ;)

Met someone who changed you: hell yeah

Found out who your friends are: sure ?

Kissed someone from your Facebook list: my boyfriend! also a few people from when we played Spin the Bottle during Vice haha. And a couple others..

Kissed a stranger: only if you count Vice, but even then, they weren’t a total stranger. I just didn’t know them that well.

Drank hard liquor: sure ?

Lost glasses/contact lenses: if i did, it was ages ago.

Turned someone down: yeah but only a couple of times ?

Sex on the first date: no!!! I was 12 on our first date. NOT READY

Broken someone’s heart: um I’m sure my bf has said this at one point. but he also broke my heart once or twice. we have since recovered (i think)

Had your heart broken: yep but I got over it

Been arrested: no lol

Cried when someone died: yes.. even with friends of friends. it’s too much.

Fallen for a friend: yes! but i got over it (for now..)

Kissed on the first date: haha sure. It was the first time Andrew and I saw each other since we met! Not a date and my dad was there because I was 12 but it was a sweet little smooch when I came down from climbing a tree.

GENERAL

List 3 favorite colors: blue, orange, pink ? (how did that happen??)

How many Facebook friends do you know in real life: probably 80% of them? Maybe 90%? No idea, I’ve never counted!

Do you have any pets: no I don’t unless you count Andrew!! lmao

Do you want to change your name: meh

What time did you wake up: 7:00 but I was sooooo tired. not a good day to wake up at 7. :(

What were you watching at midnight last night: my own dreams

Name something you can’t wait for: swimming before the summer ends!! GO AWAY IUD SPOTTING

When was the last time you saw your mom: In June, when my cousin graduated high school

What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: lose that belly of mine. But I wish I didn’t want it so much. :( I wish I could be happy with myself.

What are you listening to right now: the sound of my own typing cos no one else is in the office yet...

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Most Likely

Something that is getting on your nerves right now: This little headache I woke up with. probably was from the heat last night.

Most visited website: facebook T_T

Mole/s: there’s a huge one right by my nether-regions.. i should get it looked at soon.

Mark/s: tons of little dots on my arms and chest that aren’t qualified to be birthmarks or moles. also one on my head.. i should get it looked at.

Childhood dream: being a rockstar B-) i’ve always wanted to sing

Do you have a crush on someone: only my significant other right now!

What do you like about yourself: I like the shape of my arms + hands + feet! although my boyfriend refused to call my feet sexy. I think they would be sexy feet if you were into that sort of thing. lmao

if we’re talking non-physical stuff i also like my compassion and tendency to emote my feelings. I like feeling feelings.

Piercings: only one ear for now, my other ear ate the piercing.. it was a weird day. I need to get it done again. THIS IS WHY I DIDNT BOTHER UNTIL I WAS 22.

Blood type: I think when I donated I found out I was A+! like my high school grades ;) lmao

Nickname: Nikki or H2O.. my bestie also called me Cole-Man.. I liked that one.

Relationship status: practically married

Zodiac: taurus

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Favorite TV show: X-Files right now but also I am loving GLOW and Orange is the New Black. And Community. And Girls has a special place in my heart.. love that show to death. You can’t make me choose!!

Tattoos: i kind of want one but also.. i don’t like pain.

Right or left hand: right

Surgery: only for a tooth implant

Hair dyed in different color: i used blue dye on part of my hair a couple times in college.. i want to do something like that again but also idk what my work would think. i guess i should ask. it’s not like we have the most formal environment

Sport: tennis (rn). also Lindy Hop Dancing! I’m on a roll.

Vacation: Iceland PLZ

Pair of trainers: I’m guessing they mean sneakers? So.. Vans for now. But also Docs and Converse

Current and all-time best friend: Andrew and Woky are kind of tied. But Woky understands me more so sometimes she wins. But Andrew has my life devotion haha.

Eye color: blue but sometimes they look grey

Favorite movie: blah Idk! I really love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. and Amelie and some Wes Anderson movies..

WHICH IS BETTER?

Hugs or kisses: idk why but i love our hugs more! i feel like he MEANS IT. i guess i got worn down by kisses.

Lips or eyes: eyes

Shorter or taller: I used to wish I was short so I could hide in more places when playing Hide-and-Seek. And also I wish my partner could pick me up all romantic-like. But now I’m grateful I can reach things on shelves.

Nice arms or stomach: I’m a sucker for arms and hands

Sensitive or loud: sensitive

Hook up or relationship: relationship

Troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

Yourself: usually but I need to more.. I don’t went it comes to work (Mudd RUINED ME)

Miracles: maybe?

Love at first sight: lust at first sight yes, love no. (stole that from Wendy)

Santa Claus: it’s a lie!! But I loved the idea growing up. yay presents

Thanks again Wendy for giving me something fun to do before I get real work done. xDD

I tag.. @minikvelp @unfuckthereallife @ursaladarling @lumbercop @darkfire454 @brainshock-alpha @lightning-babe @eternal-flame-babby @mabonqueen And anyone else who likes these kinds of things!!

#ask #meme #augmentedampharos

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suga-babby · 8 years ago

Text

Desire Pt.7 (p.jimin)

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6

Words:2449

Author’s Notes:Hey loves! I’m so sorry this is so late! But hey it’s here now! Anyways, thank you again for your support! Please go follow my wonderful partner in crime @bamboree! Also if you love this please follow our wattpad account suga-babby. (Warning: there is some strong language and mature themes/suggestions in this chapter. No it’s not smut hahaha)

Summary: Amber has liked Jimin for sometime now. But unfortunately he is dating her best friend. When things start to unfold before her eyes, her life is changed. But is it for the good or the bad?

I woke up on my couch, still wearing the same makeup from the night before. I rolled over and glanced at the clock.

8:00 a.m.

I groaned in disapproval.

My phone buzzing on the coffee table, must've been the reason I woke up. I picked it up and saw Caroline's picture staring at me.

"Hey." I said groggily.

"Good morning! Did you forget that we're leaving at 10?" Caroline laughed into the phone.

"Oh no, I'm already packed so I'm sleeping in a little." I lied. I couldn't help but feel weird, especially about what happened, or what could've happened.

I know she was in the wrong, yet I couldn't manage the reoccurring guilt that resided in my stomach.

"Okay well I'll see you guys then. Bye!"

I walked over to the bathroom and took the remaining makeup off, dreading this entire beach trip.

I finally went through my clothes and threw some outfits together. I picked up my phone and realized I had about ten messages. All from him.

Jimin: Amber, I am so sorry. I just want things to be okay between us.

I slumped on my bed, I didn't know what to think or say. I understood, but can't he be selfish for one minute? I just wanted to tell him about her, about all the lies she's fed him.

I contemplated everything as I scanned over the messages.

Jimin: Did you want it too?

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. What do I say?

I began to type.

Jimin. I always have, I|

Jimin. I always|

Me: Jimin. It was the heat of the moment, don't worry ok?

I quickly sent the message, with utter dismay making itself comfortable in my gut. I exited out of my messaging app, hoping the feeling would subside soon.

As I zipped up my suitcase, someone was knocking on my door.

I sat up quickly, running to the door. I looked through the peep hole seeing Eliza's curls.

I smiled and opened the door, seeing her face smirking at me.

"Girl, you didn't answer any of my texts. I was starting to think something happened!" She said worriedly, storming inside my apartment. I shut the door behind her.

"I'm okay Eliza, really. I just overslept!" I lied through my teeth, hoping she wouldn't pry any further.

"So nothing happened when Jimin came over?" Eliza said sounding unsure.

"We just talked. That's all." I replied. She crossed her arms, and scoffed. "Fine, you don't have to tell me."

"Well there's nothing to tell." I added.

The room fell silent. I averted my eyes from her gaze, and went into my bedroom to grab my suitcase. I didn't really feel like telling Eliza about the almost kiss with Jimin. I avoided the subject because the last thing I wanted was to be reminded of last night. I came out to see her walking toward the couch, her curls bouncing with every step she took.

"Anyways... so are you all set for the beach?" She broke the silence.

"Yeah, let's just put on a movie until Caroline and Jimin get here." I told her.

As the movie began to play, Eliza muted it. "I don't want to watch a movie, I want to know if you're okay."

I sighed,"No I'm not okay, I don't want to be in this situation."

I began again,"I don't want to be number two, you know what I mean? Like he already has her, and I'm just going to be the other girl. It's just not fucking fair." I said angrily.

"But at the same time Amber, it's always been you. They've shared kisses and went on dates sure, but y'all always connected on a deeper level and you two know that." Eliza attempted to reassure me.

She laughed,"And you haven't even been number two because they haven't even had sex. Yet she's willing to cheat on Jimin with Chris. If anything that makes her lower."

I leaned my head on Eliza,"Speaking of which, do you know if he has any sort of social media?" She asked me.

"Why?" I said suspiciously.

"Nothing! I just wanna creep." Eliza smirked.

"Oh yeah his username is chris.m.1994" I said, looking at an old picture of him and Caroline from months ago.

Eliza grabbed her phone, and started typing really fast.

"Why?" I pressed again, becoming more suspicious.

"I may see what he's doing today... I'm that bitch." She laughed loudly.

"Eliza- NO STOP!" I tried snatching the phone from her hand. She got up and ran around my apartment, and I darted after her like a crazy woman.

"What's the harm?" She ran into my room. "I just wanna hang out with him!"

"The worst thing he could say is no! Or 'you're creeping me out and how did you get my username?' But I'm hoping for the best!" She said from the inside of my closet.

"GET OUT I'M NOT PLAYING! GIVE ME THE DAMN PHONE!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" She said confidently.

We heard a knock on the door, and became silent.

"Eliza delete that message I am begging you." I whisper yelled into the closet crack.

She opened the door to the closet looking satisfied with herself.

"And it's done." She walked out of the bedroom,"I'll get the door... Muahahahaha."

I sat on my bedroom floor dumbfounded.

"Hey Caroline! Girl you look so good." That snake. She knew exactly what she is doing.

I was in such a trance I didn't even notice Caroline walk into my room.

"Hey what are you doing on the floor?" She asked curiously.

"Oh I was looking for an earring but couldn't find it so I gave up, and here I am now." I said fake smiling.

She laughed, and sat down next to me. " You haven't told Eliza about Chris right? I'm just asking because I don't want things to be more awkward." What did she mean?

"He doesn't even know about Jimin, he just thinks that he's our friend from out of town that comes and stays over sometimes." I wanted to punch her. I hesitated, then laughed nervously. "Oh really? And why would I do that?" I stood up and grabbed my bag.

"You're right, I was just curious." She followed me out of my room. As we made our way into the living room, I heard Jimin's infectious laugh.

We made eye contact and exchanged hellos...like nothing happened. My eyes panned over to Eliza, she was smiling at her phone and it made my heart race. I was scared of what the night might turn into.

"Shall we go?" Jimin asked, smiling and taking the bags from our hands.

We all piled into the car and headed off. Since we live in Oregon, the "beach" is a small lake front campsite. But to us it's a beach.

The car ride was for the most part silent, with the exception of the monotone music. Caroline kept trying to make small talk which didn't last long.

Just then I felt Eliza tap on my shoulder, she gestured for me to take her phone. I rolled my eyes and grabbed it.

I gave her a pained expression. "Just read it." She mouthed to me. I brought my attention back to her phone screen.

It was her Instagram conversation with Chris.

elizugh: hey you probably don't know me... but I'm a really good friend of Caroline's! I wanted to ask you something.

chris.m.1994: oh hey! what's up?

elizugh: nothing much, but you remember Amber right?

chris.m.1994: yeah she's super cool! I've only met her once though, what about her? :)

elizugh: well we thought that it'd be great if you surprised Caroline. We're going on a girls trip and it would be cool if you came! She would freak out :) But please don't tell her, we're trying to surprise her! Also sorry if this is weird we just love our friend!

chris.m.1994: you're fine hahah! I don't think you're weird! Okay for sure, I'll be there. Just send me the address! :)

I could not believe her. This was going to be a very long weekend.

Thirty minutes passed and we pulled up to the cabin. It was so quaint, there was two rooms on the first floor and a loft on the top.

It was now about seven and we were making dinner. Eliza was continuously checking her phone and chopping vegetables. Jimin was grilling the burgers, and Caroline was in their room. I sat there peeling the potatoes, my nerves eating away at me.

Eliza smiled and glanced at the door. I internally screamed as I heard a knock. I felt like I was about to puke.

"I'll get it." Jimin said confused. I watched as he walked over to the door eating a piece of meat. "Hey man, can I help you?"

"Hey you must be Jimin! I'm Chris! Yeah I'm looking for my girlfriend." Chris laughed, I could see that he was wearing cargo shorts, a navy shirt and a white hat. My eyes widened and I turned to Eliza who was trying her best not to burst out laughing.

"Hey! Come on in dude, Eliza is right there." Jimin said inviting him in while pointing at Eliza. Eliza waved subtly, looking back at me.

Like clockwork, Caroline came out from her room. "No that's my girlfriend." He said going over to Caroline, and wrapping his arms around her.

Caroline looked like she was about to pass out. Her eyes trailed up at Jimin, then to Eliza and me.

Jimin laughed, "Man there must be a mistake-This has been my girlfriend for two years?" He said in hysterics.

Chris let go and stepped back to look at Caroline. "Well that's weird because she's been my girlfriend for a year now."

The two boys stared at Caroline, Jimin had an unreadable expression. But at the same time it was like he was okay. "Aren't you going to fucking say something?" Chris yelled at her.

"Wait wait, let's not yell." Jimin sighed, "Caroline? Who is he?" He asked in frustrated tone.

Chris began to speak,"I'm-"

"No, no. Let her answer. Caroline, who is he?" Jimin pressed again, stepping closer to her. She ignored him and plopped onto the love seat.

"Yeah who am I?" Chris intervened.

I was watching Caroline's web unwind. I turned the stove off. Then sat at the table.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Caroline finally spoke.

"How did you even know I was here?" She emotionlessly questioned.

"That doesn't matter right now, don't try and flip this around. Who am I to you?" Chris raised his voice once more.

Jimin crossed his arms and sighed loudly.

"You guys are both my boyfriends, is that what you wanted to hear?" The two boys exchanged glances, and returned their gaze back to her.

Chris laughed,"Are you fucking serious, Caroline?"

"Yeah but its lik-"

Chris instantly interrupted,"No, no you told me that Jimin was a friend that stayed with you sometimes because he lives out of town. You told me that there as nothing to worry about! But clearly you're dating and have been dating for two fucking years!"

Jimin started getting mad I guess because he looked at her and I've never seen him look this way before. He then began to talk. "I know you met him at your training. I knew that you and him were close because you had the same major and you told me that you wanted to get closer to him because he had connections. This is so ridiculous."

"Why did you continue to have sleep with me then Caroline? If you had a boyfriend why would you do that?" Chris fumed.

"Wait a minute... you two slept together?" Jimin rose his voice.

"Jimin I- it's not what you think." Caroline got up from her seat and started approaching Jimin.

"Don't lie to him Caroline! You know it happened, so just tell him!" Chris yelled.

"You told me that you weren't ready. So I waited. Why would you tell me that?" Caroline began sobbing. I felt like shit, not because it's happening but the way it's happening.

"You know I was invited here to surprise you? I had the whole weekend planned, and it was going to be so perfect. Your friend sent me the address so I decided to show up."

Caroline wiped away her tears, and looked up at Eliza and I.

"You guys did this to me on purpose! You can't ever just leave things alone Amber!" She shouted at me.

"Don't fucking get mad at her!" Eliza said. She left the kitchen, and stood in front of Caroline.

"It was me. I sent him here." She confessed.

"Why would you-"

Eliza intervened. "Why would I? I thought we were all friends here? I'm sorry I didn't know the extent of your little relationship!"

Caroline jumped in front of Eliza and yelled, "Yeah but Amber does! She heard me on the phone the night of her birthday! So I know she told you so stop acting like you didn't do this on purpose!"

"You know you shouldn't be getting mad at them. They only did what was right." Chris said calmly.

"How long did you think you could do this Caroline?" Jimin asked looking at her intensely.

"I don't have to stay here and take this. I'm leaving." She snapped and went in the room to collect her stuff. "Don't follow me, I'm going to walk to the office."

The door slammed behind her and the room fell silent.

Jimin ran outside. My heart sank. We opened the door to see him sprinting after her in the driveway.

"Caroline! Stop!" He yelled.

"I told you not to follow me Jimin." She spat.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you knew it was over." He smiled and waved at her. Then proceeded back to the house.

When he came inside it was like something was different. He looked up at me and half smiled, which I understood.

"Well guys, uhh thanks for the closure I guess. I should probably head out. Maybe we can hangout sometime, but in the way future." Chris laughed and waved as he opened the door. As the door slammed once more, we heard his car start and peel out.

I walked over to the couch and sat next to Jimin. "Are you okay?" I asked as I placed my hand in his knee.

"No" he paused, "but I will be." He smiled at me, placing his hand on top of mine.

#BTS jimin #bts #bts scenarios #BTS au #bts angst #park jimin #jimin imagine #bts fanfic #bts fluff #gif not mine #desire #jimin angst

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nether--prince · 8 years ago

Text

this is the best scene from my online campaign yet. it’s long under the cut, so be warned

Babby Boucha is Arcadia, a Raven Sorceress

Drane is Drane, a Tiefling Rogue

Bungo is ORGAN KING, a Dwarforged Bard/Paladin

Gale is Gale, a Wood Elf Ranger

I am the Gaymaster, currently playing an NPC named Kara, a Human? Fighter.

As the group bolts towards the noise, a person goes flying past them- a half-orc, to be exact, which aren't particularly meant to go flying. There's a round of laughter, and a round of people, though there's a gap where the half-orc went through, and between the cheering masses, a short, questionably human girl with tied up, purple hair can be seen, dusting blood off of metal knuckles and laughing. "Who's up next, you pesky fuckers? Who wants a piece of Kara?"

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 2:35 AM

The scene they encroach on isn't quite what she expected to see, but Santa Cora is a vast city, ever fully of drastic surprises. As they stop she settles on ORGAN KING again, taking perch, and very slowly, considering the girl's offer. "...What do we get out of it?" She called out.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 2:41 AM

She couldn't take as much of a beating as you, ORGAN KING, but she could probably break your head if she wanted to, judging by the fact that she just bashed some poor fuck's battle axe into its new life as a battle accordion. Drane thinks this very rich man with bodyguards would be a great mark."You, birdie? You get a lifetime's supply of feed, is what you get," Kara shouts back, kicking a sack of gold sitting by what are very obviously her people. "No magic, no weapons, just what the gods gave you- and whatever you put in yourself," she cedes, flexing her silvery fingers.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 2:48 AM

Drane throws his wicked knife into the ground by the gold sack as he walks up, "No weapons? No magic? Any other terms?"

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 2:49 AM

For as much as she wanted to take her shot, Arcadia, begrudgingly, had to back down - even if the other's taunts gave her even more of a drive to fight. But physical combat was not her forte, for obvious reasons - without magic, the sharp gauntlets on her talons wouldn't be nearly enough to save her hide, and she wasn't about to put herself into such stupid danger. Someone more capable, however. "Well," she sighed, just loud enough for her party. "I suppose one of you poor eager sods can take my place, then."

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 2:51 AM

Gale glances at Crevan, who bares his teeth at the challenger. "Down, boy". She's intreauged, but hangs back- while she's not the strongest, she can hold her own- though, she prefers her range. She'll wait and scout the competition, first, before jumping in.

Bungo-Yesterday at 2:54 AM

ORGAN KING stays silent for the moment; They very much would like to fight this woman, a clash the likes of which would make for an excellent song... but they would also like to see how she fights first, aside from the eventual hurling out of a back-alley, and Drane seems more than happy to oblige.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 2:57 AM

"One on one, to keep shit clean. No killin', or the guards come and it gets real fuckin' messy. Number three, if you get pushed out or dropped down and you don't get back up in five seconds, you're out, doneski, and gotta try again tomorrow." She flexes her arms behind her head, grinning. "You think you can take me, big boy?"

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 3:08 AM

Drane grins, and runs his tongue over his sharp teeth, and for once, is grateful for his horns. "Oh, yes, I do believe so," he runs his fingers over the curvature of his horns, pricking a finger on the tip, before extending a hand in agreement, "A fair fight then," he says, the other hand crossing fingers behind his back.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 3:11 AM

Kara grins back, all bloody-mouthed and wild- the one eye that she can see out of is gleaming with excitement. This is obviously just how she is. She takes Drane's hand in her own, squeezing tightly. "Rule five, no cheatin'."

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 3:12 AM

She's picked up the fox to curl around her neck, so he doesn't get stepped on, and smiles. "Guess we'll be cheering him on in a more literal sense", she says to the others.

Bungo-Yesterday at 3:14 AM

ORGAN KING pumps a fist in the air and lets loose a mighty toot while screaming "CERTAIN VICTORY!"

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 3:15 AM

Drane steps back squaring up and keeping his chin low. His tail swings out behind him, off the ground just so slightly, ready to strike.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 3:19 AM

Kara crashes into Drane- for someone that only comes up to his chest, she hits like a fucking truck. Her own crowd cheers her on, especially another woman in a robe, and a dwarforged with a face painted on.

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 3:21 AM

Gale has to stand on tiptoes- for an elf, she's not very tall. But she cheers for Drane, regardless.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 3:28 AM

Drane buckles down, gathering his strength, preparing for the tackle, and... his legs fly out from under him, and he eats a mouthful of dirt as he hits the ground, standing and shaking himself off.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 3:30 AM

Kara laughs with joy as Drane goes sprawling, dancing back towards the center of the wobbly ring. "C'mon, loverboy, that all you got? Come get a piece of me."

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 3:36 AM

After two more attempts from Drane at goring this chick, Kara grabs Drane by the horns, kisses him between them, and throws him out of the ring. "Who's next?" She calls, spinning as the crowd loses their goddamn minds. The dwarforged on her team is clapping with a metallic sound, and the dog that was waiting patiently has come over to lick her face.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 3:40 AM

Drane can hear the crowd, and though for the most part, he is physically unharmed, he remains still in the dirt hoping no one notices him as his ego dies.

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 3:41 AM

Gale sighs, and reaches down to help him up. "Bad luck, buddy. ORGAN KING? You or I?" she asks.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 3:44 AM

Arcadia on him, quite literally, in an instant - as soon as he crashes to the ground, she jets from ORGAN KING's shoulder, fluttering to land on Drane's shoulderblade, and she ducks her head down, inspecting him carefully with great concern. "Are you okay?" As Gale lifts him she adjusts herself, settling on his shoulder properly, and sits perhaps a little closer than usual.

Bungo-Yesterday at 3:47 AM

"(HMM...)" ORGAN KING says, in a very broad approximation of whispering, "(LET ME HAVE A CRACK AT IT NEXT; I HAVE A FEELING THERE MAY BE SOME BAMBOOZLING GOING ON.)" They bend down to Gale's height and continue; "(I SUSPECT THERE MAY BE HELP COMING FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES, BUT IT WOULD BE IMPERTINENT TO ACCUSE WITHOUT EVIDENCE; KEEP AN EYE ON HER FRIENDS WHILE I SQUARE OFF.)"

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 3:50 AM

Drane laughs, a dry, resentful laugh. "Aye, I'm fine. Just a broken man with a broken ego, who wishes his hood were no longer a memory," he raises his head to ORGAN KING'S.... eye.... zone... area.... "I can't tell you if she's cheating, but I can tell you... she's a helluva fighter," he begrudges.

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 3:51 AM

Gale makes sure Drane's steady. She nods to ORGAN KING, and looks to Arcadia. "Can you keep an eye out for anything magic? I can spot traps and things like that, but magic isn't my forte", she asks, quietly.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 3:55 AM

ORGAN KING's suspicion is enough to set some mistrust off in Arc, too, and Gale's request only helps fuel that. "I'd be happy to," she replies lowly, dubiety heavy in her tone.

Bungo-Yesterday at 3:57 AM

ORGAN KING wrenches their body upwards at their assent. "VERY WELL!" They boom, pointing at Kara, "I, ORGAN KING, SHALL BE YOUR NEXT OPPONENT!"

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 3:58 AM

Kara is a little concerned about fighting a giant dwarforged, but it wouldn't be the first time. She looks them over, nods slowly. "Mind if I wear gloves, Ruby? Don't wanna break my fists open."

Bungo-Yesterday at 4:09 AM

"WEAR WHATEVER YOU DEEM NECESSARY, BUT DO TRY NOT TO DENT ME; THIS BODY IS NOT MANTAINED CHEAPLY!" ORGAN KING booms, waiting for her to prepare. And when she does He Throw A Punch

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:13 AM

She puts on her gloves- heavily padded, patched, and ragged- and goes to what she loves best; fighting really big things. Kara ducks under the punch and slams herself into OK, at the very least rattling him- and herself, a little. "Fuck, you're well made."

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 4:13 AM

As they fight, Gale's eyes track the fight and nearby viewers carefully, looking for signs that things aren't as they seem.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 4:15 AM

Arcadia does the same, but reaches a little further, scrutinizing every movement, every exchange of blows, for any sign of arcane intervention.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:17 AM

What a great roll. You can tell that something's been shoved in her, and you can immediately tell it's keeping her alive- not enhancing her abilities, just keeping her from being dead on the ground, and that it's working better the more she moves and gets excited. Kara doesn't seem to know it's there, and somewhere in yourself, that concept feels familiar. Like a dream.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 4:21 AM

Immediately she's distracted - whatever's keeping Kara alive isn't any of their concern, not when it doesn't affect the battle, but it still claws at her, and she drives herself mad trying to remember, losing focus on the battle and becoming too pensive, lost in her thoughts and staring at the ground, to follow. But what she wants never comes.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:22 AM

You can see signs of the same thing, Gale. Of how when Kara slows down, her breathing does a stutterstep, and a cleric in the back of her group looks concerned. But no one interferes, no one pulls her away or casts spells- her fights are her own.

Bungo-Yesterday at 4:24 AM

ORGAN KING reels a little from the blow, but quickly finds their footing; She hits like a truck, and if they existed ORGAN KING would be comparable to such a vehicle. He stands up straight and Adresses Kara; "HAH! I OUGHT TO BE WELL-MADE; I WAS CONSTRUCTED BY THE FINEST DWARVEN CRAFTSMEN, THEN REFORGED BY HALLOWAY HIMSELF. I... AM THE ORGAN KING!" After their boast, ORGAN KING lunges in for a second go at it.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:27 AM

The crowd loses its entire shits. People are screaming, cheering from both sides- there are mixed cries of both 'KING KARA' and 'ORGAN KING' mixed together. They only pitch louder, in greater excitement- and with more than a few showering coins- as Kara ducks again, slamming into the metal friend. She's laughing and smiling- she's having the time of her life.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 4:33 AM

Drane is screaming, he's completely forgotten about his loss, as he hollers and whoops and screams "ORGAN KIIIIIIIING," at the top of his lungs.... though his eyes spend far more time on Kara.

Bungo-Yesterday at 4:33 AM

Great tracks are left in the dirt as ORGAN KING is sent flying again, feet firm on the ground, but the ground not quite so firm on their feet; Their opponent is strong AND swift, a deadly combo indeed, and ORGAN KING was going to have to pull out a risky move to get the win.

And so they did

As they leapt into the air and prepared

ＴＨＥＢＯＤＹＳＰＬＡＳＨ

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 4:34 AM

Gale is also yelling and cheering- now satisfied there's nothing funny, the fight has wrapped her up. "GO, OK!" she calls.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:42 AM

For the first time in a year, Kara goes down. And she goes down hard. Thankfully, ORGAN KING'S arm catches her across the chest instead of his whole body, but it's enough to put her down, flat on her back, wheezing and stunned. The crowd chants out her defeat- "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR- FIVE!!!!!" And all are crowing with victory, and pride- it took a metal man to put her down, no being of flesh and bone. As soon as she can breathe, she rolls out from under the arm, rolling over and panting. As she always does, in the rare case of defeat, she leans over, plants a kiss right on the ruby, and grins. "Good fight, you giant piece of fuckery." Kara's only swaying a little.(edited)

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 4:45 AM

The overwhelming roar of the crowd is enough to pull Arc out of her state, having to crane her neck from Drane's shoulder to catch a glimpse of what just happened - when she realizes that ORGAN KING just won, she crows with delight, adding to the uproar of the crowd, wings and feathers ruffling in excitement.

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 4:46 AM

Gale's cheers are just as good, as she practically launches herself past the crowd to hug ORGAN KING. "You did it! You were amazing, OK, oh my stars". She's grinning, proud of her friend.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 4:49 AM

Drane runs into the crowd using his slightly above average height to get some leverage past the throngs of people as he approaches ORGAN KING, one hand in the air. "Please do NOT leave me hanging OK,"

Bungo-Yesterday at 4:52 AM

The deafening cheers ring through ORGAN KING, and they pick up on the heat signiatures of everyone in the crowd, all jumping and waving wildly, all for the sake of their victory, and they are satisfied; Another successful performance. The victory stupor is only interrupted when Gale slams full force into them, and stumbles slightly, despite it not being the hardest hit they've taken in the past ten minutes; "HAH! I SUPPOSE I WASN'T HALF BAD, CONSIDERING." He replies. When Drane walks over, hand outstretched, they react immediately, forcing their palm into Drane's maybe a little too forcefully.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 4:57 AM

Kara's cleric and what looks like her orc grandmother come to make sure she's okay, and, with a few unsteady blinks and some shakes, she's back with it. Kara pats ORGAN KING and grins at Drane, pushing back some of her hair with her free hand. "What, you just had to bring in a ringer, huh, Blueberry? But, hey. You shits win. And to the victors go the spoils, y'know." While her dwarforged brings over the goods- a heft bag of gold and a certain knife- Kara gives each of the godlings a kiss, brief and warm. Arcadia gets a pat because Kara can't figure out how to kiss a literal actual bird.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 5:02 AM

Arcadia chitters, pleased, at the affection, but frankly, wouldn't have minded a kiss on the top of the head, either - it's not going to ruin her day, though, delighted and prideful over her companion's outstanding victory. With Kara right in front of her, though, and not in the distant ring at the center of the crowd, she's reminded of the nagging, familiar feeling of a dream you can't quite remember when you wake up from, and she's distracted again, unintentionally scrutinizing and studying the girl.

Drane Sylas (holy?? thief)-Yesterday at 5:02 AM

Drane's cheekbones start bleeding into a shade of violet darker and warmer than the flowers, "Hey, I never asked my friend here to lift a finger; he just loves to put on a good show," he quips back, as he accepts the knife and hands the gold off to Arcadia, what with the magic satchel they had and all. The quick kiss leaves Drane stunned, and for once, at a loss for words, as he stumbles towards the Lounge, for.... something, he'd figure it out when he got there.

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 5:04 AM

She lets go of ORGAN KING after a moment, and just grins at them. "That was. A spectacular fight. I think everyone can agree", she tells them. Turning to Kara, Gale blushes at the kiss, and smiles. "Oh! Uh, thank you. You were. Amazing out there".

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 5:08 AM

Arcadia squawks, fumbles with the mass amount of gold because she's a literal fucking bird, and all but falls off as Drane runs, only last second able to flutter safely to the perch of ORGAN KING's shoulder.

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 5:10 AM

On a closer look, the tiniest crack further opens in the deep, deep magic. Staring at this girl with her unknown magic, Arcadia gets a simple, small impression. Smiling at a blue pendant she's just recovered.

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 5:14 AM

She reels, briefly, a wing coming up as if to clutch at her head, and swallows thickly, unable to quite make out exactly what she just realized. And she's really deep in her thoughts now, all but completely tuning out the world around her as she settles down a little more comfortably on OK's shoulder and just tries to push past the fuzziness and think.

Bungo-Yesterday at 5:19 AM

ORGAN KING, despite being lost in the revelry, isn't quite so lost as not to notice the reeling bird on their shoulder; lowering their voice as best they can, they speak to Arcadia; "(AH, IS THE NOISE GETTING TO BE TOO MUCH? IF YOU SHOULD REQUIRE QUIET, WE CAN BEAT A HASTY RETREAT.)"

Gale Aurora Silverloft (Airri)-Yesterday at 5:23 AM

Gale's concern also shifts to Arcadia, and she frowns, softly. "...That might not be a bad idea", she admits. "It's... rather busy here, and regrouping is never a bad thing".

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 5:26 AM

"...aw, man, I think I killed Blueberry," Kara comments, but laughs. The laugh falls a little, seeing joy turn to concern, and she frowns. "Hey, hey, if y'all need to scram, I got the crowd. They're here for me, anyways, babes. Just hit me up sometime, hey? Don't be a stranger, or I'll have to cross the Empire looking for the golden fuck that kicked my ass, and I've done shit like that before."

🅱abby 🅱oucha-Yesterday at 5:28 AM

ORGAN KING's question is only just enough to break her out of it, and she shakes her head at all the attention at first, but slowly changes her mind, nodding, the situation bordering on a headache for her. "I'm just... thinking. Perhaps we ought to go find Drane; we can always catch up with you later, Kara."

gaymaster 👑 jared-Yesterday at 5:33 AM

"No problem. I swing by the Lounge, or I'm around here, Raven. Get your Blueberry, don't die." With that- and a wide grin- Kara strides into the adoring masses, who immediately divert their attention to their champion.

#jay #j's online campaign #long post /

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redwallthoughts · 8 years ago

Text

Redwall Midwinter Miracle: Day 2 Part 1

Shoutout to @raphcrow for all her help beta reading this chapter. It would not be nearly as good without her help.

FF.net; AO3

Rose awoke to the sound of Sister Amyl moving about the room. She was surprised that she had slept so soundly. Ever since Marshank, she'd had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places without Martin around to keep watch. The realization of where she was and who she'd found the night before hit her almost as hard as she'd hit the wall at Marshank. She was glad that Sister Amyl wasn't looking, otherwise the kindly mousemaid might have seen the few tears that slipped down Rose's cheeks.

A quick brush of her paw was all it took to remove any trace of tears, and then she was up with a yawn and a stretch. Spending the night in a warm bed had done her joints good, she felt, allowing her to rise and dress without the aid of her crutches. She was tying on her headscarf when she noticed Sister Amyl's curious stare.

"I must apologize for being rude," Sister Amyl said, "But I couldn't help but notice the scar along the back of your neck."

Rose smiled at Sister Amyl. "I don't mind." Sitting down on edge of the bed, she explained. "Many seasons ago I became involved in a war near my home. A tyrant had lived on the coast, a few days journey from us, for many seasons. He was using slaves to build a fortress, with plans to rule the northeastern coast."

Sister Amyl nodded, and Rose recalled the tale from the night before. From what she'd heard, Tsarmina had set herself up to be an even worse tyrant than Badrang, although not quite as sound-minded.

Rose continued, "My brother was captured by the tyrant's horde one day while he was wandering, and I followed him to the fortress to try and rescue him..." She faltered for a moment, torn between explaining how she had met Martin or skipping over that fact and explaining it later. Realizing that Sister Amyl was still waiting for her to continue, she decided to leave out the part Martin had played. "That's when we realized it was only a matter of time before our home would be discovered. We joined with the slaves we freed, and many woodlanders, to fight back against the horde. We won, but the final battle claimed many lives. I very nearly died myself. The moles had dug a tunnel into the back of the fortress, and the tyrant thought he could use it as a way to escape. I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he threw me against the wall." Rose paused and looked at Sister Amyl, trying to gauge her reaction.

Sister Amyl gave Rose a strange look, but did not question her. Rose continued, "They actually did think I was dead at first. I can't blame them. My brother, Brome, was the only trained healer we had, and even he was inexperienced in dealing with war. He'd already lost so many creatures important to him, I think he must have convinced himself that I was dead too. In the end, it was his decision to take me back home that saved my life, otherwise I might have been buried alive. Brome had to cut my scalp open at the back to relieve the pressure from all the internal bleeding I suffered. By all rights I should have died that day. I got lucky instead."

"I see," Sister Amyl said. "I suppose you're a bit like our Martin, then." Rose looked up sharply, and Sister Amyl laughed softly before explaining. "Don't tell Gonff I told you. He likes to keep newcomers in the dark until the end of the tale during the fourth feast. Martin went off after Tsarmina on his own. Her troops were stranded on the other side of Kotir, but she was still dangerous and he was already injured. I'm told that Gonff thought he was dead when they found him, lying there in the mud unconscious and covered with blood. It's a miracle that he survived at all." She hesitated and looked at Rose. "I suppose that's why I don't find it hard to believe your story," she said. "I only saw the extent of Martin's wounds once, when I was helping Abbess Germaine tend to him, but it was terrible to see. I've never known any other creature to lay so long at death's door and still recover." She fell silent, and the two maids sat together for a moment before stirring.

Sister Amyl was first to rise, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Well," she said, "I suppose I'd best get on with my chores now. Holiday or not, there's still sheets to be washed and clothes to be folded."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rose said, standing. "I'd hate to sit around all day when others are working."

Sister Amyl smiled at her. "How are you with children?"

"I like children," Rose said, not entirely certain why Sister Amyl was asking.

"Good. Then you can help watch the dibbuns."

The dibbuns, Rose found, were waiting impatiently in great hall. Bella and Rowanoak stood at the far end of the hall, each with a paw on the door handles. They kept the door firmly shut against the pleading requests of the dibbuns.

"'Urry up an' open th' door Miz Bella!"

"Us'ns wanna go out an' play!"

"Burr, oi bain't afeared o' 'ee cold."

"Please Miz Bella! We'll stay out of the way, we promise!"

The last unlikely statement came from Gonfflet, whom Rose recognized from the night before. Bella shook her great striped head, chuckling at Gonfflet's statement. "The moment we open these door you lot will go tumbling out," she said. "You will wait until Foremole Dinny says the moles have finished packing down the snow and clearing the drifts. Then you may go out." This announcement was met by groans of frustration, and the shrill voice of a tiny mousemaid exclaiming loudly.

"We don' 'ave t' wait for da moles at 'ome!"

"You're not allowed out in the snow on your own anyway, miss Primrose," Rose said, recognizing the voice of her youngest niece. The little maid drooped visibly.

Sister Amyl came to stand next to Rose, frowning slightly. "I didn't realize that the dibbuns would be going outside first thing this morning, are you sure you're okay with watching them? Bella said something last night about the cold bothering your joints."

Rose smiled. "I'll wrap up nice and warm in a cloak," she said, "I should be fine then."

It did not take long before a knock was heard at the doors. Bella pulled her door ajar, and Foremole Dinny could be seen momentarily. Then the doors were flung open and dibbuns poured out onto the white snow. It was a winter wonderland the likes of which Rose had not seen in many seasons. The snow in front of the doors had been pushed to the side and packed down to make a safe space for the dibbuns to play without fear of losing any little ones to deep snow. The sky was clear, though a gentle shower of snow fell from where the wind blew it off the roof. Icicles sparkled in the sunlight, and frost patterned the stained glass windows on the side of great hall. Already the dibbuns were racing about, sliding across the snow on their bellies, jumping off small hillocks into drifts the moles had left untouched, and making plenty of snowballs to throw at each other.

Rose had just settled down on the front steps, wrapped in as many blankets and cloaks as Sister Amyl had been able to to find, when she spotted a familiar face. "Grumm," she called. The stout little mole turned at the sound of her voice, black eyes twinkling as he made his way through the dibbuns to the steps.

"G'mornin' Miz Rozer," Grumm said, tugging his snout.

"Good morning, Grumm," Rose said. "I didn't know you were out and about already."

Grumm smiled, gesturing to the scene before them with a hefty digging claw. "Oi joined ee molers t' clear 'way 'ee snow fer 'ee babbies, bur."

"They certainly seem to be enjoying themselves." She couldn't help but smile as she watched the young woodlanders play. Another mole, slightly shorter than Grumm, came to join them at the steps.

"G'day to 'ee zur, marm," he said.

"G'day to 'ee, zur," Grumm said, tugging his snout.

"Be you'm coomin' in wi' ee travelin' players las' noight?" the mole asked.

Rose nodded. "We were passing by the Gingivere farm just as they were heading out, so they asked us if we would like to join them." She smiled at the mole. "My name is Rose, and this is Grumm."

"Oi be Dinny," Dinny said. He turned to Grumm. "Thankee fer thoi 'elp clearin' 'ee snow."

"Et were moi pleasure," Grumm said.

Dinny grinned. "May'aps you'm c'n 'elp oi wi' clearin' a bit more snow? Et's driftered into turrible 'igh piles boi 'ee wall."

"Oi'd be 'appy to," Grumm said. The two moles waddled off, leaving Rose with her thoughts and the dibbuns.

The dibbuns were rather well behaved, Rose found. Though they pelted each other with snow, nobeast came to any harm. A few of the older dibbuns had begun pushing their younger comrades around in makeshift sleds. Keyla and Tulgrew's three sons, Felldoh, Hillgorse, and Juniper, had already made several new friends, and were running about as though they'd lived at Redwall their entire lives.

Rose did not notice the moles returning until the dibbuns set up a cry.

"Th' moles are back!"

"Alla snow be clearered 'way?"

"G'mornin' Unca Martin."

"Uncle Martin! Did you see the snowball I threw at Perrin?"

"Did you bring it, Uncle Martin?"

"Did you, Uncle Martin? Did you?"

Rose was not surprised to see Gonfflet and Chugger emerge from the crowd of dibbuns to walk behind Martin, clearly curious about whatever he was carrying. The warrior chuckled and continued walking toward the steps. He was carrying something under his cloak, though Rose could not make out what it was. "Good morning," she said when he reached the steps, accompanied by Dinny and Grumm, along with a host of dibbuns.

"Good morning, Miss Rose." Martin nodded to her. "Are you out here supervising the dibbuns?"

"I am," Rose said. "I didn't see you earlier, were you helping the moles clear away the snow?" She spared a glance toward the dibbuns, who were now crowding around behind Martin. Several were hopping on their toes in anticipation, and Rose could see a twinkle in Martin's eye. He was purposefully ignoring the babes to heighten the suspense of whatever he had brought with him, something Keyla did on a regular basis.

Dinny chuckled. "Burr, no marm. Marthen were stuck in 'ee gatehouse, buried by 'ee snow. We'm just dug 'im out."

Martin sighed and shook his head. "Looks like I'll be moving indoors for the winter if the snow keeps falling like it has." He began unstrapping his sword, which he was wearing across the back of his cloak. Taking it carefully from his back, he set it down next to Rose.

Rose allowed herself a brief glance at the sword. She'd never seen it up close before. The ruby set into the pommel caught her eye almost immediately. It was a deep blood-red, cut so that it reflected the light no matter how one looked at it. It was, Rose decided, the most impressive feature of the sword that she could see, although she could not compare it to the blade as it was sheathed in a scabbard of hard black leather. She felt a strange detachment, trying to reconcile that the sword Martin had sought after for so long was now sitting next to her on the steps.

Dinny nodded knowingly to Martin. "Oi'll tell Miz Belle tha' you'm'll be movin' in'o 'ee cellar in 'ee evenin'," he said. "We'm c'n move thoi things t'morrow."

"Thank you, Din," Martin said. He waved briefly to the moles as they trundled inside, then turned to face the crowd of dibbuns. "Well now," he said, smiling. "What could you all be waiting for? Is there somebeast still inside?"

Gonfflet ran forward, practically vibrating in anticipation. "Did you bring the shield?" he cried.

Martin laughed and pulled the bulky item from under his cloak. "I certainly did," he said. The shield was small and round with a simple design. The only real ornament was the large 'M' emblazoned on the front. Rose could see two straps attached to the back of the shield, presumably for holding on to it in battle. Martin had been carrying the shield with a rope strung through the two straps and tied in a loose circle which he slung over his shoulder. After removing his cloak, Martin untied the rope and set the shield upside-down on the snow. "Who wants to go first?" he said.

Scattered whispers broke out among the dibbuns as they dared each other to be the first on the shield until Chugger settled the matter. The young squirrel settled himself in the middle of the shield with his paws locked firmly into the arm straps. "I'm ready, Uncle Martin," he said. Martin nodded, then suddenly set off at a run, towing the shield and Chugger behind him. Chugger whooped and hollered, yelling for Martin to go faster. They circled around the area the moles had packed down, snow flying everywhere, before coming to a stop next to the steps. Chugger rolled off, still laughing as a little hedgehog climbed onto the shield. Martin made certain the babe had a tight grip on the straps, then he took off again on his circuit around the main lawn.

It seemed that this was a traditional midwinter game. Every dibbun who was old enough to recall the winter before hurried to fill in the newcomers on what to hold on to and why. Martin made round after round on the packed snow, sometimes towing two, or even three little ones on the shield. Rose could not help but laugh with the dibbuns. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves, as was Martin, it seemed. The warrior mouse joined in with the laughter and hollering, sometimes calling out when he was about to turn and other times just veering sideways suddenly. He always called the turn when the littlest dibbuns were on the shield, though.

Finally, after what had to be Chugger's fifth ride, Martin stopped and sat down on the steps next to Rose, saying, "Go off and play for a while, you lot. I need to catch my breath." The dibbuns obeyed, running back to whatever games they had been playing before Martin joined them. All except Keyla and Tulgrew's sons and Chugger, who still lay laughing in the snow.

Felldoh, the eldest of the three otters, bounded up to Martin. He stood watching the warrior mouse catch his breath before asking, "Why does everybeast call you uncle?"

His brother, Juniper, joined him. "Chug was calling you Uncle last night, too," he said. "Why? You're obviously not his uncle."

Martin, who was no longer gasping for breath, chuckled and said, "Chugger's the one who started it. Why don't you ask him?"

The three otters turned to look at the squirrel, who was still on the ground laughing. Mayflower, Keyla and Tulgrew's daughter, came over to join Martin and Rose on the steps, looking on curiously as her brothers approached Chugger.

It took Chugger a few moments to get her laughter under control, and even then he would break into giggles every few words. "Ahahahahaha. Martin's the one who suggested it. Hehehehehe. My parents were gone when he found me, hahaha. Hehehe, so since Martin doesn't have a family, hahahahahaha,and I don't have a family, hehehehehe, I decided he was going to be my uncle. Hahahaha, isn't that right, Uncle Martin!"

Martin nodded, shaking his head at the chuckling squirrel. "Most of the other dibbuns picked it up from him," he said.

Mayflower nodded, having caught onto what her brothers were asking about. "I see," she said. "So it's like how we all call Auntie Rose 'Auntie', even though she isn't really our auntie."

"Can we call you Uncle Martin, too?" Felldoh asked.

Martin shrugged. "I don't mind," he said.

"Uncle Martin," Juniper began chanting as he spun around in the snow. "Uncle Martin. Uncle Martin."

Martin turned to Hillgorse, who was frowning slightly. "You don't look convinced."

Hillgorse shook his head. "Chug also told us that he's got four grandpas, but that's impossible."

Martin grinned. "No, he's right. Chugger does indeed have four grandfathers."

Now it was Rose's turn to be sceptical. "How in the name of seasons did he manage that?"

"He's an orphan," Martin answered. "I was part of a group that traveled to the north the summer before last. We found Chugger during our journey, and of course we couldn't leave a toddler on his own in the forest. Chugger's been creating his own family ever since."

"I suppose that makes sense," Hillgorse said. "Why were you in the north?"

Martin's smile seemed to falter slightly, and Rose noticed a far away look in his eyes. "I was born in the north, but I came south when I was very young. I decided it was time that I found out what had happened to my tribe, so a group of us went north."

"You're from the north?" Juniper asked, still spinning. Martin nodded. The young otter came to a sudden halt and hopped up on the step between Martin and Rose. "Uncle Martin," he said, suddenly serious, "Have you ever met Auntie Rose before?"

Rose was taken aback by the sudden question, but Martin took it in stride. "You'd have to ask her," he said. "I don't remember meeting her before, but that doesn't mean that I haven't." Rose nearly choked on air, frantically reminding herself that Martin did not remember his time in the north.

"Why's that?" Mayflower asked.

"I can't remember much of my life from before coming to Mossflower," Martin answered. He stared vacantly at his paws for a moment, before turning to smile at Rose and say, "Though I would certainly hope never to forget such a pretty face as yours."

Rose couldn't help herself, she blushed. Martin was up and off to play with the dibbuns again before she could respond. Felldoh, Hillgorse, Juniper, and Chugger bounded off after him, laughing and cheering. Mayflower stayed behind, eyeing Rose suspiciously. "He likes you," she said.

Rose blushed even more. "I'm sure it's not that," she said quickly. Mayflower shook her head, and went off to join the others.

Left alone on the steps, Rose tried to cool her burning cheeks. It had been seasons since she had allowed herself to think finding Martin, but nothing she had imagined had prepared her for this. There was the sound of the door opening behind her, and then Brome was standing next to her.

"How is it that you always end up watching the dibbuns?" he asked, chuckling.

Rose nodded noncommittally. It wasn't as if Brome didn't know the answer. She was good with dibbuns, so she had become the go to for many parents in Noonvale.

Brome wasn't taking her silence for an answer. "Alright, spit it out, Rose."

Rose shook her head and looked at him as he sat down next to her. "Spit what out?"

"You didn't even notice Primrose falling into the snowbank just now, and you're staring at the battlements as though you want to fight them. What's wrong?"

Rose sighed. "I fell in love with a memory, and it's come back to haunt me," she said.

"Martin?" Brome nodded at the warrior mouse, who was engaged in an unevenly matched snowball fight.

"It's been 22 seasons, Brome," Rose said. "Besides that, he doesn't even remember me."

Brome let the silence hang between them for a long moment as they watched Gonfflet and Chugger team up with Felldoh, Hillgorse, and Juniper. "You've never shown interest in anybeast else," he said finally.

Rose shook her head. "I knew him for 14 days, Brome. Every scenario I've imagined has been based on those 14 days." She sighed. "We're not the same mice who met at Marshank. I've changed since that summer, so have you, and so has Martin. He was so serious then, so full of pent up anger and rage. But now," she paused to watch the snowball fight, "Now he seems so happy. I've never seen him smile like that before."

Brome nodded. "He certainly does seem happy here," he murmured. "Do you think it would be right of us? To make him remember all the horrible things about Marshank?"

Rose sighed. "I don't know," she said.

There was a shout from the lawn, and the two mice looked up in time to see Tintin nail Martin in the face with a snowball. Martin sat down hard, brushing snow from his face with a dazed expression. Little Primrose ran up to him, trying valiantly to return her brother's snowball. The little snowball fell to the ground before crossing half the distance. Shaking his head to clear it, Martin swung Primrose onto his shoulders and took off after Tintin.

Brome shook his head and smiled. "How could Papa have ever thought Martin was a threat?" he said.

"He didn't know Martin," Rose answered simply. "I don't think either of us truly knew him either. We only knew him while he was preoccupied with rescuing the other slaves. We never saw him during peacetime."

Gonfflet and Chugger had joined up with Tintin and pounced on Martin from behind. The warrior mouse fell face first into the snow, tossing Primrose into a snowdrift where she landed harmlessly rather than being crushed beneath the falling adult. The dibbuns were upon him immediately, burying him under the snow.

With a sigh, Brome stood, calling out over the chaos, "Breakfast time."

The dibbuns left off burying Martin in a mad scramble to the doors, tripping over tails, cloaks, and footpaws in their hurry. Brome was swept inside with the first wave, yelling for the dibbuns to take off their cloaks before descending on cavern hole. Rose watched them go, laughing at the harmless fun of the youngsters before she started to gather up the cloaks and blankets wrapped around her. She jumped at the sound of Martin resurfacing from the pile the dibbuns had buried him under, shaking his head to rid himself of snow. Chuckling quietly, he made his way over to the snowdrift where Primrose was still sitting. The little maid giggled as he pulled her from the snow and carried her over to the steps, where Rose, Gonfflet, and Chugger were waiting for them.

Rose shook her head as she gathered the last of the blankets. Martin certainly hadn't been so carefree when she knew him before, but she was glad that he had been able to adjust to a peaceful life. Bracing herself against the steps, she pushed upward. Pain shot through her footpaws and she fell back with a gasp, dropping the blankets and clutching her aching limbs.

"Are you alright?" Martin asked. He hurried forward, setting Primrose on the step and kneeling down.

"I'll be fine," Rose gritted out from between clenched teeth. She paused a moment to compose herself, then said, "You go on ahead, I'll be down soon."

"Are yore footpaws 'urting agin, Auntie Rose?" Primrose asked.

Rose nodded. "I'll be fine," she repeated.

Martin did not look convinced. "Chugger, can you carry my shield?" he said to the young squirrel. Chugger nodded and took the shield. Martin picked up the cloaks Rose had dropped and handed them to Gonfflet, together with Rose's crutches, then began buckling on his sword.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked, watching her crutches disappear from her reach.

Before she could react, Martin had scooped her up, carrying her indoors with Chugger, Gonfflet, and Primrose following behind. Once inside, he leaned against the heavy doors until they closed, then carefully set Rose down so that her back was against the wall. Chugger and Gonfflet waited a few moments, until Martin told them, "Go on ahead, we'll catch up in a minute." The two youngsters nodded and left after depositing their things next to Martin, although Primrose stayed behind. Martin watched them go, then turned to Rose and began rubbing the life back into her footpaws. Rose winced as pins and needles prickled her footpaws, but it seemed to be helping. After a few minutes, Martin stopped and helped her to stand. "How's that?" he asked, handing the crutches to her.

"Still a bit sore." Rose took the crutches and leaned on them. She gave Martin a small smile. "It's better, though. Thank you."

Primrose tugged on Martin's tunic. "'ow'd you know wha' t' do?" she asked.

Martin smiled at her. "I had to learn a few seasons ago. The cold tends to set into the bones after a creature's been wounded."

"You been 'urt like Auntie b'fore?" The little maid stared at the warrior with wide eyes.

Martin knelt so that he was level with Primrose. "I have," he said quietly. "War is a terrible thing, even when fought for a just cause. The scars of war can stay with a creature for long seasons after, sometimes for the rest of their lives."

Primrose tilted her head to the side. "If it 'urts you, den why'd ya fight?"

Martin ruffled her ears gently with his paw. "I fought so that youngsters like you could have a better life," he said. "My scars hurt from time to time, but it's worth it when I see dibbuns growing up happy and free."

Primrose nodded, as though deciding that this was a good answer. As Martin stood, she pointed to the sword strapped across his back. "D' you still fight?"

Martin shook his head, retrieving his shield from where Chugger had set it against the wall and hanging it from his sword belt. "Not anymore. I gave up the warrior's life last winter."

"Why?" Primrose wanted to know.

"Mossflower is peaceful now," Martin explained. "We have no need of battles and wars." Primrose considered this, then opened her mouth to speak. She was interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach. Martin chuckled. "It sounds like we're overdue at breakfast," he said. Together, he and Rose folded the blankets and cloaks, then placed them in an alcove to be put away later.

Primrose tugged on Martin's tunic again, this time holding her arms up. "Up please," she said.

"Primrose," Rose scolded, "You're old enough to walk on your own."

Martin swung the little maid onto his shoulders, laughing gently. "She's still small enough to be carried." The three mice crossed great hall with Rose's laughter ringing about them.

#Redwall #Redwall fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #Redwall story #story #Redwall Midwinter Miracle #Martin the Warrior #Martin #Rose of Noonvale #Rose #Laterose of Noonvale #Laterose #Primrose #Gonfflet #Chugger #Sister Amyl

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